Pen and Sword books is a prolific publisher of military history base in the United Kingdom and distributed by Casemate Publications here in the United States. This is a partner volume to NATO and Warsaw Pact Tanks, published in 2022. As with most books that come from Pen and Sword, the book’s binding, printing, and photograph quality is outstanding. The pages are printed on glossy paper and the photographs (color and black and white) are crystal clear. Given the varying quality of published photographs concerning military history topics for hobbyists, it is nice to see that they are investing in quality products.

There are six chapters in the book, splitting each category of vehicle into NATO and then Warsaw Pact vehicles. Chapter 1 covers infantry vehicles, Chapter 2 delves into reconnaissance and anti-tank vehicles, and the final chapter discusses self-propelled artillery and air defense vehicles. The text is descriptive, describing the development and use of each vehicle featured. The book does not break down the nomenclature of each vehicle, that is, the statistics related to each vehicle. It is more like an encyclopedia rather than an intense breakdown of each vehicle mentioned. Using contemporary sources, the author also includes sidebars from official manuals, oral histories, technical manuals, etc. In the back of each chapter there are photographs of each vehicle mentioned. Organizationally, this is an odd choice. You have to flip back and forth between the text you are reading, and the included photographs. It takes away from the readability of the work. Not sure why the publisher chose to do this.

Overall, the book provides a brief overview of various classes of vehicles used by NATO, the Soviet Union, and their Warsaw Pact allies. It certainly provides a sound introduction to a reader who is new to this topic, but if you are familiar with the basic story of these vehicles, you will have to go elsewhere for in-depth information and analysis. Certainly, for the modeler who wants an introduction to this topic, this is a great addition to your library. For those who want a full scale analysis of development and use, this is not for you.