"Discusses the iconic photo of a lone protester, Tank Man, stopping a row of tanks near Tiananmen Square during protests in 1989"--

Mark Bouman recounts the events of his childhood at the hands of his larger-than-life, Neo-Nazi father in brilliant, startling detail in this memoir. From adventure-filled days complete with real-life war games, artillery fire, and tank races to terror-filled nights marked by vicious tirades, brutal beatings, and psychological torture, Mark paints a chilling portrait of family life that is at once whimsical and horrific, all building to a shocking climax that challenges even the broadest boundaries of love and forgiveness.

'I thought Tank Men was a triumph ...it is a really fine piece of work' - Richard Holmes 'Some of the eye witness accounts Kershaw has collected for this comprehensive review of tank warfare have the power to chill the reader to the bone. This is warfare at the sharp end' --NOTTINGHAM EVENING POST The First World War saw the birth of an extraordinary fighting machine that has fascinated three generations: the tank. In Tank Men, ex-soldier and military historian Robert Kershaw brings to life the grime, the grease and the fury of a tank battle through the voices of ordinary men and women who lived and fought in those fearsome machines. Drawing on vivid, newly researched personal testimony from the crucial battles of the First and Second World Wars, this is military history at its very best.

"One of the best analyses of the impact of Tiananmen throughout China in the years since 1989." --The New York Times Book Review

In the tradition of The Glass Castle and Angela’s Ashes comes the most unforgettable memoir you’ll read this year! “What did it mean to be the Tank Man’s son? To grow up overwhelmed by my father’s presence and personality? It was as if I didn’t exist, as if I was just something else for my father to crush.” So begins the haunting memoir of Mark Bouman as he recounts the events of his childhood at the hands of his larger-than-life, Neo-Nazi father in brilliant, startling detail. From adventure-filled days complete with real-life war games, artillery fire, and tank races to terror-filled nights marked by vicious tirades, brutal beatings, and psychological torture, Mark paints a chilling portrait of family life that is at once whimsical and horrific—all building to a shocking climax that challenges even the broadest boundaries of love and forgiveness. An epic tale of redemption and reconciliation, The Tank Man’s Son is a literary tour de force that is sure to become an instant classic.

In this gripping story of a historic clash between repressive government forces and individuals seeking freedom, we'll explore the reasons that led students in China to defy authority. We'll learn the details of their demands and of the shattering events that followed when they took to the streets to press for their civil rights. "In the blink of an eye, the tank was approaching the sidewalk and closing in on me. It seemed as if the barrel of its gun was inches from my face. I could not dodge it in time."―Fang Zheng, a student demonstrator at Tiananmen Square In the spring of 1989, university students in Beijing grabbed world headlines with a courageous stand against decades of Communist authoritarian rule in China. Thousands and then millions of students and workers from all over China gathered on the city's Tiananmen Square to support demands for democracy, clean government, and increased personal freedoms. China's premier, Li Peng, and his supporters wanted to crush the demonstration, and the government declared martial law on May 12. The world watched as army tanks and troops reached the city center on June 2. Soldiers fired their guns as students struggled to flee. A single demonstrator captured international attention as viewers around the globe watched him face off against encroaching military tanks. The army was in control of Beijing, and thousands of demonstrators were killed, wounded, or arrested.