I'll second Jerry's recommendation on Robert Kershaw's book Tank Men - The Human Story of Tanks at War. It's a fantastic read & will disprove a lot of the misconceptions & heroics we tend to think about tanks. The first hand accounts of the British tankers facing the Germans in their early encounters as well as the Soviet & German accounts of Kursk will open your eyes to the horror of armored warfare.

http://www.robertjkershaw.com/tank_men.html

Belton Coopers' Death Traps: Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II is also a good take from the prospective of a recovery unit & the weaknesses of the M4 Sherman.

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Traps-Su...ews/0891418148