Belton Youngblood Cooper (October 4, 1917 - May 26, 2007) served in the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in the field artillery branch while attending college at the Virginia Military Institute.

After transferring to the University of Michigan to study marine architecture and marine engineering, he attempted to transfer to the university's Naval ROTC unit, but having already received his Army commission, he, as he phrased it, began his "enlightenment about the government's bureaucratic machinations," and was summarily ordered by the War Department to report for service with the 3rd Armored Division in June 1941.

[1]: 26–7 Death Traps has received mixed reviews since its release; the way Cooper described his experiences during the war has been praised, but the book also has received significant criticism for Cooper's attempts to pass judgment on events he never directly experienced (for example, his claims about Patton and the Pershing), as well as the number of completely unfounded statements and historical inaccuracies it contains.

Publishers Weekly wrote of Death Traps in 1998 that, "Without a doubt, this is one of the finest WWII memoirs ever written by an American junior officer," and predicted it would become "required reading for anyone interested in armored warfare.

"[8] The Library Journal wrote: "[Readers] will be left with an indelible impression of the importance of the support troops and how dependent combat forces were on them.”[8] The website Tank and AFV News as well as historian Robert Forczyk [de] were critical of the book and the reliance it has garnered online and in media coverage, writing: As a memoir, it is meandering and repetitive, far too often wandering away from the author's personal experiences into the realm of speculation.