There are two kinds of books I purchase. The first are technical manuals which concentrate on a specific vehicle or its variants. The second category, could best be described as 'Docu-books', look at a vehicle within the context of its 'field' service. In other words, books which reproduce contemporary photographs which are vital to see the little details of stowage and field modification which are a modeller's 'bread and butter'. This new book from Concord Pubications is undoubtedly in the second category.

Over the years, Concord has published a good number of books concentrating on a specific class of vehicle. Amongst the most notable (in conjunction with additional sources) were their books on U.S. Tank Destroyers and German SPGs...

This new book seems certain to enter a large part of the market:

7054 German Half-Tracks of World War Two is written by Frank V. De Sisto. (ISBN 962-361-091-2)

The book contains 72 pages, 178 photos and 16 color plates.

In the last few years, there has been an incredible amount of kits coming onto the market covering everything from the Famo to the Sd Kfz 11 and inevitably, an avalanche of 251s and their many variants. The half-track is an attractive choice for many modellers combining aspects of soft-skins with AFVs. This new book covers the following vehicles:

Sd.Kfz. 2 (Kettenkraftrad), various artillery prime movers like the Sd.Kfz. 6, Sd.Kfz. 7, Sd.Kfz. 8, Sd.Kfz. 9, Sd.Kfz. 10, Sd.Kfz. 11, and Maultier, to the armored Sd.Kfz. 250, and Sd.Kfz. 251 half-tracks.

At this point, I can't help wondering if it would have been better to concentrate on one aspect of the German half-tracks - perhaps the Prime-Movers? It would then allow further volumes to concentrate on specific areas such as the Sd Kfz 250 & 251s.

That said, it will inevitably be a volume which will be purchased by many as a useful addition to their library. Just looking at the example images, suggest some pretty inspirational photos for diorama builders. It will also be those kind of books which will be inevitably recommended as a useful 'primer' on what is a vast and complex subject....