Printed on heavy gloss stock, this hard-cover book contains 160 pages in an 8” X 10” format. It contains 150+ photographs in mostly black and white, with a few color pictures added where available. The text is well-researched and written in an easy-to-read and understand manner.

A wonderful reference for the modeler, this book covers heavy tractor trucks and semitrailers used by the US Army during WW II in every theater. It offers an in-depth look at a subject not usually covered, but vitally important to war efforts. The logistics of moving personnel, gear, and equipment, as well as providing workspaces close to the front, was a huge undertaking, and has not been covered in detail before now. The text is broken down into 12 chapters, an appendix, and a bibliography that looks at the history of the pre-war thought processes and the planning and development of the need to employ tractor trailers to move the gear from the rear. Implementation began by integrating preexisting civilian designs that evolved into specialized vehicles to meet specific needs.

The first eight chapters discuss the different weight standards used from the 1-½ ton tractors up to the monster 20-ton tractors. The text reads like a who’s who of tractor manufacturers of this period, which include the Big Three, Ford, GM, and Dodge. Also mentioned are Autocar, International Harvester, GMC, White, Kenworth, and other major players in tractor production. The accompanying photographs illustrate the tractors beautifully and show them hooked up to a large variety of Semitrailers. A chapter on special series tractors rounds out the tractor coverage.

For me, one of the most interesting concepts the book covers is the semi-trailers used for everything from cargo carriers, which we normally think of when envisioning tractor trailers, up to and including specialty trailers that were outfitted to provide everything from mobile workshops to laundry and food service units. It was pure genius to provide mobile workshops that could repair anything from damaged firearms to tailor and shoe repair services that could keep up with the advancing troops, while providing hot food and other necessities needed close to the front. The appendix contains production numbers for the various manufacturers, both tractors and trailers, in terms of models and total numbers built. A bibliography rounds out the text coverage.

I enjoyed this book a great deal and highly recommend it. The photographs are clear and illustrate the text while offering a look behind the scenes into a not-often seen part of the logistics war. This book would be a nice addition for any WW II modeler looking to either build a little-known tractor trailer shown in the pages, or for someone looking to create a unique diorama utilizing an accurate tractor trailer refueling an aircraft on a front-line airstrip, or GI’s fresh from the front getting a new uniform issue. There is no limit to the ideas this book helps stir up!! I highly recommend this book to modelers interested in the tractor trailers of this period or anyone looking for a different view of what’s become a virtual saturation of WW II subjects.

My thanks to Casemate Publishers and IPMS/USA for providing this sample for review.