M2/M3 Bradley at War

Tanks need infantry. How does the infantry keep up with the M-1 Abrams Tank? How much protection do you give the grunts? How much firepower do they need? These questions have been asked over & over since WW2. It took the Army a long time to figure it out. We went from the M-3 halftrack to the M113 armored "taxi" to an Armored Fighting Vehicle that could take on tanks with its missiles and defend the guys inside. Built to fight the European Cold War battle, this AFV has continued to evolve as a highly capable war machine. It now weighs as much as a Sherman tank from WW2, has higher horsepower and punch than the M-4. The first 27 pages trace that history, then 84 pages of the development, use, upgrades of the M2/M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The last pages cover the MLRS and other variants using the Bradley chassis. The photos alone are worth the price. Many crisp & clear color photos of the Bradley, the inside, its weapons, the enemy weapons, you name it, its here. I have a lot of books on the Bradley; this is a great, affordable & very readable addition to anyone's library. I was very pleasantly surprised at this book and definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in armored warfare since WW2.

The most interesting part of this book, and indeed, most of the "at war" series, for me at least, is the first portion which describes the developmental history of the vehicle, particularly also showing photographs of the various prototypes which preceeded the BFV. This is a part of the Bradley which is very rarely covered by easily available books, and is worth checking out on its own merits. The rest of the book is written in plain English, with enough pictures to support the documentation and provide a visual reference to what one is reading. As a Bradley commander, I can pick out a few very small, niggling errors in the technical descriptions, but this does not detract from the general overview one would get as a reader with a more-than-passing interest in the vehicle but without getting to the level of being an operator's manual. Definitely recommended.

A well written and comprehensive book about the M2/M3 series from development to current and possible future versions. The value of the book is the information in its text not pictures. Granted, it has some interesting shots of the Bradley, especially of the interiors, it is not a "photo" reference book. It is a comprehensive account of the Bradley in a very readable form, with detailed technical descriptions kept to an absolute minimum. The chapters in the book were well laid out, text was detailed but easy to read, chapters flowed logically from one aspect of the Bradley to another. A joy to read if you are interested in armoured vehicles.

The photos are very useful for model builders with lots of technical specs and cut away views. I thought the development of the APC was very interesting starting with the half tracks of WW2. Also interesting was the logic behind development of the Calvary variant of the vehicle. Lots of Gulf War descriptions and photos show the vehicles in actual combat. Overall very good reference book for this outstanding vehicle.

This is a very useful and up to date work on the Bradley IFV/CFV family. It begins with a useful summary of the development of armored infantry vehicles from the M3 half-tracks of WW2 to the M113 and the first failed attempts at an IFV. The developmental history of the Bradley and all its variants then runs in parallel with accounts of the Bradley's use in combat. Excellent photos illustrate the book throughout. Well worth the money.