Originally published in 1977, this book reports the proceedings of a conference sponsored by the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center. The one common thread running through all of the formal papers and dialogue was that the knowledge a person already possesses is the principal determiner of what that individual can learn from an educational experience. These questions were addressed: How is knowledge organized? How does knowledge develop? How is knowledge retrieved and used? What instructional techniques promise to facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge? The kinds of answers provided are characterized by their as well as by their specificity. Accordingly, the volume should be of interest to both the generalist and the specialist.

Originally published in 1977, this book reports the proceedings of a conference sponsored by the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center. The one common thread running through all of the formal papers and dialogue was that the knowledge a person already possesses is the principal determiner of what that individual can learn from an educational experience. These questions were addressed: How is knowledge organized? How does knowledge develop? How is knowledge retrieved and used? What instructional techniques promise to facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge? The kinds of answers provided are characterized by their as well as by their specificity. Accordingly, the volume should be of interest to both the generalist and the specialist.

If the machine gun changed the course of ground combat in the First World War, it was the tank that shaped ground combat in World War II. The tank was introduced in World War I in an effort to end the stalemate of the machine gun versus barbed-wire trenches, and by World War II, the tank’s mobility and firepower became a rolling, thundering difference-maker on the battlefield. In this detailed, deeply researched, and heavily illustrated book, tank expert Richard Anderson tells the story of how the United States developed its armored force, turning it into a war-winning weapon in World War II that powered American ground forces and supplied armies around the world, including the British and Soviets. For decades, American tanks of World War II have been undervalued in comparisons with German and Soviet tanks—and it’s true that the best of American armor tended to underperform the best of German and Soviet armor during the war. That’s because the U.S. had a different goal: not only to create battleworthy tanks like the Sherman, and to develop other tanks, but also to supply American allies with serviceable, combat-ready tanks. The United States did all this, but until now the complete story of American tanks in World War II has yet to be told. Anderson’s book is deeper and more thorough a chronicle of American tanks in World War II than has ever been done. This book is colorful, vivid, and thought-provokingly insightful on how the U.S. produced a tank force capable of conducting its own battlefield efforts and sustaining key allies around the world. This will be the go-to volume on American tanks for years to come.