American Thunder

<p>If the machine gun changed the course of ground combat in the First World War, it was the tank that shaped ground combat in World War II. The tank was introduced in World War I in an effort to end the stalemate of the machine gun versus barbed-wire trenches, and by World War II, the tank¿s mobility and firepower became a rolling, thundering difference-maker on the battlefield. In this detailed, deeply researched, and heavily illustrated book, tank expert Richard Anderson tells the story of how the United States developed its armored force, turning it into a war-winning weapon in World War II that powered American ground forces and supplied armies around the world, including the British and Soviets.</p><p>For decades, American tanks of World War II have been undervalued in comparisons with German and Soviet tanks¿and it¿s true that the best of American armor tended to underperform the best of German and Soviet armor during the war. That¿s because the U.S. had a different goal: not on