The short introduction is quite interesting, especially the brief history of the US Army's surplus program and the implications that has for collectors.  Just as interesting is the vehicle condition scale explained at the front of the book, which rates scarcity, condition, and value of most of the vehicles in the book (some current vehicles, such as the M1A1 Abrams, does not get rated as there is no chance of any of these entering the civilian market for the foreseeable future).  These sections provide insight into a completely different realm from that in which scale modellers usually examine military vehicles. 

While there is the odd little gaffe in the book (the most obvious to me was using a photo of an M41 Walker Bulldog light tank to illustrate the entry for the M47 Patton medium tank), it is still full of very interesting photos (some of which are archival, while some are of restored vehicles) and some fascinating pieces of information within the text.  It is obvious that the author has a vast amount of knowledge at his disposal on the subject.  The quality of the printing is also very high, with very few typos or editing issues at all (always nice to see, but sadly all to rare).

 

In conclusion, while this book may not be a "must have" for modellers, it is a handy pocket guide that would be ideal to take to museums or military vehicle shows to help identify that unusual piece of equipment you've just come face to face with.  The quality of information in the text is another definite plus that raises this book up a notch.

 

Highly recommended for anybody interested in American military vehicles or military vehicle collecting.