Dirty Little Secrets of World War II: Military Information No One Told You about the Greatest, Most Terrible War in History

by James F. Dunnigan, Albert A. Nofi

"Dirty Little Secrets of World War II " exposes the dark, irreverent, misunderstood, and often tragicomic aspects of military operations during World War II, many of them virtually unknown even to military buffs. Like its successful predecessor, "Dirty Little Secrets," Dunnigan and Nofi's new book vividly brings to life all theaters and participants of the war. Revelations include:

- The real death count for the war, and why it has never been previously released.
- The "new age" general who refused to smoke or drink, who lived on a vitamin-enriched diet, who opposed animal experimentation, and who regularly consulted his astrologer.
- How equipment developed for the war led to such modern high-tech innovations as "smart bombs," electronic warfare, and nuclear missles.
- The lackadaisical relationship between Germany and Japan throughout the war.
- Tricky bits of information about the lingering effects of the war -- like the thousands of live shells and mines that are still buried in Europe and off the East Coast of America.

Genres: History, Military History, World War II, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War, Ebooks

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Dick Tatro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would really be enjoyed by someone who is very interested in war strategy and statistics. To a anti war Mennonite the interest would be peaked by the huge amound of waste both in resources and life. Just a small example was a convoy of American ships that was sunk in early 1942 which were loaded with 7000 tanks enroute from the USA to the Soviet Unions. Infromation was never released to the press because of low moral as a the result of the losses at Pearl Harbor. Nearly 3000 men ( This is about the same death total as Pearl and many more ships)and 30 ships were lost to German subs who attacked the American convoy near the Alaskan coast. Those ships, tanks and men are still on the floor of the Pacific. Such waste is overhealming. The death totals of the war will never be known because so many perished. Estimates now for the Soviet Union are now over 20 million dead, 6 million in the holucast in europe. The numbers are unreal. One thing that I agree with the Authors on is that the world today has a very dim memory of this terrible war. It is important that we do not forget. The world can never see something as terrible as this war. It reminds me a again how we mush speak out against war. To many young Americans WWII is just an exciting video game and not the terrible struggle it was. Most have no concept of the losses that were suffered.

[Tom Darrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would put this book in the "bathroom read" category. Short anecdotes about different theateres of the war. You can read a few sections, learn a bit, set the book down for a while and pick it up later without losing anything.

The book has lots of good information, but what it is lacking is structure. Even though there are chapters dedicated to fighting in Europe or the Pacific, the anecdotes skip from a section on tank destroyers to a section on the number of bombs dropped and then to the number of doctors.

You finish the book feeling like you've learned something, but you can't specifically say what.

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely awful. I made it through 188 pages before giving up. I'd not even stick it in my bathroom. The introduction pretty much sums it up with:

"This is not a history of World War II , but revelations about many of the lesser-known details. Because it is a book of facts, you don't read it from beginning to end, but rather you jump in wherever it srikes your fancy."

This book is badly written and heavily biased towards the US. For instance the chapter entitled 'The Road to War' includes events all the way up to December 1941...clearly a lot of the rest of the world had been at war for a couple of years prior to this. Rather this chapter should be entitled 'The Road to the American Involvement in War'.

If the author had employed a decent editor, then a lot of the facts presented in this book would have been far more interesting and better presented than page long tables of numbers or rambling snippets of information that have no structure.

Unfortunately my fancy was not struck for very long. I was expecting a book on secret weapon manufacture or delving into mind control techniques or clandestine operations. It seems to me that the reason 'no one told you' about the little secrets in this book is that they would have dropped dead from boredom or astonishment at the overinflated opinion the author has of Americans.

Anyway, enough said, I would not recommend this book.

[Kristi · Rating 1 out of 5]

THIS BOOK SHOULD BE RETITLED DIRTY LITTLE WAYS TO EARN MONEY WHILE MISREPRESENTING WWII. or DIRTY LITTLE INCONSISTENCIES. BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID. No secrets here - all a matter of public record and multiple sources. THIS IS NOT HISTORY - THE AUTHORS DO NOT CITE ANY SOURCES FOR THEIR "TRUTHS" Chapter ALL THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW The United States designated countries of concern for possible hostilities. Even Great Britain was red even though the risk of war betwee the U.S. and G.B was as close to zero as you can get. No secrets here - all a matter of public record? WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE GREAT WAR DADDY? History of actions / training for individuals who played important roles in WWII. All a matter of pulbic record - no secrets here. WHY IS THIS INCLUDED IN DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS OF WWII WHEN IS NOT A SECRET AND IS NOT WWII? PADDING TO ADD PAGES. Page 51. Slaughter of innocents by country. CIVILIAN DEATHS. WHERE IS THE UNITED STATES???? NORWAY WAS INVADED IN 1940, BUT I GUESS THE AUTHORS COULD NOT FIND A CHART THAT INCLUDED THEM. AND OF COURSE THEY DID NO RESEARCH EXCEPT FOR WHAT WAS READILY AVAILABLE. Norway: 2,000 military losses 8,200 civilians I CITE SOURCES - THIS ONE WAS PUBLISHED LONG BEFORE THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN. Norwegian losses during WWII: Gregory Frumkin. Population Changes in Europe Since 1939, Geneva 1951. pp. 112–14. There is a caveat at the bottom of this idiot chart that Thailand and Burma were not included because there was no data??? REALLY, HOW HARD DID YOU LOOK? At the onset of World War II, Thailand, then known as Siam, declared neutrality. However, on December 8, 1941, following a swift Japanese invasion, Thailand capitulated and signed a military alliance with Japan. This alliance allowed Japanese troops to pass through Thailand to invade British-held territories in Malaya and Burma. The Thai government, led by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram, viewed cooperation with Japan as a means to regain territories lost to France in Indochina and to resist Western imperialism. Thailand suffered around 5,569 military deaths during the war and 2,000 civilian deaths. Burma (British colony) 16,119,000 total population, 2,600 military deaths - 252,600 to 1,000,000 total deaths. I do citations: Eiji Murashima, "The Commemorative Character of Thai Historiography: The 1942–43 Thai Military Campaign in the Shan States Depicted as a Story of National Salvation and the Restoration of Thai Independence" Modern Asian Studies, v40, pp. 1053–96. Just like the Chinese, Soviet Union, and Burma data was easier for European and Western Nations - also there was a bias that discounted Asia. THERE WAS CERTAINLY DATA ON THE U.S. AND NORWAY.... AHHHH!! YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO PAGE 49. HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED IN WWII? UNITED STATES: CIVILIANS: 6,000. Page 50. 300,000 Americans died in industrial accidents during WWII. I COULD FIND NO DOCUMENTATION OF THIS "FACT" AND OF COURSE THE AUTHORS NEVER EVER CITE A SOURCE!!!!!!!! This book is 31 years old - published in 1994. The Soviet archives were opened in 1990. OUR FEARLESS AUTHORS COULD HAVE ACCESSED DOCUMENTATION RATHER THAN BEAT THE DEAD HORSE THAT MORE SOVIETS DIED IN THE WAR THAN ARE ESTIMATED. WE WILL NEVER KNOW THE EXACT NUMBERS BECAUSE STALIN WAS KILLING CITIZENS WITH ZEAL. AS AN AVID READER OF WWII HISTORY, I FOUND NO DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS IN THIS BOOK EXCEPT THAT THE AUTHORS ARE NOT HISTORIANS WITH DOCUMENTATION OF SOURCE MATERIAL. I FOUND NO SECRETS EXCEPT FOR LEGITIMATE ONES THAT HAD TO BE KEPT SECRET FOR SECURITY REASONS - THAT DOES NOT MAKE THEM "DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS" - IT MAKES THEM NECESSARY SECRETS FOR STRATEGY AND SELF-PROTECTION. THIS IS NOT HISTORY!!!! GOOD HISTORIANS DOCUMENT THEIR SOURCES!!!! BUT THERE IS A LIST OF RECOMMENDED READING. DEAR READER: MY RECOMMENDATION: SKIP THIS BOOK AND FIND ANOTHER. I QUIT. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Grommit · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, it is important to mention that the book title is significantly misleading.
There are no secrets. No dirty little secrets.
I have no idea why the authors used such a wrong-headed title.

What you do get are numerous analyses of details: how many ships, how many planes, etc, plus discussions of the capabilities of each detail.
Added bonuses are the two historical timelines.
In sum...a comprehensive analysis of the War.

[Spencer Willardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of interesting facts about WWII. I learned a few new things. It is a good nightstand book.

[David Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a book that flows, but offers various interesting snippets about World War II

[Davey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. Neat information but some of it is repeated in the book. A bit odd layout. But overall worth a read

[Ushan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A grab bag of trivia about World War II from an unabashedly US-centric perspective. If you ever wondered, which wartime leader was a teetotaling vegetarian who consulted an astrologist (Adolf Hitler), how the Tomahawk cruise missile compares to the V-1 (it is much more precise and can fly 10 times the distance), what the fatalities of the Soviet Army were (11 million soldiers), and how the venereal disease infection rate in the U.S. Army during World War II compares to that in other wars (during World War I it was twice as high, and during the Vietnam War it was almost 7 times as high), this book is for you.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in short snippets here and there, over an extended period of time, but as it is made of a series of semi organised facts I quite enjoyed it. it suited that style of 'pick up just for a couple of pages' reading.
The facts backed up a lot of WWII history that I already knew and helped me to understand some of the minor points that lead to great victories or even great blunders.

[Czar]

Lots of good information that they say is not available elsewhere.

[Roland Bruno · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many facts and figures and not enough actual secrets.

[Jocelyn Montalvo Cullum]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11764297

[Steven Raszewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating! Who knew....

[Shiloh Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much I can add to what's already been said. What I will say is I break out the whole Dirty Little Secret books yearly and always enjoy them and the information contained.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loaded with facts and statistics. Has a great timeline of the war.

[Greg morgan]

this book tells you about world war two

[Arup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and quick read for WWII history buffs