Unsolved Mysteries of World War II: From the Nazi Ghost Train and Tokyo Rose to the Day Los Angeles Was Attacked by Phantom Fighters

by Michael FitzGerald

During World War II, many deeply mysterious events took place in the fog and chaos of conflict. These were classified, hushed up, and kept from the public eye, and yet with the recent opening of secret archives, new light has been shed on these strange circumstances. This brilliant audiobook fills you in on these unsolved cases, teasing fact from fiction.

Topics



The lost treasure of the Amber Room - a masterpiece made from 5,900 kg of amber which was supposedly spirited away to a secret location and never uncovered since. The Man Who Never Was - a corpse dressed in military uniform, fitted out with fake documents who was deliberately allowed to fall into Nazi hands. His real identity is still disputed. The murder of socialite and possible spy, Jane Horney. Her body was never discovered, and many believed she swapped identities with her friend and lookalike before her disappearance. Within this audiobook the listener will also discover the secrets of the Nazi Ghost Trains; the 17 British soldiers at Auschwitz; and "the curse of Timur's Tomb". These intriguing and often chilling conspiracies and subterfuges will leave you stunned.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mystery, World War II, War, Historical, Ebooks

Audible Audio

First published July 15, 2019

Reviews

[Chris C · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few "mysteries" spoken about in this book that I hadn't heard about before that were fairly intriguing but for the most part I was pretty uninterested.

Obviously, the frustration with any mystery is exactly that, it will likely remain unsolved. However that isn't where I got frustrated with this book. My frustration lay in the fact that most of the mysteries presented read more like conpiracy theories rather than genuine unexplained occurences. For every interesting mystery raised, there's a good handful of others that just don't pique any interest at all.

Given that this period in time is one of the most significant periods in all of history and therefore one where mysterious events are likely to have occured and arisen in the aftermath, I expected a little more than what I got.

Overall, this is somewhat interesting but there's not a single mystery mentioned that would prompt me to look further into it in my own time, which kind of says all it needs to say.

Thanks to Arcturus Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is listed quite confusingly on GR under two different authors. I’ve added the Kindle version with cover art to lessen the confusion. Now then…World War II is a subject that holds a sort of morbid fascination for me both in fiction and nonfiction. It was a time of such dramatic extremes and insane upheavals that it produced (nonfictionally) and inspired (fictionally) some of the most fascinating mysteries of recent past. This book covers many of them. It’s separated into descriptive sections following specific locations or themes and those are separated into brief chapters explaining the premise and pondering the solutions. Some of these were familiar to me from previous reading and documentaries, a few were new. All were interesting. In fact, the least interesting mystery here is the one author chose to close the book on (and that is a mystery in itself), the rest really do boggle the mind from covert spy missions to strange vanishings and looted treasures. From devastating reality of concentration camps to bizarre speculations about Nazi bases in Antarctica, there’s so much here to disturb, excite and challenge the mind. There are even photos. It’s a relatively slim volume and can be technically read relatively quickly, although due to the heavy nature of the materials, it might be best to dip in and out of. I’ve never read the author prior to this, he seems erudite in his presentation, very serious and quite opinionated. The latter is especially pronounced since a lot of these mysteries have no resolutions and speculations are left to the discretion and imagination of others. But then again it’s always interesting to learn what expects think, even though it almost inevitably tends to inform your own opinions. So yes, very informative book. Anyone with an interest in that tragic historical era (and/or mysteries and/or conspiracies) would most likely enjoy reading this book. Thanks Netgalley.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy a good mystery, then you are going to LOVE this book! Completely unforgettable, and full of amazing details and stories.

In "Unsolved Mysteries of World War II" the author takes us on a fantastic journey back to the war and the many puzzling cases and events that still leave people scratching their heads. While some of these are full of conspiracy theories, the fact remains that something happened. However, we might never know the full truth behind these unsolved cases.

As someone who has a background in history, this book called to me, and I was not disappointed! I was enthralled from the start, and this is one book that I cannot wait to be released so that I can add to my bookcase! The many stories that are encompassed within this volume, are bound to pique your interest and remind the reader that there are many aspects of the war, as photographed and covered as it was, that might never have a satisfactory answer.
Put this book on your pre-order list now, I promise that you will not be disappointed! Michael FitzGerald had done an amazing job, and carefully compiled the many pieces of evidence that are available, and leaving the reader to draw what conclusions you will - my research list just got a whole lot longer!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up rather cheaply and wasn't expecting that much but there is plenty here to keep me reading until the end. Stories of where Nazi's escaped to after the war, missing gold along with espionage and the various deceptions used by the allies against the Germans, to the more bizarre theories of a Nazi base in Antarctica.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow!

[Angel Belgodere · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and x never, ever marks the spot."

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read if you’re familiar with the cast of Nazis and incidents from that era. The book has no references to the information the author presents, so consider it light read about the war that may or may not be true. As the author often states, “We may never know.”

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unsolved Mysteries of World War II include missing treasures, murders, and bombs.

What group was responsible for the bombing at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York? How did Glenn Miller die? What happened to all the missing treasure of those victimized during World War II? Was the aircraft of Leslie Howard, “Ashley, oh Ashley” from Gone with the Wind, shot out of the sky because of his agent’s resemblance to Winston Churchill?

This book has many intriguing questions, some conspiracy theories, some contemporary responses but no definitive answers. This absence of answers is frustrating. I believe with some more research in fewer topics, the author could have suggested his own solution to these mysteries rather than letting them hang there in the air. Because of the lack of conclusions, I have to give Unsolved Mysteries of World War II only 3 stars. It is effective only if you are willing to spend additional time researching so you can draw your own conclusions.

Thanks to Arcturus Publishing and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting reading for anyone interested in World War II. Since I usually read fiction, this was a nice change of pace for me. I was familiar with some of the mysteries addressed in the book. The details were what made the book worth reading. I could wish for closure but they wouldn’t be mysteries then, would they?

[Scifimoth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Devoid of scholarly references, which would have made it far more convincing.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Michael FitzGerald published the book “Unsolved Mysteries of World War II: From the Nazi Ghost Train and ‘Tokyo Rose’ to the Day Los Angeles was Attacked by Phantom Fighters” in 2019. Mr. FitzGerald has published nearly a dozen books.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘G’. This book is a collection of short topics from WWII most of which have a degree of mystery about them.

I enjoyed the 6+ hours I spent reading this 242-page WWII history. I did find this book interesting and learned a few new things. It is the second book by FitzGerald (the other was Hitler’s Secret Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Nazi Plan for Final Victory) that I have read. They are similar in how they approach the history of WWII. The book does lack citations to substantiate the stories. Some of the stories included are neither ‘Mysteries’ nor ‘Unsolved’. Many conspiracy theories are mentioned for these ‘mysteries’. I like the selected cover art. I give this book a 3.5 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

[Karen Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice book that one can put down after a chapter, come back to it days later and read more on a separate mystery from the Second World War. If you are looking for a paranormal angle to any of the mysteries, it won't be found here. There is little mention of a UFO being behind the battle of Los Angeles, and the possibility of a Nazi base in Antarctica that Admiral Byrd's 1946 Operation High Jump is supposed to have taken on is not given a lot of credence.

The book, though, does explore plenty of stories, dealing with mysteries of the air, the sea and espionage during the war. Several theories are put forward for each story, with several lesser known stories such as was a high ranking German General feeding information to the Allies covered along with the tale of Rudoph Hess, and did America know beforehand of the Pearl Harbor attack.

For anyone who loves history and for those fans of shows like Unsolved Mysteries, this is a good book to come back to time and time again at one's leisure.

[Cindy Wiedemer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always hate to say when I don't enjoy a book. Especially if its on a topic that I have a keen interest in. But this one, sadly isn't worth the time. I was intrigued by the title but sadly, nothing really stood out in the book as any great unsolved mystery, infact many of them were offered solutions which in fact makes them no longer unsolved. The section on espionage in particular just felt like spewing of facts, but not really expressing what was unsolved of mysterious about it. There were spelling and grammar mistakes which just got annoying after awhile. (yes i probably have some of my own in this review) I would understand if the book was maybe translated from another language, but as far as I can tell, it was written in english. Anyhow none of the content drew me in, kept me interested, or frankly felt like it was some big unsolved mystery. Maybe i just had too high of expectations based on the title. It took me only a few days to read which at least helps get me closer to my year end goal but otherwise, didn't enjoy it

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley for my copy for review. In all honesty the subject matter is quite interesting. The events that were included in the book were all new to me and I found some of them to be fascinating. Lovers of conspiracy fiction causal history might really enjoy it. Unfortunately that was not enough for me. I was aware of the conspiracy theory leanings its introduction, but the utter lack of real substance bored me. I almost didn't finish it. This entire book felt like it was mostly filler. The writing is quite good, but the format was "topic- explanation of topic- possible "other" explainations- thrown together (or non existent) conclusion." I was never engrossed, and the lack of a decent bibliography was a death knell for me. It's a casual read, not overly heavy or hard to understand, but it just didn't hit the spot for me.

[Bertha Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wars are tragic moments in the history of mankind. Caused by motives as diverse as greed, ambition, megalomania, patriotism or nationalism, they have been surrounded by mysterious situations and these types of situations occurred in great numbers during WWII.
This book covers many of these mysteries and presents in an objective way their possible causes and the conspiracy theories that arose around each one of them. Cases as well known as the unsuccessful assassination attempt and the suicide of Hitler or the famous German gold train, even others that seem to come out of a science fiction novel, such as the secret German base in Antarctica make reading this book an enjoyable and instructive experience.

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book for five bucks not sure what I was getting. I thought it might be sensationalized garbage or conspiracy theories but it’s actually pretty good. He takes a look at a bunch of weird stuff that happened during World War 2, suggests several possible theories, and then tries to figure out which one makes the most sense.

It isn’t an incredibly scholarly work, it doesn’t go hugely into detail, and if you know anything about the stuff covered in the book it won’t be of great interest, but it isn’t trying to be any of those things. This is something fun to read in the doctors office, or to keep in your bathroom, or to flip through in your spare time. It succeeds at that totally.

[SteveL · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a good job of collecting multiple unsolved stories from WWII. Some of it offers a good, or most widely accepted, exploitation. Others are so complex there is no clear cut answer. It is a solid read, but there are a few choice mysteries that feel like there should have been more written and a few that feel like they didn't need to be included.

It is a solid read about a fascinating time in history. It does cover some of the truly bizarre moments but also some lesser mysterious ones. It is a good starting point for fans of unsolved mysteries.

[Em (Makenna) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of mysteries in world war 2 will delight people interested in history mysteries! I was surprised because I've read many world war two related books, and I had never heard about most of these. Well researched and looked at with different angles, this is well worth your time.

I received this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Samantha Rooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read. Informative. And willing to discuss both the likely scenario and the more popular conspiracies involved in each tale

[Nick Spear · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot of information in here. It has its moments. Certain parts are harder to follow along than others. It was easier for me to read it in segments.

[Ayden Ginder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative. Good stories.

[Bev Knaup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Well written. Learned a thing or two about WWII. 👍

[David Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be both informative and entertaining. I learned many new things in an engaging way.

[Zach Stec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expected this to be a little down-the-rabbit-hole type read, for fun. And it was not… it was actual boring ass mystery’s and lame :/

[John Ginste · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of information that was very specific. Having extensive knowledge of people and events of WW2 might find this more useful

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to pick up and read for a few minutes at a time. I learnt a few things and it reminded me of much more. A good read.

[Bob Murdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

History lovers could find this book to be a good read. The author goes through various events and people with telling different scenarios.

[Will Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a wonderful journey into the rabbit hole of WW II.

[Susan Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Fuzzypants here: I am always fond of anthologies or books you can dip into and out without trying to keep a complex plot top of mind. It is a relaxing way to read. While I might not call the subject matter relaxing, this book filled the niche very nicely.
It is packed with chapters on various mysteries and myths from WWII. Some of these stories were rife long before the internet. Now, however, with social media, fiction is taken for fact and repeated and repeated. The author spends great time looking at the various interpretations of an event or person and then tries to select the answer that is most logical. There are times when there is conclusive proof. More often, there will be one version that is most likely. In either case, it is interesting and well researched.
If you are interested in this period, you will enjoy the read. Four purrs and two paws up.

[Sharley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, enlightening, such a good read that told me so much more than the unsolved mysteries. Great for those with an interest in history and/or WWII.
Plenty I didn’t know about and felt there was a lot detail and research put into it.