Hoodwinked: Deception and Resistance (Outwitting the Enemy: Stories from World War II) [Paperback]

Stephen Shapiro (Author), Tina Forrester (Author), David Craig (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Outwitting the Enemy: Stories from World War II

Reveals top secret tricks and tactics.

Hoodwinked plunges readers into the secret strategies and underground battles that helped turn the tides of World War II. There's the American army of inflatable tanks and dummy planes: amassed across the Channel from occupied France, this phantom army helped to distract Germans from the true invasion at Normandy. Equally sneaky was the special forces unit known as the Beach Jumpers. Led by movie-star turned military captain Douglas Fairbanks Jr., the team specialized in mimicking an invasion fleet...with only 10 small boats.

Presented with historical accuracy and engaging storytelling, and bursting with sidebars, archival photographs, color maps and illustrations, Hoodwinked tells 18 true, gripping stories of elaborate ruses, military fakery and cunning deception on both sides of World War II.

2004 marks the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Hoodwinked includes three tales of Allied deception and resistance that helped secure the success of the Normandy invasion.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9 - An intriguing overview of often-overlooked tactics used during World War II. The authors describe numerous examples of deception and resistance, such as how the presence of phony military divisions led the enemy to believe an attack was imminent and resulted in the transfer of forces needed to defend the real attack point. Diplomacy was also employed: by establishing nonaggression treaties, a potential opponent could be lulled, while, in fact, an invasion was in the works. In Operation Mincemeat, the British used a dead body to simulate a soldier carrying secret battle plans that misled Axis forces with respect to the Allies' intentions. In another rouse, a junior officer was assigned to impersonate a British general while the real general was away preparing to launch an invasion from the Mediterranean. Likewise, resistance forces often relied on similar tactics to mislead the occupation powers. The accounts of events sometimes read like short mysteries. A combination of full-color paintings, maps, diagrams, and black-and-white World War II-era photos illustrate the text. Sidebars present additional facts, anecdotes, and brief biographical entries. An interesting description of a topic that gets lost in most accounts of military force. - Jeffrey A. French, Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, Willowick, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. With more than enough books about World War II available to fill most any middle-school or high-school library, a new addition needs to be unique and exceptional. This clever book is both as it focuses on specific stories of deception that the Allied forces used to outwit the Axis powers and win the war. The stories, most filling about two or three pages, share blow-by-blow details of ingenious tricks that turned the tide of war. Some include constructing fake towns in England to confuse air raiders and broadcasting false radio news to befuddle the Germans. A mix of original paintings that imagine the action mix with archival images. The narration of each story reads like a clever mystery, and sidebar information provides factual tidbits about military strategies, the history (including the Holocaust), and civilians who enacted some of the best ruses. Roger Leslie
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Annick Press (March 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550378325
• ISBN-13: 978-1550378320
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,373,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)