The wars in the "Mid-East" have seen the use of armoured vehicles from every major arms producer and many of the smaller ones. The wars and terror attacks against Israel by Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan are well covered by historians and military experts alike. There are many photographic books available for both the military vehicle enthusiast/ historian as well as for the scale modeler. The war against terrorism has made photographic coverage of the Israeli strikes to reign in terrorist groups using Lebanon as a base of operation and the two wars in Iraq readily available.. Yet there is very little photographic work, other than brief flashes of news footage, of the equipment used by and in just Lebanon.

That is until now and the release of '30 Years of Military vehicles in Lebanon'. With its release the author Samer Kassis addresses this issue with a most outstanding photographic essay of the vehicles used by the multitude of forces in Lebanon. Form U.S. supplied M48 Pattons, Soviet 'T' series tanks 34-62, Israeli supplied Tirans, Shermans and light vehicles to home grown jeeps and Pickup truck based "technicals".

The book is actually made up of a 195 page photo book and a separate pamphlet with captions in both English and French. The photos in the book are organized by who have been involved in Lebanon. The book begins with the Lebanese Army followed by the militias, Israel, Syria and ending with the UN "peace forces". The book contains the listed 687 photos plus many smaller thumbnail size detail photos of markings and marks. The book contains both B/W & colored photos on a black background which actually helps bring out the detail in the photos. Most pages have 3-4 approximately 3X5 inch photos. The photos are for the most part clear and in focus with each chosen for its readily identifiable subject.

This book is a must for those interested in armour and soft skin vehicles of the "Mid-East. Modelers will find it invaluable as building reference for the details of the vehicles. With a nice set of color photos detailing both Lebanese and Syrian camouflage it helps those searching for information about Syrian colors. For the military historian it gives a glimpse into  many groups and methods of fighting in Lebanon.The book doesn't enter into the political arena either by choice of photos or text and tThe focus is always kept on the multitude of vehicles used at which it easily succeeds. The cover states this is only volume #1 , hopefully more will be forthcoming. If your looking for your next military or modeling book this would definitely be an outstanding choice.

Review copy supplied by Blast Models