The new and vastly revised second edition of Son of Sherman, now in two volumes, is already on preorder
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/david-doyle-son-of-sherman---second-edition
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/david-doyle-son-of-sherman---second-edition
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Pre-ordered a copy as soon as David Doyle began to accept them.
I am really looking forward to getting it!
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I put in my pre order as soon as I read that it was over 1,000 pages. This is 99% an all new book set rather than a Second Edition. I think they have done themselves a disservice by using the same title.
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David had the preview copy at AMPS and it looks every bit as good as the original. I’m glad he kept the same layout/format, text style, drawing style etc. Even the covers and slipcase are in exactly the same style.
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Look forward to reading this, can’t wait to add it to the sherman library 
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By pre-order you mean a reservation? I didn’t see a pre-order option just a reservation…
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Same thing in the book world.
-former Borders Books manager
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Same-same. DD Books doesn’t actually take any money until they’re ready to ship, so, technically, yes, a “reservation” and not a “pre-order.” However, if you do the “reservation,” you do get a nice break over the final retail price. They will invoice you by email when the books are ready to ship.
I’ve purchase a few books from them as “reservations” (and many, many more as regular purchases) and have always been satisfied with their ordering process.
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So, what did you guys think of the new 2nd edition of “Son of Sherman”?
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I just got the email that mine shipped today so I’ve got a few day’s wait to have it in my hands. Having looked through the gable copy that was at the 2023 AMPS Internationals, I’ll say it is fan-freakin-tastic! Not that I ever would, but you could sell your Hunnicutt tome if you bought Son of Sherman 2nd Edition.
I’ve had my copy for going on a week now.
My first thought was, “WOW!” The original edition of SoS was an outstanding work that I thought would stand the test of time, but this new version takes the subject to a whole 'nuther level! This new two book set shows that even as good as the first book was it could still be improved upon.
It’ll take someone days just to leaf through both books and simply read the photo and illustration captions (which, by the way, are considerably more comprehensive than most similar reference books). There’s a lot more background information on the development of the Sherman and the influences on that development.
One thing that might be a bit confusing is that there are two BOOKS but three VOLUMES. Volume one is contained in the first book, and volumes two and three are both contained in the second book. I might not have tried to break the work down like that, but it has a certain kind of logic once you’ve familiarized yourself with the layout. It’s really just a matter of how the chapters are arranged and how the information presented. As far as I can tell, almost all of the information in the third volume is all new (detailing the various tank systems, such as radios and intercoms, etc.).
There’s been a great deal of work done by the authors to, I guess the word might be, “rationalize” the drawings of the individual factory features / details. New details that have been identified or associated with the different specific factories have been added to the drawings, and they are all presented in the same format and different views. The work follows the familiar (to most students of the Sherman) breakdown by specific factories with the division between the first and second volumes pretty much at the point with the change from the 75mm to the 76mm main gun. At this point, the story returns to each factory at that point in their production.
Production quality is also excellent - large format, sharp reproduction of all the photos and drawings, glossy, heavy-weight paper, quality binding, slipcover… the books even have bound in ribbon bookmarks.
I’ve only just started reading the first book, now a couple of chapters into it, and the writing and information is top notch. A really welcome feature (at least by me) is that each chapter is concluded with the footnotes and references cited in it. This really elevates the research to the level of academic works rather than just another casual reference book written by a couple of enthusiasts.
At any rate, I’ve yet to find anything that has been even the slightest disappointment in this new set of books.
One final point, the title of this thread suggests strongly that David Doyle is the author, but authorship credit belongs to Pat Stansell and Kurt Laughlin. (However, the production and quality are right there with all of the other major research works brought to us by David Doyle.)
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I knew David wasn’t the author as I get his emails, but I generally think no matter who the author is David seems to select really good titles to sell on his website aside from his own works.
If I built Shermans I definitely would buy these.
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I have to laugh.
My first foray into plastic model building as an adult began in 2005. I had never built a 1/35 scale Sherman tank and made that one of my first projects. For the next couple years, I built about one M4 a year. I purchased many M4 reference books including Hunnicutt’s book on the subject. It became the one tank I knew something about.
When Son of Sherman was announced, I was determined to get a copy and patiently awaited publication. Years passed and I stopped model building at the end of 2010. More years passed. Sometime in 2017, while indulging a whim of nostalgia, I discovered that Son of Sherman was finally published back in 2013. It was long gone and selling at scalper’s prices. Every so often I would look for a cheap copy.
So, five days ago, while looking for a different book, Son of Sherman came up in a search. It is still a scalper’s market and I wistfully wondered if someone would ever reprint the book. Then I bumbled upon a page, written in 2022, that stated Son of Sherman would be reprinted in the fall of 2023. What, what, WHAT? My excitement grew as I realized a new and much improved version was in the works and nearing publication. $150 US? I can swing that.
The preorder page would not work. Is it broken? What am I doing wrong? After about an hour of trying, I came to the conclusion that preorder was over, the books were about to ship, and I had once again missed Son of Sherman. I laughed.
When this thread popped up this evening I laughed again. Too bad I never saw it before.
Oh well. Sometimes the universe really hates your guts. I guess I will build Panthers and Tigers instead. HAHHAHAHHAHA! 
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You should contact David Doyle, as reservations not paid on 15th of September were to be released. Maybe you can still get one of those. But hurry up…
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