Tank - Softcover

Wright, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571207456 ISBN 13: 9780571207459

Publisher: Faber and Faber, 2001

Synopsis

When British tanks first crawled onto the battlefields in September 1916, they inspired laughter as well as dread. But these 'big jokes' went on to transform the nature of ground warfare forever. For this captivating narrative of the tank's history, Patrick Wright went to arms factories and military bases around the world. He was the first western writer to be received by the First Warsaw Tank Brigade after the disintegration of the Soviet bloc, and he discussed Operation Desert Storm with the US Army's Armour Centre in Fort Knox. The tank, Wright discovers, is as much a terrifying cultural phantom as a practical war machine. He gives us the tank's fascinating story through the eyes of the people who have tried to face up to it - from the renegade artists in Prague who painted a Soviet memorial tank pink, to the solitary protester in Tiananmen Square whose bravery touched the world.

About this title

About the Author

Patrick Wright's books include The Village that Died for England, of which Michael Hofmann wrote 'I don't think I have read a better book about this country', and A Journey Through Ruins, acclaimed in the Observer as the work of 'a pin-sharp miniaturist who can see the world in a grain of sand'. He presents 'Nightwaves' for BBC Radio 3, and recently wrote and presented 'The River', a popular BBC2 television series about the Thames at the beginning of the 21st century. In 2001 he was co-curator of Tate Britain's exhibition of paintings and drawings of Stanley Spencer. Tank: The Progress of a Monstrous War Machine was published in 2000.

Edition details

• Publisher: Faber and Faber
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571207456
• ISBN 13: 9780571207459
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512