This book is what it says on the tin, really - a fascinating history of Sir Percy Hobart and the 79th Armoured Division, the 'Funnies'. As well as the story of the division's CO, it's full of snippets of action from the Normandy campaign and onwards, little pocket stories of heroism involving the unit.If I had a gripe, it'd be that I'd have liked more diagrams - for that, I suspect tracking down a copy of Geoff Futter's "The Funnies" is called for - I had a copy from our library when I was a teenager, but it seems to be out of print and hellish pricey.
[Note: this is NOT a review copy from Pen and Sword (were it so, you'd have got a longer review!): I actually picked this up as a Kindle deal for a massive £0.81, but it's currently £6 and change on Kindle and still, IMO, worth it.]
Thanks for the tip, I've missed this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm also looking for a copy of The Funnies, but no luck unless I want to pay far too much :-(
Bought the ebook in one of the frequent 2x1 offers and worth reading it.
ReplyDeleteIt cover many unkown aspects in the development of the "funnies" and very good description of actions (some of them with final tragic endings) of the guys running these vehicles. Also quite interesting the story of Hobarth and the difficulties with the military establishment
Agreed, it's an excellent book. I have the e-version.
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