Behind Enemy Lines

by Bill Doyle

2009 1st printing trade paperback as shown. Tight spine, clear crisp pages, no writing, no tears, smokefree.

Genres: Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction, Biography, History, Action

135 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Author Bill Doyle was born in Michigan, and wrote his first mystery at the age of eight. He has gone on to write critically acclaimed and bestselling children's books, including stories of real-life war heroes in "Behind Enemy Lines: True Stories of Amazing Courage"; the pick-your-own-adventure "Worst Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure: Everest"; the historical fiction mystery series Crime Through Time; the Henry & Keats series including "Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie"; the Scream Team series about Bad News Bears-type monsters playing sports; and soon-to-be released series "The Prizewinners of Piedmont Place."

Additionally, Bill has served as editor at Sesame Workshop, TIME for Kids and SI Kids. He's written for LeapFrog, Weekly Reader, Rolling Stone, Comedy Central, National Geographic Kids, and the American Museum of Natural History. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the film school at New York University where he was taught by the likes of Arthur Miller and David Mamet.

Bill lives with two dachshund-headed canines in New York City, and you can visit him online at www.BillDoyleBooks.com.

Reviews

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Collection of Amazing Stories

[Natalie Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this book quite so much as the second one, but this one was still a good read. Unlike the second book, this one has stories from multiple eras – from the American Revolution to the Iraq War. I enjoyed getting to read stories of courage from so many different wars.

“Flight of the Wing Walker,” “Out of the Jungle,” and “Dark Waters of Desert Storm” stand out as some of my favorite stories, but every story was an enjoyable read. As I said earlier, I was happy to read a book with stories from multiple eras.

While I do not feel I would need to censor anything for a 12 yo, I would probably discuss the notes below with them. (See content notes) There was some violence, mentions of wounds, death, etc., but none of it was too graphic. With the previously mentioned precautions, I would recommend this to 12+

Content notes: In one of the stories, a girl disguises as a boy, and another story is about a contemplated assassination. There is also a mention of a cyanide pill for suicide.

[Theodore · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very good there are stories of spies in many different wars like the Revolutionary war.

[Dalton Bodreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Behind Enemy Lines by Bill Doyle. The book was extremely interesting and at points pretty inspiring. All of the stories, names, dates and locations were real. It was filled with 8 action-packed short stories detailing the courage and selflessness of soldiers, spies, and sometimes random civilians from around the world. I learned about many people who had such an overwhelming amount of patriotism that they risked their lives in the name of freedom. I really enjoyed the preface/prologue at the beginning of the book, as it related and compared two different periods of world history. It explains the story of the Trojan horse and the Greek soldiers who hid inside the horse and then ransacked the city of Troy. Doyle refers to these men as one of the earliest Special Forces groups who sneaks into enemy territory to get a job done. He then goes on to say that since then, countless individuals have followed in the Greeks' footsteps and accomplished a secret mission behind enemy lines. I thought this was a great comparison and a good tie in with earlier story into the main one. It really set up and established the theme for the rest of the book, as Doyle then writes 8 true tales of brave, determined heroes.
Each of the eight accounts had its own unique flavor, ranging from underwater expeditions to land operations to journeys across the sky, and much more. However, they all have one thing in common: the mind blowing courage and need for freedom in every one of the heroes. The first story is the one of Nathan Hale, America's first spy during the Revolutionary War. Hale, disguised as a Dutch schoolteacher goes into British controlled areas of New York to gain intel. Though he ends up being discovered, and hanged, his pride and love for his country should serve as an inspiration to all of us. Though Hale was unable to complete his mission, the word of his death got back to George Washington and army and fired them up to go on and defeat the British. Another story included in the book is the story of Emma Emonds, a woman who disguised herself a man named Frank Thompson in order to be allowed to fight in the Civil War. Emonds, a Union soldier, goes into Confederate territory disguised as an Irish peddler and completes two successful missions that are detailed in the book. Doyle writes that she went undercover nine more times, each time gathering vital information. Emma is a prime example of someone who did what needed to be done, regardless of the situation she was in. Other stories include two young pilots who refuel in mid air in order to escape Nazi controlled Denmark, and a story of an ex-Major League baseball player who goes undercover to stop the Nazis from potentially building a nuclear weapon. These four short tales, along with four others make up a book full of bravery and heroism.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It turned out to be way better than I thought it would be. These eight stories really taught me a lot and gave me a new insight to what life is like as a soldier. These people risked their lives for their country and it was truly inspiring. I would recommend this book to any teen interested in war and anyone who really loves America. I gave it a rating of four out of five stars. In all, I enjoyed the book, but it was pretty good, not great.

[Richardhd96 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Behind Enemy Lines" includes eight true stories about men and women who go on daring missions and escapes to help our country. In one story there is a riot going on during the Civil War. Emma Edmonds is disguised as a soldier, Frank Tomson. She wanted to fight for her home, but since she was a woman she wasn't allowed to, so she disguised herself as a man. She became a spy for the Union and her first mission was to find out how many guns the Confederates had. She disguised herself as a slave and her mission was a success. She was able to go on about nine undercover missions before having to stop, so she wouldn't be discovered as a woman. Another story was about a major league baseball player named Moe Berg who became a spy for the U.S. in World WarTwo. He had the ability to speak seven foreign languages. Some languages he learned in college, but he learned Japanese when he went to Japan with Babe Ruth to teach the children how to play baseball. After retiring from baseball Moe worked for the Offices of Strategic Services. One of his missions was to find out about Germany's nuclear program. He snuck into enemy territory to find out important information. A third story was about Dieter Dengler during the Vietnam war. He was a prisoner and an American military pilot. Dieter and Duane, a U.S. air force pilot, managed to escape their prison into the jungle. They both contracted many diseases and then Duane was killed by angry villagers. After many days Dieter was saved by the U.S. air force. He survived five months in prison and twenty three days in the jungle.
I liked the book Behind Enemy Lines. It has tons of action. I liked that each story was about a different person during different war times. I could really make a connection to each person. The stories that did not start with a war mission were the most interesting to me. Some of the stories were too short and hard to follow. I enjoyed these the least. I would recommend this book to people who are into the history of wars that the United States fought in.

[Thomas woodbery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has many stories about heroic people risking thier lives for the freedom of our country.
TEAM AMERICA !!!!!

[Taylor Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the book was really good and I lived the book from start to finish because its something that I am going to do for my future. Joining the national guard as a 19 delta cavalry scout

[Noah Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is great i love the history and bravery in the book. This book is great if you like war books and intense kind of books.

[Emma O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravery. Heroism. Courageous. Honor. Respect. These words define this book. The book is the true stories of the amazing courage behind those enemy lines. In my eyes, and I know everyone wouldn't agree, but those enemy lines is going further than the overall human eyes. Diving deeper under the umbrella as I would like to call it. The umbrella is the overall look of what people think when they think the military. This book really dives deep into those things of courage and heroism and we should honor and respect that. Coming from a military family I know these things are probably unbiased but oh well I honestly don't care anymore. I saw a quote the other day that stated "A celebrity dies of a drug overdose and it's all over the news, a soldier dies protecting his countries freedom and doesn't get the publicity." The only way those things are published to the world in my opinion are on days like Memorial Day. This book has things of those crazy stories of heroism and bravery and courage dating back to things like the Civil War to more present things like the Gulf War. Again I know the biased is definitely going away when I state this, but if you are like me and you love wars and history and you come from a military family, or if that is not the case but you can still relate back to those topics, this book is a great gateway to see what did go on behind enemy lines, behind the shadow, diving deeper into the umbrella idea of the military. This book is just a good book that not everyone knows about but everyone should know about to see what there country has been through during all of those things you learn about in social studies and just seeing the true heart and bravery and heroism these people had. How unselfish they were, how much they were able to risk to help this country through a tough time in history. It is truly astonishing.

[Colton Miedl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really know if I liked this book or not. I don't think that I like reading about war stories now that I have read this book because this didn't really interest me. It might have been the book that could have been bad or something but I thought that I would have enjoyed reading this a lot more. I can say though that my favorite war story in the book was about an American woman that saved allied airmen in France. It was one of the longer stories in the book and I think that is why it is my favorite. I feel like the author, Bill Doyle, didn't really take time to take stories that were really good to put in his book. This is also the only book of his that I have actually seen and read so I am guessing he isn't a very popular author. My least favorite story in the book would have to be one that is about a pilot coming up with an idea to stop a Nazi plot/plan in World War II. If I had the chance to go back I would probably pick a different book to read than this. I think that this would be a book that you would read on a long car ride where you absolutely have nothing else to do.

[Kale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it told me all the stories are based true. I thought this was interesting because these people risked their lives to save us. This book is mostly about true stories telling us that these important people risked their lives to save ours. In this book it shows amazing courage and determination to help their own side so that they could end the wars that are taking place. My favorite part from this book was when Emma dressed up as a boy just so she could help her side win and save many innocent lives. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes non-fiction and action because a lot of action took place and many terrible things happened on the battlefield in this book.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind Enemy Lines: True Stories of Amazing Courage takes you through many different eras of American history. Each era has a story with a different character, going through hardships and difficult situations. From Nathaniel Hale, America's first spy during the revolutionary war, to a Special Ops Captain leading his team against terrorists in Iraq. Each character is either based on a real person or is a real person. Overall, I really liked the book. However, some of the plots were very complex and hard to understand. My favorite story was when an American pilot crashed in the Vietnamese jungle and had to find his way out with his other comrade. There were many themes of friendship, bravery, and courage throughout the book.

[Brandon Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm writing this review to let you know what I thought of this book. My opinion on this book is that this is a good book. It really pulls you into it and it tells you about what happens in the war and how it all started. If you wanted to learn more about this war this would be the book to read, because this book really goes into detail about it. So I would recommend it to anybody that likes to read about history and wants to learn more about this war. It explains also how the men fought for us and how they died for us to live the life we're living today and to have the freedom that we have.

[Maximo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book was very well written. I loved the way the chapters were thought out by how old each war was from the revolutionary to the Persian Golf war. The book was also very real telling how bad the struggle was to stay alive if imprisoned and how much focus you need when sweeping and clearing an occupied city.

[Tyson Fleshner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the stories of the spies that risked there lives for their country were very interesting. My favorite was about the spies that flew away from the nazis in a plane they found in a barn. It was amazing when it told about how they refueled in the air.

[Owen Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Liked the book Behind enemy lines because it showed how much courage it took to be a spy and work for many governments. I really liked Historical Facts the book talked about.

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic read. Very enjoyable.

[micah · Rating 3 out of 5]

my faves were flight of the wing walker and america’s first spy! i never read non-fiction but this one was good and insightful!

[Liam Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Behind Enemy Lines by Bill Doyle is a book made up of eight short stories. Each story is true and written from notes and diaries kept by the people that experienced these things. Each story is about people who go behind the enemy’s lines as spies. The short stories start in 1776 during the revolutionary war and end in 2007 during the Iraq war. In each short story, the book follows the mission of the selected person who infiltrated the enemy lines. The eight missions written about in the book start right before the person was either selected or volunteered for the mission. Then it ends after their mission is complete or they die.

I would recommend this book to people who like to read about historical stories. They are not boring and are entertaining. The author Bill Doyle tells you the stories in a way that you feel like your there. He writes what people said from there notes and diaries. It may not have been exactly what they said but being able to follow along like that instead of just telling the reader what happened without the dialog could be less interesting. This book will keep your interest throughout it unlike a story being told with only actions and no dialog. If you like to read books were the story is developed through the characters and is historically accurate then this is for you.

[Zack Hadley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting in its layout. It had a table of contents like any other book, but it listed the stories in chronological order and gave the page number they could be found on. Each story was different, ranging from land operations, to underwater expeditions, to stories of survival, and much more. Each person in the stories displayed bravery second to none. The people also didn't do it for the glory, or the reward, but for serving their country, regardless of their gender, age, or how dangerous the mission was. The stories ranged from the Revolutionary war to the war in Iraq.

One of the books was about how one person had to go to the lecture of a Nazi scientist and figure out if they were close to developing a nuclear bomb. He was briefed by the U.S. government and then sent on his way. Before the lecture a U.S. official slipped something into his pocket that he was unaware of until he reached into his pocket in the bathroom to get something. What had been slipped into his pocket was a pill that would instantly kill you if you were in trouble. His mission was to shoot the scientist if he thought he was close to developing a bomb. During the lecture he thought he heard something about death and got suspicious. Afterwards he was invited to dinner at the scientists house with someone else from the U.S. government helping him out. It turned out that all the scientist was talking about was the death coming from a plague, not a nuclear weapon.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was better than I thought. It is about spies and important people that changed how the war was fought. The book starts out with the First American Spy this happened in the revolutionary war: 1776. Next is Crossing the Line, Civil War: 1862. After that it is flight of the wing walker WW2 1941. The next one is Major League Espionage WW2 1943. After that it is Escape from France WW2 1944. Following that we have Out of the Jungle Vietnam war: 1966. The next is Dark Waters of Desert Storm, ...more This book was better than I thought. It is about spies and important people that changed how the war was fought. The book starts out with the First American Spy this happened in the revolutionary war: 1776. Next is Crossing the Line, Civil War: 1862. After that it is flight of the wing walker WW2 1941. The next one is Major League Espionage WW2 1943. After that it is Escape from France WW2 1944. Following that we have Out of the Jungle Vietnam war: 1966. The next is Dark Waters of Desert Storm, The Gulf War: 1990. The last but not the least is Operation Shurta Nasir in this Green Beret and his group who will do anything to take out a group of terrorist Iraq war: 2007. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in a good war book

[Aaron R · Rating 4 out of 5]

The war behind enemy lines. Well that is the book Behind Enemy Lines by Bill Doyle. The protagonist in this story is John on the U.S., fighting the war. The antagonist Jim is on the Japanese side. The theme is, even though you don’t want to do it, you do it. The conflict is that he got shot and he cannot heal from the shot. The setting is in Japan.

The best part in the story is the middle, when the war is going on, because I like reading about war and fighting and guns. John is 18 years old, and he was forced to go into the war when he didn’t want to, but he had to. The author writes in third person. The part that I didn’t like was the beginning because it was boring, it didn’t suck you in at all. It goes like this, “you probably know the story.” That is boring. I would rate this book a three out of five stars, because the beginning is terrible, the middle is good and the ending is ok. People who would like this are people who like reading about shooting and war, because the story is about war.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book takes you to the life that a soldier lives. The magnificent stories that it tells are mind blowing. All the obstacles these veterans had to overcome were truly amazing. Hearing about war stories from the source is much more real then hearing stories from people that weren't actually in war. I would recommend this book to teenagers and tell tell them that if they really like to be told the stories of real life home front then this is the book for them. Everybody should be informed on the lives of those who put there's before ours. Teachers should read these to there history classes and teach the the facts of what is going on in our lifetime. This book is really a book that i enjoyed a lot. Out of all the war books I have read and thought good about this was the one that really had my attention 100% of the time. I respect the courage and audacity these everyday people have to protect our country to become one.

[Dominic]

behind enemy lines are talking about diffrent spy's to see if what there enemy's are doing. they have to disgues to make sure that there enemy's do not receanis them. there story of one a generl whats to know what there enemy's are doing. then they come back to there base and tell there generl to tell them what happend where they where at. at the end they will know what to do the spy the enemy's had to get the spy and take them to a place in public or privet so that they will kill them. and then after that they will talk about another person but with a diffrent and then they will have a diffrentn job and have to higher somebody a job for some one to turn in to a spy for there job so that they can go and meet with there generl to talk to them for what is going to be tjere job to go to and what to do. then they go to there spy job to work.

[Nicolas Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I prefer to mix my selection of stories to read, I simply cannot deny a good “based on a true story” book, which is why this book appealed to me. The book consisted of several stories, including those of the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War II, and more present-day operations against terrorism in Iraq. These are stories of spies, double-agents, assassins, and other undercover workers in the war process. My favorite quote was “After all, she was a woman disguised as a man disguised as a woman!” because it shows what security measures some people would take to stay under the cover. The writing style was constantly attention-grabbing, reminding me of what I refer to as “generic children’s nonfiction” writing style. This is a book that I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick read into spies and warfare, as well as any other “based on a true story” books.

[Jaclyn Kruljac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind Enemy Lines was an inspiring book filled with true stories of brave Americans who demonstrated strong acts of courage and patriotism. This book is filled with eight real life stories about spies and undercover workers in war from significant wars in our history including the American Revolution, the Civil War, WWII and the War in Iraq. These stories allow the reader to connect to what it is like to be in war time and the risks that these people took for freedom. The information presented in the book is real and gives the reader insight into real life events.

I would recommend this book for older readers, grades 5-8. I think it would be a great way to supplement learning about any of these wars by using the real life story that aligns with that event. It would also be a great read for students interested in war and nonfiction or true stories.

[Johnny]

This book was better than I thought. It is about spies and important people that changed how the war was fought. The book starts out with the First American Spy this happened in the revolutionary war: 1776. Next is Crossing the Line, Civil War: 1862. After that it is flight of the wing walker WW2 1941. The next one is Major League Espionage WW2 1943. After that it is Escape from France WW2 1944. Following that we have Out of the Jungle Vietnam war: 1966. The next is Dark Waters of Desert Storm, The Gulf War: 1990. The last but not the least is Operation Shurta Nasir in this Green Beret and his group who will do anything to take out a group of terrorist Iraq war: 2007. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in a good war book

[Ericy Yine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about brave men and women who go behind enemy lines to spy and gain crucial information about the enemy to help their side win. It talks about the troubles and hardships they go through or maybe their cruel end, to risk their life to conduct espionage.

I picked up this book from scholastic a few years and finally got to read this book. I finished this book because of all the in-depth detail of every exact moment of their mission. Their lives just fascinate me. I would recommend this book to any history or war lover who want a change of perspective, because unlike other books that talk about the main front line fighting, we mainly forget about those who went undercover behind enemy lines and their crucial role.

[Kay Mcgriff · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories highlight deeds of derring-d0 from wars throughout our history, from Nathan Hale in the American Revolution to Green Berets in the Iraq War. One of my favorites is the story of Emma Edmonds, who pretended to be Private Frank Thompson in the Civil War. Not only did she pull of her disguise as a man in the Union army, but she also created multiple other disguises in her work as a Union spy. I had also never hear of Moe Berg, a Major League Baseball player, who used his talent for learning languages as a spy during World War II. There are eight inspiring stories in this collection, each one more exciting than the one before.

First published on my blog at http://kaymcgriff.edublogs.org/2013/0...