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Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army
by
Your mission: Find Victor Dowd’s missing sketchbook. And discover one of the most unusual stories of World War II.
Meet the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, better known as the Ghost Army. This group of artists and sound engineers were trained to deceive the Germans in World War II with everything from fake tanks to loudspeakers broadcasting the sound of marching troops. And me ...more
Meet the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, better known as the Ghost Army. This group of artists and sound engineers were trained to deceive the Germans in World War II with everything from fake tanks to loudspeakers broadcasting the sound of marching troops. And me ...more
Hardcover, 96 pages
Published
January 23rd 2018
by Workman Publishing Company
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Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army
Not too many people know about the Ghost Army and what they did during the war, but they played an very important part in the Allied victory. In this second book in the Spy On History series, readers meet Sergeant Victor Dowd, a Brooklyn boy, was hand picked by the Army to become part of the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, a/k/a the Ghost Army.
Victor, along with the rest of the hand picked members of the Ghost Army, had been chosen because of their artistic talents. After basic training, the members ...more
Victor, along with the rest of the hand picked members of the Ghost Army, had been chosen because of their artistic talents. After basic training, the members ...more
Very interesting. It kept my attention. I read it in one sitting.
I loved how the history was presented in this book. It was easy to read and digest. However, my son was more concerned about solving the mystery with the cool spy tools. He might have enjoyed it a bit more if he were a little older. We haven't figured out the answer yet, but when we do, I'll post an update.
...more
Upper elementary and middle grade fans of history will enjoy reading about the Ghost Army that was used in the European theater during WWII to fool Hitler's troops into thinking they knew where the Allied forces were, but in reality, they were only seeing inflatable mock ups and hearing dramatized radio contacts! Even those who are reluctant to read will likely be drawn in by the excellent illustrations and will be encouraged by the manageable length. Teachers covering WWII could easily incorpor
...more
Learning about the Ghost Army (603rd Camouflage Engineers) who used their art talents to trick the German army away from the real army was exciting and to top it off, there are real spycraft tools in the book to help break a code so the reader can find Victor Dowd's hidden sketchbook.
The graphic novel type illustrations and subtle mix of fonts adds to the entire package! School and public libraries may want to consider how they will keep the spycraft tools intact. ...more
The graphic novel type illustrations and subtle mix of fonts adds to the entire package! School and public libraries may want to consider how they will keep the spycraft tools intact. ...more
My Thoughts-
The book is all tell, tell, tell. Almost like a travel dialogue. There is a narrator that goes over what Victor Dowd and his troops went through during the war, and while the facts are very interesting (I didn't even know about the Ghost Army) the story is bland. There is no showing, no getting into the character of Victor, no emotions. I don't think a typical middle grade reader will get past the first several pages of details. It's a non-fiction book trying to read like a fictional ...more
The book is all tell, tell, tell. Almost like a travel dialogue. There is a narrator that goes over what Victor Dowd and his troops went through during the war, and while the facts are very interesting (I didn't even know about the Ghost Army) the story is bland. There is no showing, no getting into the character of Victor, no emotions. I don't think a typical middle grade reader will get past the first several pages of details. It's a non-fiction book trying to read like a fictional ...more
We read and loved "Spy on History: Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring", and were excited to see another book in the series!
"Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army" tells a story about Sergeant Vic Dowd, an Allied soldier helping to push the Nazis out of France just after D-Day. The Ghost Army was tasked with drawing German fire away from the main invasion force, as a diversion.
The Ghost Army is a true story - although it's existence wasn't declassified until 1996, so ma ...more
"Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army" tells a story about Sergeant Vic Dowd, an Allied soldier helping to push the Nazis out of France just after D-Day. The Ghost Army was tasked with drawing German fire away from the main invasion force, as a diversion.
The Ghost Army is a true story - although it's existence wasn't declassified until 1996, so ma ...more
Aug 04, 2017
Anita
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
action,
ages-9-12,
history,
middle-grade,
mystery,
netgalley,
nonfiction,
world-war-ll,
cipher
Enigma Alberti's Spy on History: Victor Down and the World War II Ghost Story is an incredible, almost unbelievable bit of WW II history that wasn't declassified until 1996. Specially trained artists and sound engineers used inflatable tanks, camouflage, recordings of troops and trucks on the march, fake radio transmissions, and their sheer wits to convince the Germans that a mass of American troops were setting up camp. The knew they were successful if they were shelled by the enemy! Their miss
...more
I can't say enough good things about the Spy on History series (first book was on Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring)--I wish it had been around sooner. I often do library/teacher convention talks on how to reach reluctant readers, and this is a perfect example of a non-fiction title that would bridge the gap between fiction and non-fiction for kids who may not like to read.
The story is one of those footnote-in-history ones, about engineers tasked with deceiving the Germans in WWII. We foll ...more
The story is one of those footnote-in-history ones, about engineers tasked with deceiving the Germans in WWII. We foll ...more
I liked this quite a bit, and I think many kids will love it. It's a fascinating story that was only declassified in the 1990s, and it's kind of a crazy thing. Only 3 stars for the book, though, because of a few nitpicks: it got a bit repetitive; referring to grown women as "girls" is annoying; and at one point the book states that there were "only a handful of Germans left in France," when there were plenty of Germans left. In a book for kids, the phrase "only a handful" should mean a handful,
...more
Jun 26, 2018
JoLee
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
2018,
e-book,
intellectual-recreation,
middle-grade,
review-copy,
non-fiction,
world-war-ii
Featured on World War II Wednesday on Intellectual Recreation.
The Spy on History books are a great way to engage young readers. With plenty of illustrations and a mystery for the readers to solve, the story will keep young readers interested.
I've been fascinated by the Ghost Army ever since I first learned of it. The 603rd Camouflage Engineers, better known as the Ghost Army, concocted elaborate ruses to fool the Germans, impersonating full divisions with fake tanks, artillery, and broadcast s ...more
The Spy on History books are a great way to engage young readers. With plenty of illustrations and a mystery for the readers to solve, the story will keep young readers interested.
I've been fascinated by the Ghost Army ever since I first learned of it. The 603rd Camouflage Engineers, better known as the Ghost Army, concocted elaborate ruses to fool the Germans, impersonating full divisions with fake tanks, artillery, and broadcast s ...more
I've always enjoyed codes and ciphers, so I decided to pick this book up. I'm not the target demographic (university student), but still learned a few things about the Ghost Army while reading through the story and I had fun solving the mystery. It's not a difficult mystery and there are times where the same clue points to the same hint, so you can miss some clues and still solve it. The code-breaking trinkets were also a nice touch.
The story took about 30 minutes for me to read, and the code-br ...more
The story took about 30 minutes for me to read, and the code-br ...more
This was fun even though I stink at decoding. If you have a history or spy buff in your life, hand this book to him or her. Profusely illustrated in black, grey and red, the breezy narrative is punctuated with bold and enlarged typography and symbols. There are clues embedded throughout the book from the map at the front through the copyright page all the way to the end. There's an envelope containing four items needed to break the codes, which may be a challenge getting back for libraries. Back
...more
Wow! Great story for any age. The history of World War 2 told in this book is amazing. I enjoyed the details and the drawings that went along with the story. I appreciated the authors leaving in details about the darker side of war like death and the affect it had on civilians in Europe. Parts of the story made me so proud I had goosebumps. I think overall this book does a great job of telling a story not often learned about in school and making it interesting.
Fascinating piece of history that I hadn't known about before, the "Ghost Army" of the Allies in World War Two... basically a huge decoy army to keep the Germans' attention away from the real army!
I read this on my laptop so was unable to join in the fun of decoding Vic's secret message, but in a real copy of the book that'd be awesome fun. Reminded me of The Eleventh Hour's secret message :) ...more
I read this on my laptop so was unable to join in the fun of decoding Vic's secret message, but in a real copy of the book that'd be awesome fun. Reminded me of The Eleventh Hour's secret message :) ...more
This was a very interesting book - the history was great, and the code breaking was interesting. It had great clues throughout that were flavorful (very WW2 era clues), and the puzzle was challenging without being too hard.
Exciting, entertaining, and educational...this unique and clever book is all these things! Middle-grade readers will be captivated by the fascinating history of the Ghost Army and will have a blast deciphering puzzles and clues using the tools provided within the book.
Ghost Army this time.
I love that this series is focusing on the lesser known parts of history. However, speaking as a librarian, I hesitate to buy these books when the pieces are so easily lost.
I did not know that!
Horn Book review
Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army by Enigma Albertiand Scott Wegener, 82 pages. Workman Publishing, 2017. $13.
Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL – AVERAGE
Sergeant Victor Dowd helped lead a group of men, called the Ghost Army, throughout World War II as they set up fake armies to throw off the enemy. Using blow-up tanks, props and sound effects they would set up close to the enemy’s lines and try to distract the en ...more
Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL – AVERAGE
Sergeant Victor Dowd helped lead a group of men, called the Ghost Army, throughout World War II as they set up fake armies to throw off the enemy. Using blow-up tanks, props and sound effects they would set up close to the enemy’s lines and try to distract the en ...more
Book received from NetGalley.
I sat and read this eArc from cover to cover, in one sitting, while on vacation. I even made my husband read parts of it whether he liked it or not. I really loved this book, I'm a huge history geek and this book pushed all of my buttons, in a good way. I knew nothing about this part of World War II history and I was fascinated by it, I definitely have to read more about it. I think this is a great subject for a children's history book, fighting a war with inflatable ...more
I sat and read this eArc from cover to cover, in one sitting, while on vacation. I even made my husband read parts of it whether he liked it or not. I really loved this book, I'm a huge history geek and this book pushed all of my buttons, in a good way. I knew nothing about this part of World War II history and I was fascinated by it, I definitely have to read more about it. I think this is a great subject for a children's history book, fighting a war with inflatable ...more
This book is two part-first I found the story fascinating. I had no idea about this part of World War II. The second part is an envelope of clues that you can search through the book and solve a mystery-which I didn't love as much. I think most readers would be distracted by the clues and not get into the cool story.
...more
Jan 08, 2020
Jac
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-lit,
history
This was a really informative book on some of the major events of World War II, I never knew this unit existed and it was fun to read about their tactics and decipher their messages.
Apr 09, 2019
PottWab Regional Library
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2019-new
A
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