Loss of life, destruction, unending pain and misery - the results of war never seem to make sense. But war is also a breeding ground for illogical occurrences, coincidences, premonitions, mysteries and twists of fate. Over 100 of these events are detailed here.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
What do 50 doctors in Hawaii, a lost dog tag, and a $212 unpaid storage fee have in common? They are just a few of the strange occurrences, odd coincidences, and unexplained mysteries of World War II collected here by Breuer (Shadow Warriors, LJ 5/1/96), who offers a less serious look at a very serious subject. Some of the oddities he unearthed include a candy bar that saved a life and a German spy living next to the top British spy-catcher. Anyone interested in twists of fate should find this book fascinating. For public libraries.?Terry L. Wirick, Erie Cty. Lib. System, Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Book Description
Loss of life, destruction, unending pain and misery - the results of war never seem to make sense. But war is also a breeding ground for illogical occurrences, coincidences, premonitions, mysteries and twists of fate. Over 100 of these events are detailed here.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
92 of 95 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I can not recommend this book. While reading it I found 4 major errors. This leads me to believe that the author did not do any research nor did his editors do any fact checking. The 4 errors I found are as follows: 1. The author states that no trace of the crew of the B-24 Lady Be Good was ever found. All but one of the bodies of the crew of the Lady Be Good were found by the mid-1960s. 2. The author states that Zeke was the allied name for a kamikaze. Zeke was the U.S. Navy code name for the Japaneese Mitsubishi Zero-sen fighter plane. The U.S. Navy gave Japaneese fighters male names and bombers female names. Any WWII historian should know this. 3. The part about the rescue of Eddie Rickenbacker says that a 2-man Kingfisher float plane spotted their raft and they were picked up by a PT boat. In reality, the Kingfisher landed on the ocean and picked them up. Since the plane only had two seats, the survivors held on the wings and the pilot taxied across the water to an island. 4. In the section on the death of Joe Kennedy Jr. he states that the mission was to attack the London Gun sites. This is incorrect, the mission was to attack U-boat pens. He also incorrectly states the crews of the bombers were to bail out over German held territory. The crews were to bail out over England and the bomber would be flown by radio control to the target. There are other things in the book that just don't seem correct. I can not recommend this book. Mistakes like this make one doubt the accuracy of the rest of the book. The author is supposed to be a WWII historian. If he is, then why are such obvious errors in the book.
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thought it was a fairly interesting book with a lot of interesting WWII trivia that you won't get from many other places. The thing that brings this book down is the fact that if you decide to look deeper into a story, one has to wonder if the author didn't just convienently ignore facts to keep things interesting. I must agree with what the other reviewers have said about the sloppy research when dealing with stories. The author finishes the story about the Lady Be Good with this ominous sentence: "No skeleton or other signs of the Lady Be Good's crew have ever been detected." That piqued my interest, as it would for many other people. A quick internet search turns up information that 8 out of 9 of the crew were found. My book was published in 1997- the crew members were found in late 1959 and early in 1960. The worst part is, at the end of that sentence, the author had the gall to put a footnote, which when looked up reads: "Author's Archives". It would seem as if anyone with internet access and even a little interest is better informed than the author of this book.
Although I'm sure some of the information in this book is completely true, the glaring errors that are there make it hard to seperate the two. And no one reading what is supposed to be nonfiction should have to find out for themselves what is true and what isn't.
Although I'm sure some of the information in this book is completely true, the glaring errors that are there make it hard to seperate the two. And no one reading what is supposed to be nonfiction should have to find out for themselves what is true and what isn't.
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This compilation of about 100 "strange coincidences, ominous premonitions, and baffling mysteries" contains a lot of tantalizing little tidbits, but one has to be a little dubious about some of the stuff. Especially since others with much more detailed WWII knowledge than me have pointed out factual errors that undermine the entire book's credibility. Even so, it's worth reading for some of the incidents are remarkable and would make great grist for the Hollywood Mill. If you've got limited time or interest, the sections "Puzzling Events," "Uncanny Riddles," and "People Who Vanished" are much, much stronger than "Odd Coincidences," "Curious Happenings," "Peculiar Premonitions," and "Strange Encounters."
Most Recent Customer Reviews
unexplained mysteries of wwII
Book was mainly about the European theatre. Breuer jumps around and events are not in chronological order which make for much confusion. Read more
Published 4 months ago by hermajesty
great book,
more people should know more about our history. This is very informative
and has its funny moments also. I recommend this book even if you didn't live during this era.
and has its funny moments also. I recommend this book even if you didn't live during this era.
Published 5 months ago by dick92120
A Sampling of WWII Oddities
This will appeal to WWI buffs, accounts of the strange, unexplanied and improbable. Some of the stories aren't that spectacular and, as others have noted, the lost bomber in Lybia... Read more
Published 12 months ago by OtherWorlds&Wisdom
Mysteries of this time
Have not really read this one yet, since I bought 4 books at the same time about WWII experiences. Will enjoy it in time though!!
Published 14 months ago by Hy52baskets
Not worth paying full price.
Parts of the book are interestng but I think had more research been done by the writer, the book would be much more interesting.
Published 16 months ago by Kari Moser
Great book - Great Price .... Thanks
Book arrived in a very timely manner. My husband has enjoyed reading this. I would definitely buy from this seller again. Thanks.
Published 17 months ago by S. Tully
Good-Easy Read
A lot of interesting facts and theories of unexplained mysteries in WWII. Good research. It leaves you wanting to pursue many things even more. Read more
Published 18 months ago by B.Joanne Ingram Frost
Excellent Amazon&Source response.
I never fail to be satisfied with the price, shipping time and condition of items from Amazon and Zappos. Post-purchase or post-receipt help is always available. Read more
Published 19 months ago by books6things
Interesting stories
This book is full of little stories from World War II. Some of the stories are new, some of the stories are things you have heard before. A few of the stories are really new. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Thomas M. Magee
Entertaining
More like a "Believe it or Not" kind of book. It was entertaining reading for a plane flight I took. Due to the many errors I would only recommend it as fluff reading for fun. Read more
Published on July 19, 2009 by L. Nathanson
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
LIEUTENANT MASTAKE OKUYAMA was leading a squadron of Japanese Imperial Navy bombers on a sweep up China's broad Yangtze River, known to the Chinese as Ch'ang Chiang (Long River), for it flows for thirty-one hundred miles from deep within the country and empties into the Yellow Sea. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Adolf Hitler, Third Reich, Great Britain, Pearl Harbor, Airborne Division, World War, North Africa, Winston Churchill, English Channel, New York City, Scapa Flow, Schwarze Kapelle, Lady Be Good, Case Yellow, National Archives, Captain Eddie, Martin Bormann, Royal Air Force, The Netherlands, George Patton, Heinrich Himmler, Infantry Division, Utah Beach, Ghost Front, Josef Stalin New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
LIEUTENANT MASTAKE OKUYAMA was leading a squadron of Japanese Imperial Navy bombers on a sweep up China's broad Yangtze River, known to the Chinese as Ch'ang Chiang (Long River), for it flows for thirty-one hundred miles from deep within the country and empties into the Yellow Sea. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Adolf Hitler, Third Reich, Great Britain, Pearl Harbor, Airborne Division, World War, North Africa, Winston Churchill, English Channel, New York City, Scapa Flow, Schwarze Kapelle, Lady Be Good, Case Yellow, National Archives, Captain Eddie, Martin Bormann, Royal Air Force, The Netherlands, George Patton, Heinrich Himmler, Infantry Division, Utah Beach, Ghost Front, Josef Stalin New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 56
books:
See all 56 books this book cites
10
books
cite this book:
See all 10 books citing this book
- Bodyguard of Lies: The Extraordinary True Story Behind D-Day by Anthony Cave Brown on 4 pages
- Game of the Foxes by Ladislas Farago on 4 pages
- A History of the British Secret Service [The Standard Work - Revised and Completely Up-Dated] by Richard Deacon in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- British Secret Service by Richard Deacon in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Crusade in Europe by Dwight David Eisenhower in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
See all 56 books this book cites
- Undercover Tales of World War II by William B. Breuer in Front Matter, and Back Cover
- The Spy Who Spent the War in Bed: And Other Bizarre Tales from World War II by William B. Breuer in Front Matter, and Back Cover
- Top Secret Tales of World War II by William B. Breuer in Front Matter, and Back Cover
- Daring Missions of World War II by William B. Breuer in Front Matter
- Secret Weapons of World War II by William B. Breuer in Front Flap
See all 10 books citing this book
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