Rhino Tanks and Sticky Bombs

<p>Coming of age during the Great Depression the American boys who fought in World War II had through necessity developed a unique brand of technological resourcefulness. This proficiency Robert P. Wettemann Jr. contends provided GIs with another weapon in a distinctly American way of war. <em>Rhino Tanks and Sticky Bombs</em> is Wettemann's eminently readable account of how this hard-won use it up wear it out make it do or do without mentality was critical to America's success giving servicemen the know-how and can-do spirit to creatively engineer solutions to wartime problems.</p><p></p><p>More than all the other soldiers in the conflict American servicemen grew up in a society where the machine was ubiquitous-where enduring an unparalleled period of financial distress meant learning to keep their Model Ts Fordson tractors or other machinery operational. Wettemann describes how this tinkerer's mentality promoted a technical aptitude and willingness to adapt unmatched by other armies fielded during World War II. At the same time the US command structure demonstrated a willingness to evaluate accept and employ such efforts to improve both fighting capacity and the general comfort of US servicemen. Seamlessly blending social military intellectual and technological history <em>Rhino Tanks and Sticky Bombs</em> weaves an engaging narrative about the roots of American ingenuity during World War II-and makes a compelling case for a specific instance of American distinctiveness that proved crucial to Allied victory.</p><p></p>