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Weird War Two: Strange Facts and Tales from the World's Weirdest Conflict
Welcome to the wonderfully weird World War Two...
The Second World War was the bloodiest on record. It was the first total war in history when civilians - men, women and children - were on the front line as never before. With so many millions involved, the rumour machine went into overdrive, tall stories built on fear of the unknown. With so much at stake, boffins battled with each other to build ever more bizarre weapons to outgun the enemy. Nazi Germany alone had so many government-orchestrated foibles that they would be funny if they were not so tragic.
Parachuting sheep? Pilot pigeons? Rifles that fire round corners? Men who never were? You will find them all in these pages, the weird, wonderful and barely believable tales from World War Two.
The Second World War was the bloodiest on record. It was the first total war in history when civilians - men, women and children - were on the front line as never before. With so many millions involved, the rumour machine went into overdrive, tall stories built on fear of the unknown. With so much at stake, boffins battled with each other to build ever more bizarre weapons to outgun the enemy. Nazi Germany alone had so many government-orchestrated foibles that they would be funny if they were not so tragic.
Parachuting sheep? Pilot pigeons? Rifles that fire round corners? Men who never were? You will find them all in these pages, the weird, wonderful and barely believable tales from World War Two.
260 pages, Paperback
Published August 13, 2020
5 people are currently reading
729 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Trow
149 books119 followersMeirion James Trow is a full-time teacher of history who has been doubling as a crime writer for seventeen years. Originally from Ferndale, Rhondda in South Wales he now lives on the Isle of Wight. His interests include collecting militaria, film, the supernatural and true crime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
September 1, 2018
There are many books about the World War II but Weird War 2 attempts something different. It’s a collection of weird facts, myths ; some known & some unknown, some amusing and disturbing, all from the World War II. It also has some interesting yet forgotten stories. At the very outset, the writer is honest to admit that not all the stories may be real and many don’t have any reference or source to back them. Having said that, it still is a very entertaining read.
This book can be broadly divided into different parts viz;
. Weird Facts: The Battle of LA (did the Japanese raid LA?), Allies & Germans fighting together, Hitler almost dying in WWI,Ghost Armies and various high profile disappearances & conspiracies.
• Nazi & Allied Super-weapons, Myths & Rumors: From V1 & V2 rockets to Ice ships, From anti tank Dog (which incidentally killed more dog trainers than enemies), Bat Bombs & Bat Soldiers, Search for Atlantis & weird Nazi experiments
But the highlight of the book for me were the stories about the bravery, sacrifice and kindness of some individuals, amidst the destruction of the war. Some of them like, A Japanese navy pilot who regretted bombing a US town, the story of The Stalingrad Symphony: holding of a musical performance in Stalingrad at the height of the Nazi siege, the Bride of Belsen, The Kindertransport project, the German priest who saved thousands of Jewish lives or the Russian female sniper were truly memorable. These are the stories that restore your faith in humanity and will stay with you long after you have read the book.
Each topic has a brief summary and the stories are short but well detailed . Overall this book is a superb collection of interesting facts & myths and if you are history buff you will find this entertaining & exciting to read.
Thank you NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for the ARC.
June 9, 2019
Peculiar
Weird War 2 is a collection of totally disparate facts from World War II that range from horrific to humorous, and from recognisable to strange. Most are aimed at being at least slightly weird, and it does reinforce the saying that “truth is stranger than fiction”. The stories cover all regions of conflict in WWII, including the Western front, the Eastern front, North Africa and the Pacific.
It is remarkable how creative and innovative mankind becomes during times of war and how technological advances made during WWI and WWII don't happen at the same pace during peace. The slant of this book is that not all creative solutions were grounded in common sense though. For example, tank-dogs left with a payload of explosives to run under an enemy tank and explode, but most returned to their owners killing more of them than the enemy. There were also plans to use cats, bats, rats and pigeons, and of course, there are always those myths around the Nazi gold, the supernatural, the occult and Sci-Fi advances.
One of the most touching stories is when a young British soldier Norman Turgel who was one of the first to enter the Bergen Belsen concentration camp and when he came across a young emaciated woman Gena, starving and in rags, he proclaimed that “This is the girl I’m going to marry”. They did marry and had a happy life together with 3 children. She became known as the Bride of Belsen.
All the facts are coded with exclamation marks ranging from ! to !!!, which is an indication of how weird the fact is. !!! being the weirdest. What I found was that it is a useful book to read for a bit of fun but only for short spells. Reading it in a continuous flow, with such diverse information, made it slightly perplexing for me. It’s like a lot of encyclopaedic reference books, they are great and interesting to delve into for short periods, but not as a complete read-through.
If you love titbits of information you’ll love and have fun with this book. My son loves to challenge me with little snippets of information. I have my revenge!
Many thanks to Thistle Publishing Limited and NetGalley for an ARC version of the book in return for an honest review.
Weird War 2 is a collection of totally disparate facts from World War II that range from horrific to humorous, and from recognisable to strange. Most are aimed at being at least slightly weird, and it does reinforce the saying that “truth is stranger than fiction”. The stories cover all regions of conflict in WWII, including the Western front, the Eastern front, North Africa and the Pacific.
It is remarkable how creative and innovative mankind becomes during times of war and how technological advances made during WWI and WWII don't happen at the same pace during peace. The slant of this book is that not all creative solutions were grounded in common sense though. For example, tank-dogs left with a payload of explosives to run under an enemy tank and explode, but most returned to their owners killing more of them than the enemy. There were also plans to use cats, bats, rats and pigeons, and of course, there are always those myths around the Nazi gold, the supernatural, the occult and Sci-Fi advances.
One of the most touching stories is when a young British soldier Norman Turgel who was one of the first to enter the Bergen Belsen concentration camp and when he came across a young emaciated woman Gena, starving and in rags, he proclaimed that “This is the girl I’m going to marry”. They did marry and had a happy life together with 3 children. She became known as the Bride of Belsen.
All the facts are coded with exclamation marks ranging from ! to !!!, which is an indication of how weird the fact is. !!! being the weirdest. What I found was that it is a useful book to read for a bit of fun but only for short spells. Reading it in a continuous flow, with such diverse information, made it slightly perplexing for me. It’s like a lot of encyclopaedic reference books, they are great and interesting to delve into for short periods, but not as a complete read-through.
If you love titbits of information you’ll love and have fun with this book. My son loves to challenge me with little snippets of information. I have my revenge!
Many thanks to Thistle Publishing Limited and NetGalley for an ARC version of the book in return for an honest review.
August 19, 2018
This is a short book with a wide range of diverse facts/stories from WW2 and the many participants in the conflict, and whilst so much is tragic, the main thrust here is to try and concentrate on the strange, weird, and often comic aspects that occurred. Denham admits that not all facts in the war are certain, whilst some facts are not what actually happened but what was reported to be so. Any war, and WW2 is no different, is a scenario where rumours proliferate, and as such were often used as a strategic tool as part of the war effort. For readers that are not familiar with the key pre-war and during WW2 events, a concise summary is provided by the author as a guide.
The elements of the book that made the most impression on me were those involving the use of animals. Animal lovers will be appalled at the deployment of antitank dogs, something that was particularly popular with the Russians who continued with the practice long after the end of the war. There were crazy ideas put forward like that by an American dentist of bat bombs, that were thankfully discarded, as indeed were cat bombs, explosive rats and more. One of the most helpful illusions that many will already be aware of is the American use of Ghost Armies, techniques and tactics used to give the impression to the Germans that huge numbers were being deployed as in the preparation for D-Day. This is an interesting book likely to appeal to history buffs, those with a special interest in WW2 and or those just drawn to the odd and the strange features of the war. Many thanks to Thistle Publishing for an ARC.
The elements of the book that made the most impression on me were those involving the use of animals. Animal lovers will be appalled at the deployment of antitank dogs, something that was particularly popular with the Russians who continued with the practice long after the end of the war. There were crazy ideas put forward like that by an American dentist of bat bombs, that were thankfully discarded, as indeed were cat bombs, explosive rats and more. One of the most helpful illusions that many will already be aware of is the American use of Ghost Armies, techniques and tactics used to give the impression to the Germans that huge numbers were being deployed as in the preparation for D-Day. This is an interesting book likely to appeal to history buffs, those with a special interest in WW2 and or those just drawn to the odd and the strange features of the war. Many thanks to Thistle Publishing for an ARC.
August 9, 2018
The signing of the Treaty of Versailles signaled the end of World War 1. In part, it stipulated that Germany pay reparations of 3.5 billion dollars which would in today's economy be somewhere in the neighborhood of 46 billion dollars. It was never paid.
Some twenty years later, Germany reclaimed some of its land lost through the ravages of war. And if that's not enough, the warring country began to build armaments once again; it knew not peace. To the amazement of the world, the battle-prone country was beginning to flex its military muscles once again. Fool me twice...
Finally, In September, 1939, Germany boldly invaded Poland. The world was in shock. In retaliation, Britain and France declared war on the invader. Notice had been served. It marked the beginning of World War II.
By May, 1941, blanket bombing had been responsible for the senseless death of 40,000 British civilians. Over a million homes were in ruins. Six million people had been exterminated in death camps the likes of Auschwitz, Dachau and Treblinka. At the hands of the merciless Japanese, thousands of British POWs died while building the Burma Railway. To cap it all off, the first use of a nuclear weapon on a civilian population ended the lives of tens of thousands of Japanese bringing the war to a tumultuous end.
Those were all some of the worst, most memorable tragedies that will live on in our minds and hearts for eternity. Out from the rubble of this nightmare, however, arose some of the weirdest, yet, interesting events that never made it into the history books.
In a well-written narrative, Richard Denham brings to light an overflowing assortment of the strangest occurrences to address the war such as: anti-tank dogs, balloon bombs and pigeon missiles, just to name a few. The author revealed countless uncanny events that could best be described as bizarre. This flip side of the war proved to be entertaining.
Contained in this book are a multitude of episodes that just seem too unbelievable to be true, in many cases, absurd would better describe it. If you have an unspoken desire to learn about the uncanny and curious events that baffled the world during World War II, then this is the book for you.
I offer my gratitude to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
Some twenty years later, Germany reclaimed some of its land lost through the ravages of war. And if that's not enough, the warring country began to build armaments once again; it knew not peace. To the amazement of the world, the battle-prone country was beginning to flex its military muscles once again. Fool me twice...
Finally, In September, 1939, Germany boldly invaded Poland. The world was in shock. In retaliation, Britain and France declared war on the invader. Notice had been served. It marked the beginning of World War II.
By May, 1941, blanket bombing had been responsible for the senseless death of 40,000 British civilians. Over a million homes were in ruins. Six million people had been exterminated in death camps the likes of Auschwitz, Dachau and Treblinka. At the hands of the merciless Japanese, thousands of British POWs died while building the Burma Railway. To cap it all off, the first use of a nuclear weapon on a civilian population ended the lives of tens of thousands of Japanese bringing the war to a tumultuous end.
Those were all some of the worst, most memorable tragedies that will live on in our minds and hearts for eternity. Out from the rubble of this nightmare, however, arose some of the weirdest, yet, interesting events that never made it into the history books.
In a well-written narrative, Richard Denham brings to light an overflowing assortment of the strangest occurrences to address the war such as: anti-tank dogs, balloon bombs and pigeon missiles, just to name a few. The author revealed countless uncanny events that could best be described as bizarre. This flip side of the war proved to be entertaining.
Contained in this book are a multitude of episodes that just seem too unbelievable to be true, in many cases, absurd would better describe it. If you have an unspoken desire to learn about the uncanny and curious events that baffled the world during World War II, then this is the book for you.
I offer my gratitude to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
June 11, 2017
This was a fun and informative read. I enjoy the author's ability to switch between admiring, disgusted and funny depending on the subject. Some of the facts and stories are so crazy they are almost unbelievable but they did happen. Things such as the mystery board game, the leningrad orchestra, cryptic cross word and the saint of auschwitz are even slightly spooky. A good punchy book.
November 11, 2016
I review books for the Historical Novel Society and I’ve noticed lately that there are an awful lot of novels coming out about World War II. It is doubtful, though, if most of them have plots nearly as fantastical as many of the true stories of the war.
Weird War 2 is a collection of strange stories about the Nazi party and the war the Nazis brought about. It is no academic study; there is no bibliography or footnotes and undisputed facts appear alongside conjecture and one or two tales that are admitted to be almost certainly false. Even so, my own knowledge of the history of the war suggests that most of the tales are accurate and some of them debunked stories I had always believed to be true but which turn out to have been exaggerations or propaganda. As a source of fascinating facts for the non-specialist, this book is brilliant.
Weird War 2 does rather pander to the modern taste for factoids. Each ‘chapter’ is one story, event, or theme from the war, each given just a page or two. They are arranged in alphabetical order of title, but as the titles are fairly arbitrary (‘The Horizontal Collaborators’ for a piece on the treatment of women in the occupied territories who had taken German lovers; ‘Hurrah for the Blackshirts!’ about the Nazi apologist Lord Rothermere) the result is a random selection of ‘Things you never knew about the War’. (There is a brief but incisive historical introduction for those who aren’t sure what the whole thing was about.) With no index, this will never be a useful work of reference but, for anyone planning World War 2 as their specialist subject in a pub quiz, it’s invaluable.
The format means that significant (and often tragic) items are juxtaposed with the trivial, the farcical and the downright hilarious. An item on the treatment of Black US soldiers by their own Army (scandalous), is followed by a very short item on Hitler’s ‘Night and Fog’ decree, ‘vanishing’ dissidents (horrific) and then a discussion of the Nazi campaign against smoking, which linked smoking and cancer and was remarkably effective over three decades before the Allies belatedly recognised the dangers of the weed.
There are stories about heroic martyrs in the concentration camps and plans to use pigeons to operate guided missiles. Some of the stories seem quite mad but are definitely true: I’ve heard the one about the Allied plan to build aircraft carriers out of ice before and construction was actually started. They’d probably have worked but (as this book fails to mention) their main value would have been to support the D Day landings and they weren’t ready in time.
I found this an ideal book to pick up and read for a few minutes before getting on with something more serious. Those few minutes tended to stretch much longer than intended, though. It’s easy to decide to read ‘just one more’ Richard Denham has an engaging style and a light touch for covering what are often very serious historical details.
Reviewed by guest Reviewer, Author Tom Williams at www.whisperingstories.com
Weird War 2 is a collection of strange stories about the Nazi party and the war the Nazis brought about. It is no academic study; there is no bibliography or footnotes and undisputed facts appear alongside conjecture and one or two tales that are admitted to be almost certainly false. Even so, my own knowledge of the history of the war suggests that most of the tales are accurate and some of them debunked stories I had always believed to be true but which turn out to have been exaggerations or propaganda. As a source of fascinating facts for the non-specialist, this book is brilliant.
Weird War 2 does rather pander to the modern taste for factoids. Each ‘chapter’ is one story, event, or theme from the war, each given just a page or two. They are arranged in alphabetical order of title, but as the titles are fairly arbitrary (‘The Horizontal Collaborators’ for a piece on the treatment of women in the occupied territories who had taken German lovers; ‘Hurrah for the Blackshirts!’ about the Nazi apologist Lord Rothermere) the result is a random selection of ‘Things you never knew about the War’. (There is a brief but incisive historical introduction for those who aren’t sure what the whole thing was about.) With no index, this will never be a useful work of reference but, for anyone planning World War 2 as their specialist subject in a pub quiz, it’s invaluable.
The format means that significant (and often tragic) items are juxtaposed with the trivial, the farcical and the downright hilarious. An item on the treatment of Black US soldiers by their own Army (scandalous), is followed by a very short item on Hitler’s ‘Night and Fog’ decree, ‘vanishing’ dissidents (horrific) and then a discussion of the Nazi campaign against smoking, which linked smoking and cancer and was remarkably effective over three decades before the Allies belatedly recognised the dangers of the weed.
There are stories about heroic martyrs in the concentration camps and plans to use pigeons to operate guided missiles. Some of the stories seem quite mad but are definitely true: I’ve heard the one about the Allied plan to build aircraft carriers out of ice before and construction was actually started. They’d probably have worked but (as this book fails to mention) their main value would have been to support the D Day landings and they weren’t ready in time.
I found this an ideal book to pick up and read for a few minutes before getting on with something more serious. Those few minutes tended to stretch much longer than intended, though. It’s easy to decide to read ‘just one more’ Richard Denham has an engaging style and a light touch for covering what are often very serious historical details.
Reviewed by guest Reviewer, Author Tom Williams at www.whisperingstories.com
August 8, 2018
World War II has long held a morbid sort of fascination for me. And why I attempt to explain this fascination I come up with something like…it is the perfect microcosm of good and evil from the recent past. It’s a time that’s produced some of the most compelling dramatic works of historical fiction, but also giving credence to the maxim, when it comes to WWII the truth has always been stranger than fiction. This is a collection of such truths (strange, bizarre and credulity stretching as they are), presented and told with an anecdote like quality. The author deliberately threads lightly in some very dark territories, making this a relatively easy read despite the heavy subject matter. It’s prefaced by M.J. Trow’s succinct account of WWII summary to provide readers less familiar with the war a basic outline. I’ve read a lot on the subject and have watched tons of educational programs, so many of these stories were familiar, but there were still some interesting new things. The volume is slim and each story is only a few pages, it’s probably made for dipping in and out off, not plowing through the entire thing in two sittings, but it’s easy to get through either way and informational in an entertaining manner. The version from Netgalley had some typos, nothing too distracting, presumably this’ll be taken care off for the final publication. Fans of historical nonfiction angling toward brevity should enjoy this one. Thanks Netgalley.
September 23, 2018
Netgalley #75
Many thanks go to Richard Denham, Thistle, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
This was certainly a unique twist to a fact based WWII account. All major movers have tales to tell-Axis and Ally. Many of them seem way too kooky to really be true; some are awe inspiring. How he dug up these little tidbits I’ll never understand; that would have been nice to know. I think I would have liked it if they would have been organized somehow too. But this was a quick read and good for that rare trivia fact to pull out at a party.
Many thanks go to Richard Denham, Thistle, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
This was certainly a unique twist to a fact based WWII account. All major movers have tales to tell-Axis and Ally. Many of them seem way too kooky to really be true; some are awe inspiring. How he dug up these little tidbits I’ll never understand; that would have been nice to know. I think I would have liked it if they would have been organized somehow too. But this was a quick read and good for that rare trivia fact to pull out at a party.
June 1, 2019
The publisher invited me to review this book and I relented six months ago despite a towering review pile. Now that I’m reviewing again after a hiatus, so glad I agreed because this book lives up to its title and more. I learned so many bizarre facts about this conflict that has always drawn my attention, as it seemed the epitome of good vs. evil. If you love history as I do, or just want to “snack” on off-the-wall WWII tidbits, WIERD WAR 2 is definitely for you! 4 of 5 stars
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine. Pub Date 06 Sep 2018. #WeirdWarTwo #NetGalley
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine. Pub Date 06 Sep 2018. #WeirdWarTwo #NetGalley
October 7, 2018
The war, though we dislike it quite a bit, is sometimes laughable, you must admit – A.P.Herbert Badogliovski.
I like to thank Thistle publishing for sending me a copy of Weird War 2 for reading and review. The book is around 166 pages and can be read in one day but reading a chapter a day is best method to remember most of the known and unknown events presented in the book.
The author Richard Denham in the start has provided a concise summary of pre war and World War 2 events which will familiarize the reader.
As I said earlier there are many events which will escape from our memory. Below are some from my memory.
The author mentions about the superweapons used by Nazi’s V1 (cruise missile) and V2 (worlds first long range guided ballistic missile)
The Weird War 2 book does not have only the gory and humorous side of war but also a heart touching story, chapter on Bride of Belsen, a British soldier during the end of the war entered the concentration camp in Bergen Belsen and he came across a skeletal woman named Gena, he told to himself that this is the girl he is going to marry. Later that soldier married her and they lived happily with three children. Gena is known as the Bride of Belsen.
A soldier who had the opportunity to kill Hitler in World War I and he did not pull the trigger as he felt pity on seeing the condition of injured Hitler. Later he regretted.
The humorous side of the book, Russians plan of using dogs to destroy the German tanks. The dogs fitted with explosives were sent to blow up, instead most of the dogs returned to the owner thereby killing the soldiers. An US invention of Bat bombs which did not go well according to the plan. Ghost armies, creating an illusion of assembling of armies with mock tanks and other arsenals to deceive Germany.
A weird fact that Tsutomu Yamaguchi is the only person acknowledged by the Japanese government to have survived the nightmare of the atomic blasts of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And a Japanese soldier who did not know that the war has ended still fought the US for a decade and surrendered.
Another unknown event is after Germany surrender, the allies and the Germans fought together to capture one castle.
A good book for world war II buffs, to gain more info it is advisable to re-read the book.
With images and more of the review click the link below.
http://www.chromaring.com/2018/10/wei...
August 28, 2018
One of those books filled with zany facts and weird stories around the build up to and duration of World War II.
A wonderful introduction set it all in context so that the light humorous tales don’t diminish the horrors of this time of conflict and unimaginable deaths.
Some interesting subjects are covered and wider reading prior to this and items seen on TV are familiar. Most are crazy and incredible but demonstrate that sometimes only with the distance of time can they be understood.
I liked the speculation about why the public were allowed to or led to believe misleading information. At a time when much could be controlled the control of facts are fiction was vital for the war effort.
There is something for everyone here from the last Japanese soldier to surrender to the use of animals to gain an advantage.
Each subject has a brief summary and explanation under a title. Each title is presented in alphabetical order.
In passing it speaks clearly about Fascism being a strong factor in anti-Communist alliances and the reality of such views in Great Britain at the time of Hitler’s rise to power. It also has themes of appeasement and that America coming to our aid not a given.
I was also angered that our war debt to America was not repaid until long after the war ended.
Perhaps not a book to be read in one sitting but coffee table book to dip into; certainly an alternative to nothing on the box. The subjects here could raise some interesting conversations like Henry Ford was a fan of Mr Hitler - discuss!
Plenty here to relax you and get your brain going. From the role of secret weapons to spies.
A good addition to the stranger facts around this period, in comic tones but never belittling the sacrifice, loss or terrible events at this time.
A wonderful introduction set it all in context so that the light humorous tales don’t diminish the horrors of this time of conflict and unimaginable deaths.
Some interesting subjects are covered and wider reading prior to this and items seen on TV are familiar. Most are crazy and incredible but demonstrate that sometimes only with the distance of time can they be understood.
I liked the speculation about why the public were allowed to or led to believe misleading information. At a time when much could be controlled the control of facts are fiction was vital for the war effort.
There is something for everyone here from the last Japanese soldier to surrender to the use of animals to gain an advantage.
Each subject has a brief summary and explanation under a title. Each title is presented in alphabetical order.
In passing it speaks clearly about Fascism being a strong factor in anti-Communist alliances and the reality of such views in Great Britain at the time of Hitler’s rise to power. It also has themes of appeasement and that America coming to our aid not a given.
I was also angered that our war debt to America was not repaid until long after the war ended.
Perhaps not a book to be read in one sitting but coffee table book to dip into; certainly an alternative to nothing on the box. The subjects here could raise some interesting conversations like Henry Ford was a fan of Mr Hitler - discuss!
Plenty here to relax you and get your brain going. From the role of secret weapons to spies.
A good addition to the stranger facts around this period, in comic tones but never belittling the sacrifice, loss or terrible events at this time.
December 11, 2021
I'm not sure why, but WW two has always held a certain odd fascination for me. I never had any grandpa's talk about it, nor any family members. Dan, "my other half" has always watched or read everything about this damn war. Truth is that Paul Harvey had a segment or two of strange stories and that may have been what done it. War is abominable. The war to end all wars, is a phrase that always rings in my mind. Soon after, it was the 2nd. So, quite honestly, "Im guessing" there just wasn't enough death and destruction to satisfy power hungry mother effers. Because Aryans? Hmm. Then conflicts, then.....Men and their mindless killing has been going on since the dawn of humankind. These stories were both amusing and terrible. Terrible because they shouldn't have happened at all. Still, somehow funny because in the midst of the horrible, sometimes funny happens. Maybe, just maybe that's what gets us through the bad.
December 4, 2018
Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
This is not an academic study; there is no bibliography or footnotes. The author himself states that there will be no reference to historical sources. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it. World War Two is such a heavy topic, we have a war that took nearly 50 million lives (civilian and military), cause so much heartache, destruction and really showed the worst of humanity.
With so many millions involved, the rumour machine went into overdrive, tall stories built on fear of the unknown. It’s full of strange anecdotes and facts that keep you reading onto the next one. Parachuting Sheep? Pilot Pigeons? Rifles that fire round corners? Men who never were? You will find them all here, the weird, wonderful and barely believable of World War Two.
I really enjoyed it and I think any history buff would find this a thrilling read as I did!
3.5 stars
This is not an academic study; there is no bibliography or footnotes. The author himself states that there will be no reference to historical sources. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it. World War Two is such a heavy topic, we have a war that took nearly 50 million lives (civilian and military), cause so much heartache, destruction and really showed the worst of humanity.
With so many millions involved, the rumour machine went into overdrive, tall stories built on fear of the unknown. It’s full of strange anecdotes and facts that keep you reading onto the next one. Parachuting Sheep? Pilot Pigeons? Rifles that fire round corners? Men who never were? You will find them all here, the weird, wonderful and barely believable of World War Two.
I really enjoyed it and I think any history buff would find this a thrilling read as I did!
3.5 stars
August 9, 2018
A fascinating collection of World War II historical facts & fictions laced with examples of propaganda and outright lies. Students of the Second World War will recognise some of these brief stories but nonetheless there will be scores of others which are new to many.
There are tales of super weapons which, thankfully, were never made, the use of birds, bats, cats, dogs and other animals as weapons or mascots, strange plans which failed to get beyond the drawing board and spy stories mixed with some of the more disturbing events on World War II, such as the Japanese Army's use of "comfort women" from the female populations of Korea and China (a fact that the Japanese Government still denied in the 21st Century) and the horrific experiments carried out by German and Japanese military.
However, most of these very brief stories (most of them only a few paragraphs long) are very entertaining and some of them will even make the reader smile. This book also proves that "fake news" is nothing new and that “In war, truth is the first casualty.”
There are tales of super weapons which, thankfully, were never made, the use of birds, bats, cats, dogs and other animals as weapons or mascots, strange plans which failed to get beyond the drawing board and spy stories mixed with some of the more disturbing events on World War II, such as the Japanese Army's use of "comfort women" from the female populations of Korea and China (a fact that the Japanese Government still denied in the 21st Century) and the horrific experiments carried out by German and Japanese military.
However, most of these very brief stories (most of them only a few paragraphs long) are very entertaining and some of them will even make the reader smile. This book also proves that "fake news" is nothing new and that “In war, truth is the first casualty.”
February 14, 2019
2/52 books read in 2019.
Provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Weird War Two is a collection of anecdotes about the Second World War. They are sorted in alphabetical order and above each story you can find a representation of the weirdness factor, from one to three exclamation points.
Personally, I would have sorted the stories by this weirdness factor; ending the book with the most bizarre story the writer could find, but this was a pleasant way to read them and it will be easy to find a specific story when you want or need to.
History is a subject that I have always enjoyed, so this was right up my alley. Most of the stories were new to me and they all highlighted how we, as people living in a peaceful time, have no clue what living during a war and surviving during a war entails.
I especially liked the stories about deception. Trying to deceive your enemies seems like a difficult task, but some people clearly succeeded and had some spectacular stories to tell afterwards.
Provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Weird War Two is a collection of anecdotes about the Second World War. They are sorted in alphabetical order and above each story you can find a representation of the weirdness factor, from one to three exclamation points.
Personally, I would have sorted the stories by this weirdness factor; ending the book with the most bizarre story the writer could find, but this was a pleasant way to read them and it will be easy to find a specific story when you want or need to.
History is a subject that I have always enjoyed, so this was right up my alley. Most of the stories were new to me and they all highlighted how we, as people living in a peaceful time, have no clue what living during a war and surviving during a war entails.
I especially liked the stories about deception. Trying to deceive your enemies seems like a difficult task, but some people clearly succeeded and had some spectacular stories to tell afterwards.
September 10, 2018
It seems that there is no end to the publishing cottage industry that is books on World War Two. There are tomes and tomes brought out every year and one wonders whether one day we’ll reach saturation point - that there’ll be nothing left to say or the reading public will just get bored. I doubt we’re there yet as this title, Weird War Two is testament.
A collection of weird facts and stories from the second world, some more definitely concrete, some more myth, this is a very readable book that’s easy to dip into. To be sure nothing here is new as such, the author hasn’t trawled through recently released archives to discover some surprising and long buried revelation; nor has he interviewed elderly survivors of a previously unknown massacre (I don’t think he has at any rate). But he doesn’t claim to. Instead he has collected little known factoids, some amusing, some strange, some sinister, but all what might be described as a little weird (hence the title).
Despite the fact that I doubt any of it is new as such (and Googling a few examples that I didn’t know of, I wasn’t surprised to find they were indeed already known), it’s unlikely readers won’t learn something here. For an explanatory subtitle could well read: “little known and surprising facts of World War Two.” I doubt many know for example that the Russian strapped explosives to dogs trained to run under German tanks or that the Japanese tied bombs to balloons and then sent them on their way to the US west coast. Other ideas for bomb delivery included bats and cats (both of which in the end were never utilised).
It’s not just bombs that the author writes about. The Nazi’s obsession with the occult has been debated for decades – and has led to numerous appearances in mass entertainment, from Indiana Jones to Marvel’s Captain America – but whereas Hollywood might exaggerate the Nazi’s interest, what is known and revealed here is that Heydrich Himmler sponsored an exhibition to find the descendants of Atlantis. There are more sinister section two, aspects of the holocaust and the Nazi’s vicious anti-Semitism are dealt with, as is Unit 731, the Japanese military germ warfare department which murdered thousands of allied POWs in experiments. While the title and concept of this book might seem relatively light-hearted, I must credit the author with treating these aspects with the seriousness and sensitivity that they deserve and at no point does he treat the atrocities committed with flippancy.
As mentioned, Weird War Two is a compendium and each chapter are self-contained factoids. This makes it a perfect book for dipping in and out of. There are many deeper and more weighty tomes on the war but for a quick and easy read, and one that will teach even the most knowledgeable a thing or two, this is highly recommended.
A collection of weird facts and stories from the second world, some more definitely concrete, some more myth, this is a very readable book that’s easy to dip into. To be sure nothing here is new as such, the author hasn’t trawled through recently released archives to discover some surprising and long buried revelation; nor has he interviewed elderly survivors of a previously unknown massacre (I don’t think he has at any rate). But he doesn’t claim to. Instead he has collected little known factoids, some amusing, some strange, some sinister, but all what might be described as a little weird (hence the title).
Despite the fact that I doubt any of it is new as such (and Googling a few examples that I didn’t know of, I wasn’t surprised to find they were indeed already known), it’s unlikely readers won’t learn something here. For an explanatory subtitle could well read: “little known and surprising facts of World War Two.” I doubt many know for example that the Russian strapped explosives to dogs trained to run under German tanks or that the Japanese tied bombs to balloons and then sent them on their way to the US west coast. Other ideas for bomb delivery included bats and cats (both of which in the end were never utilised).
It’s not just bombs that the author writes about. The Nazi’s obsession with the occult has been debated for decades – and has led to numerous appearances in mass entertainment, from Indiana Jones to Marvel’s Captain America – but whereas Hollywood might exaggerate the Nazi’s interest, what is known and revealed here is that Heydrich Himmler sponsored an exhibition to find the descendants of Atlantis. There are more sinister section two, aspects of the holocaust and the Nazi’s vicious anti-Semitism are dealt with, as is Unit 731, the Japanese military germ warfare department which murdered thousands of allied POWs in experiments. While the title and concept of this book might seem relatively light-hearted, I must credit the author with treating these aspects with the seriousness and sensitivity that they deserve and at no point does he treat the atrocities committed with flippancy.
As mentioned, Weird War Two is a compendium and each chapter are self-contained factoids. This makes it a perfect book for dipping in and out of. There are many deeper and more weighty tomes on the war but for a quick and easy read, and one that will teach even the most knowledgeable a thing or two, this is highly recommended.
August 24, 2018
Thank you Thistle publishing for offering me this advanced copy of Weird War Two for review. Many books have been written about World War II and this book is not another book regurgitating the same material from different author's perspective. Needless to say WWII was gruesome with uncountable lives lost and psychological trauma suffered for years by those who survived. The echoes of this war was felt in all aspects be it economical, social, cultural, personal, political, psychological, and on and on the list goes. During those times of hardship and unbelievable tragedy there were some anecdotes and events that momentarily made you forget the suffering and made you laugh out loud. This book is a collection of such anecdotes and events that were too trivial to gain attention and were sidelined by past authors and scholars. Some are plain weird, some made you question the sanity of those leading this war and some are outright ridiculous. It is a quick read with each anecdote not more than a page and half in length. If you are a WWII historian or simple looking to get a better understanding of the mindset of those who lived during those times, pick up this book and have a good laugh and learn a thing or two along the way. You may need to do fact checking for yourself but hey, like I said this book is collection of ridiculous and borderline unbelievable anecdotes and events so who cares. about facts. Read anyways.
September 6, 2018
This is the kind of history book that gets people interested in history. I found a lot of the information fascinating (i.e. the hydrogen balloons the Japanese used to bomb the West coast of the US, killing several - I’d never heard of that before!). I do wish that the information had been organized a bit better - for example, there were a decent amount of animal related facts that could have been put one after the other instead of interspersed throughout the book. There were a couple of typos (“for ever” should be “forever,” “Leutnant” should have been “Lieutenant,” etc.). I think reorganizing the book into proper sections could make an already good book greater. I would have liked more information about Japan, but understand that you have to be selective about what you do or don’t put in a book. I looked up a couple of the facts to see if they were accurate and it seems like the author did a good job of putting in accurate information while acknowledging that some may be myths. I really like the title of the book - I found it to be quite clever. There were many weird things mentioned in this book, but in a good way. If more of this kind of information was sprinkled in during history classes I think we’d have a better educated population due to increased interest.
September 20, 2016
I don’t know where to start! It’s full of strange anecdotes and facts that keep you reading onto the next one. A fantastic informative brilliantly written book. I’m struggling to find words to describe it. Weird War 2 will have you absorbed and wanting to shout out to those around you what you have just read.
I know I will be sharing this book with my mum as I’m sure she will find some of these hard to believe.
It’s great for quick read. Also easy to pick up where you left off if you need to put it down (which I’m sure you won’t!)
What I love about the book is that although they are described as facts, the truth be told that it’s not known for certain whether they did happen. But for in my own little world I would have loved for them all to be true.
So here’s my favourite fact in the book. It’s called Fanta – a German drink made from leftover’s of leftover’s that resemble’s ginger ale but was actually made from whey and apple pomace. Definitely not the Fanta we know today!
I thoroughly recommend this book to World War 2 buffs and also those who love to read plain weird things.
I know I will be sharing this book with my mum as I’m sure she will find some of these hard to believe.
It’s great for quick read. Also easy to pick up where you left off if you need to put it down (which I’m sure you won’t!)
What I love about the book is that although they are described as facts, the truth be told that it’s not known for certain whether they did happen. But for in my own little world I would have loved for them all to be true.
So here’s my favourite fact in the book. It’s called Fanta – a German drink made from leftover’s of leftover’s that resemble’s ginger ale but was actually made from whey and apple pomace. Definitely not the Fanta we know today!
I thoroughly recommend this book to World War 2 buffs and also those who love to read plain weird things.
August 20, 2018
Thank you NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for the eARC.
A fascinating and quick read with some astonishing facts and stories (perhaps true, perhaps embellished?) of WWII.
My father was in a German camp for most of the war, and, when rescued, at 6 feet tall, only 98 lbs. He told me many stories, some horrendous, some surprisingly funny. He said he never laughed as much in his life because of the antics he and some of the men got up to. It was either that or total despondency. The other thing that amazed me was that he and many of the other men asked for cigarettes rather than food upon their rescue!
This book is both funny and sad. It makes you wonder 'what the heck were they thinking!?' The stories of the use of animals gave me the creeps and stories like the poor man who kept getting shot in the butt made me laugh (guiltily). One can only shake one's head at the thought processes of the supposedly sane men who came up with those ridiculous strategies...It beggars belief!
Highly recommended for history buffs and anyone who is interested in WWII, or anyone who loves a great read.
A fascinating and quick read with some astonishing facts and stories (perhaps true, perhaps embellished?) of WWII.
My father was in a German camp for most of the war, and, when rescued, at 6 feet tall, only 98 lbs. He told me many stories, some horrendous, some surprisingly funny. He said he never laughed as much in his life because of the antics he and some of the men got up to. It was either that or total despondency. The other thing that amazed me was that he and many of the other men asked for cigarettes rather than food upon their rescue!
This book is both funny and sad. It makes you wonder 'what the heck were they thinking!?' The stories of the use of animals gave me the creeps and stories like the poor man who kept getting shot in the butt made me laugh (guiltily). One can only shake one's head at the thought processes of the supposedly sane men who came up with those ridiculous strategies...It beggars belief!
Highly recommended for history buffs and anyone who is interested in WWII, or anyone who loves a great read.
November 21, 2018
When I saw this title I just knew I had to pick it up, I already knew of some weird facts about WWII (a couple of which were in this book), but I was perfectly happy to add to my mental collection of odd facts. There were so many odd, and frankly unbelievable, rumours that spread around during this time, along with some very weird tactics used by both sides!
It's a very short book, and I don't want to spoil the oddities within, so there's not much that I can talk about here. However, I will say that it is an interesting and easy read. There are weird facts from multiple different countries from within both the Allies and Axis, some are sad, some are silly and some are just interesting. If you at all care about WWII or want to widen your knowledge about it then this would be a good one to pick up.
I gave this book 3/5 stars, thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this book in return for an unbiased and honest review.
From my blog: autumnofpellinor.wordpress.com
It's a very short book, and I don't want to spoil the oddities within, so there's not much that I can talk about here. However, I will say that it is an interesting and easy read. There are weird facts from multiple different countries from within both the Allies and Axis, some are sad, some are silly and some are just interesting. If you at all care about WWII or want to widen your knowledge about it then this would be a good one to pick up.
I gave this book 3/5 stars, thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this book in return for an unbiased and honest review.
From my blog: autumnofpellinor.wordpress.com
August 24, 2018
Great book of strange facts and stories of WW 11. I have read other books about this, but I think think this is one of the best because there are facts included with the weird. I loved it. My husband who is a huge history buff had not heard about of most of these stories. So basically I read some of this book out loud so he could hear it. He plans to buy it so he can read the rest of it. There are many stories about Hitler and the Nazi's. They were sad and terrible. Balloon bombs and blow up dolls made me snicker a little. This book has so !much in it that you never knew but wish you had. Yes, I would totally buy it. I received this book from Net Galley and Thistle Publishing for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.
October 7, 2018
Princess Fuzzypants here: This is the type of book that would be excellent when you want to read a couple of short snippets and then put it aside, It is filled with stories from all sides. As a student of the era, there were a few times when I may have disagreed with some of the facts but it is an easy read with lots of information.
Some of the stories do meet the “weird” factor but some just seem a bit odd. Perhaps part of my problem is many of the things discussed were things I knew already. So if you are looking for a weighty tome, this is not it.
If you are looking for a quick read that is entertaining, check it out. I give two paws up and four purrs.
Some of the stories do meet the “weird” factor but some just seem a bit odd. Perhaps part of my problem is many of the things discussed were things I knew already. So if you are looking for a weighty tome, this is not it.
If you are looking for a quick read that is entertaining, check it out. I give two paws up and four purrs.
October 17, 2018
Having been raised with more first hand accounts from many sides of WW2, I have always found it interesting to hear a new side's account of the war. This one is the British view and as sad, entertaining, and strange as the rest. Any one interested in WW2 will enjoy this book. Loads of tales, none are verified as factual, but all are insightful and fascinating. Might make great gift for a WW2 vet. Wonderful collection! Gives another view of the war.
I received a Kindle ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
I received a Kindle ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
August 26, 2018
We all know the stories and the horrors of World War 2 but this book brings you lesser known stories of the weird and wonderful and sometimes funny things that also happened during this horrible period of history. There are stories of bravery, cruelty and downright stupidity all mixed with some humorous stories. This is a totally different read to the normal books on the subject.
February 24, 2023
Fascinatingly fun and informative. I felt like I learnt more from this than I have ever learnt. From the beginning saying how we have rose tinted glasses to those days and then the introduction I was hooked. It’s a subject that is relevant, recent and should be a reminder. This book gives a whole new view to the World War Two
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
September 23, 2018
Quick and easy read about World War 2. Includes the myths, rumors and truth during that crazy time. This is an overview of the war. It does not get into the details of events. A great place to start looking at World War 2.
September 24, 2018
A fun little smorgasbord of vignettes telling tales of weird and wonderful coincidences and oddities that appeared during the Second World War. Easy to read, but with no real point other than diversion.
October 1, 2018
Weird War Two Strange Facts and Tales from the World's Weirdest Conflict is an interesting read. I give it four stars.
August 25, 2019
Thank you to the publishers for providing an ARC of this book through NetGalley.
I think the best description of this book would be adult Horrible Histories. It was pretty good, and it really was weird.
I think the best description of this book would be adult Horrible Histories. It was pretty good, and it really was weird.
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