Crusader and Covenanter Cruiser Tanks 1939-45 (New Vanguard) (ISBN 1855325128)

Britain's Desert Warrior:
David Fletcher, of Britain's Tank Museum, has written a useful, if limited, history of British cruiser tanks in the 1941-43 period. The content is split about evenly between two competing designs, the Crusader and the Covenanter. While the Crusader was Britain's main battle tank in the Western Desert battles against Rommel's Afrika Korps and the Italians, the Covenanter stayed behind in Britain (its cooling system was woefully inadequate). After the Sherman tank became available in large numbers, Crusaders were rebuilt as antiaircraft vehicles and gun tractors, while the Covenanters were scrapped. Aimed mainly at the model builder, this title has all the strengths and weaknesses inherent in Osprey's military booklets. The color drawings of operational vehicles reproducing their camouflage and unit markings are quite useful, but the book's 48 pages are very limiting, particularly since it covers two distinct vehicles. Osprey favors text over photos, and most pictures are small and murky, so you might also want to track down "Tanks in Camera," Mr. Fletcher's hardbound photo essay on the desert war. Thomas Jentz has also done a photo book on the early desert war.