book review: Spearhead

I’ve been on a history kick lately and I blame Isaac Asimov. After some strong recommendations I decided to try reading the Foundation series. YAWNNNNNNNN. I think I made it about 100 pages before I just couldn’t anymore. Perhaps it hasn’t stood the test of time or I was just not in the mood. I mean, come on, this was supposed to be the inspiration for Star Wars. Ah well. So I’ve avoided fiction and focused on history.

The latest book I finished was Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II. So first off, that’s a really long title. It took me a while to get into this author’s style, but being a veteran and a military historian, I absorbed the story. Spearhead follows a tank company from the 3rd Armored Division as they race across Europe and into the heart of Nazi Germany. Along with the tank crews are a platoon of infantry support and then the author crosses it up by focusing on a German tank crew. Both sides are on a path to meet and engage in the city of Cologne.

Anyone with an eye for history should read this. Oh, there’s nothing special about it- certainly not when ranked among the numerous books detailing the lives of soldiers during WWII- but each individual story should be heard, respected, and spread as this amazing generation slowly fades away. War is hell, just as the men in Spearhead.