Undercover Tales of World War II

by William B. Breuer

Critical acclaim for William B. Breuer "A first-class historian." --The Wall Street Journal Vendetta! "A wealth of insights."--Los Angeles Times Book Review Unexplained Mysteries of World War II "Anyone interested in twists of fate should find this book fascinating." --Library Journal Feuding Allies "A valuable resource . highly recommended."--Booklist
* A bloc of hard-core American Nazis carries out elaborate plans to sabotage war efforts and keep the United States neutral.
* A wily Japanese "tailor" single-handedly steals the secrets to the United States Gray Code.
* A French boy and his "blind" music teacher penetrate, in broad daylight, the German forbidden zone at Port-en-Bessein.
Just beneath the surface of the legendary events of World War II lurks a vast, shadowy, high-stakes realm of espionage and intelligence, where the most successful operations are the ones we've never heard about . until now. With his trademark blend of dynamic storytelling and meticulous detail, William Breuer reveals seventy clandestine operations that affected the course of the war. Vivid and fast-paced, this far-reaching treasury of vanishing spies, mysterious kidnappings, and bizarre subplots is a unique and riveting addition to the World War II literature.

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

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 1999

About the author

William B. Breuer landed with the first assault waves in Normandy on D-Day (June 6, 1944), then fought across Europe. Later, he founded a daily newspaper on a string in Rolla, Missouri, and after that, a highly successful public relations firm in St. Louis, Missouri. He had been writing books full time since 1982

Reviews

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading about World War II always fascinates me, but I was especially intrigued learning about the espionage and intelligence that went on behind the scenes, and things that you have never heard about. It was fascinating to read about how various and seemingly unrelated underground events came to shape the outcome of the climatic struggle of the 20th century. (And it was fairly easy to read- broken into 6 parts and many stories within the parts).

[Dave Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many short stories of spies on both sides before and during WW2 Some very brave men took great risks to end the war. Also tales of enemy spying in the 1930's in our country, while the USA slept.

[Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book as it shows stories from undercover agents on both sides of the war. This is a great book to use to get students engaged as they will feel more connected with the topic, as well as you could do a jigsaw with this book as a way to help students learn material.

[Katie Marino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I know how true to life Hogan's Heroes was!

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is certainly an ok book. It's written in rather Reader's Digest-like fashion with tidbits about various secret operations which took place on both sides during the war, almost entirely about the European campaign, with a little about North Africa. The are lots of entries, most no more than a couple of pages. A lot of these are summarized versions of stories taken from various histories, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, The Game of Foxes, Hitler's Spies, etc. Some of the stories are from the author's files, whatever that means. Although the stories are all documented, this book is to be dipped into by the average reader rather than a scholar. The organization is such that one might think of reading it straight through, but the organization, although somewhat chronological, doesn't really lend itself to that. So, some interesting stories, and in some cases one would really like to know a lot more.

[Ruppert Baird · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting stories, but there are numerous issues.

Translations are inconsistent, and there are errors in names, spelling of names, a lack of consistency in examples and comparisons, as well as others. Chapters end abruptly with no context on more than a few occasions.

The most egregious is the chapter "The Dogs of Torigni," which is a story established as a hoax in the 1950's (this edition was printed in 1999).

Despite Breuer's extensive resume' of more than 2 dozen books, it's difficult to know what is accurate and truthful in this book, and what is not, especially considering that many of these stories aren't verifiable, even on the internet.

[Joyce]

Aspiring screenwriters could do worse than troll this essay collection for inspiration. Whether it's a female Navy cryptanalyst who toiled for three years to crack the Japanese Blue code, or a Japanese spy who personally swam around Pearl Harbor checking for antisubmarine nets, or the pilot of a mini-submarine trying to blow up a warship... in World War II, espionage entailed the kind of grueling physical activity that makes for good movie scripts. These saboteurs and spies weren't looking stuff up on Wikipedia to get information, they were out in the field earning it the hard way.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would have been more interesting if the stories could have been better researched and had more details in the stories. Overrated if you believe the book cover.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

good writing and very interesting true stories

[ThomasAD · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is off the beaten path. None of the typical stories make it into this collection. Readers are likely to be learning of these stories for the first time.

[Jbussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool amusing sometimes unbelievable short stories of WWII.