Military Vehicles

Do you know which year most historians agree saw the very first tank partake in battle? Which country first used the combined might of tanks and air power? What percentage of Germany’s Afrika Korps tanks had been destroyed by the end of the campaign? And which tank was nicknamed Queen of the Desert? In this fascinating audiobook, Charles King talks us through more than 100 amazing facts about tanks, including chapters about their history, the Second World War, tank design and plenty more.

During World War I, British and American ships were painted with bold colors and crazy patterns from bow to stern. Why would anyone put such eye-catching designs on ships? Desperate to protect ships from German torpedo attacks, British lieutenant-commander Norman Wilkinson proposed what became known as dazzle. These stunning patterns and colors were meant to confuse the enemy about a ship's speed and direction. By the end of the war, more than 4,000 ships had been painted with these mesmerizing designs.

Following the events of September 11, 2001, the governor of New York gave the navy a steel beam that was once inside one of the World Trade Towers. Seven and a Half Tons of Steel tells the story of what the navy did with it.