Churchill's Wizards

Author: Nicholas Rankin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780571221967
Category : Deception (Military science)
Languages : en
Pages : 688

Book Description
The real story of how Winston Churchill and the British mastered deception to defeat the Nazis - by conning the Kaiser, hoaxing Hitler and using brains to outwit brawn. By June 1940, most of Europe had fallen to the Nazis and Britain stood alone. So, with Winston Churchill in charge the British bluffed their way out of trouble, drawing on the trickery which had helped them win the First World War. They broadcast outrageous British propaganda on pretend German radio stations, broke German secret codes and eavesdropped on their messages. Every German spy in Britain was captured and many were used to send back false information to their controllers. Forged documents misled their intelligence. Bogus wireless traffic from entire phantom armies, dummy airfields with model planes, disguised ships and inflatable rubber tanks created a vital illusion of strength. Culminating in the spectacular misdirection that was so essential to the success of D-Day in 1944, Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945 is a thrilling work of popular military history filled with almost unbelievable stories of bravery, creativity and deception. Nicholas Rankin is the author of Dead Man's Chest, Telegram From Guernica and Ian Fleming's Commandos. 'This is a story clamouring to be told. We could not have imagined the scope of the inventiveness, the daring of these people's imaginations . . . I could not stop reading this book.' Doris Lessing

A Genius for Deception

Author: Nicholas Rankin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199756716
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 490

Book Description
In February 1942, intelligence officer Victor Jones erected 150 tents behind British lines in North Africa. "Hiding tanks in Bedouin tents was an old British trick," writes Nicholas Rankin. German general Erwin Rommel not only knew of the ploy, but had copied it himself. Jones knew that Rommel knew. In fact, he counted on it--for these tents were empty. With the deception that he was carrying out a deception, Jones made a weak point look like a trap. In A Genius for Deception, Nicholas Rankin offers a lively and comprehensive history of how Britain bluffed, tricked, and spied its way to victory in two world wars. As Rankin shows, a coherent program of strategic deception emerged in World War I, resting on the pillars of camouflage, propaganda, secret intelligence, and special forces. All forms of deception found an avid sponsor in Winston Churchill, who carried his enthusiasm for deceiving the enemy into World War II. Rankin vividly recounts such little-known episodes as the invention of camouflage by two French artist-soldiers, the creation of dummy airfields for the Germans to bomb during the Blitz, and the fabrication of an army that would supposedly invade Greece. Strategic deception would be key to a number of WWII battles, culminating in the massive misdirection that proved critical to the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944. Deeply researched and written with an eye for telling detail, A Genius for Deception shows how the British used craft and cunning to help win the most devastating wars in human history.

Churchill's Wizards

Author: Nicholas Rankin
Publisher: Gardners Books
ISBN: 9780571221950
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 466

Book Description
"By June 1940, most of Europe had fallen to the Nazis and Britain stood alone. To protect itself, the nation fell back on cunning and camouflage. With Winston Churchill in charge, the British bluffed their way out of trouble - lying, pretending and dressing up in order to survive. The British had developed this uncommon talent during the trench and desert fighting of the First World War, when writers and artists created elaborate camouflages and fiendish propaganda. So successful were these deceptions they gave rise to the German belief that they hadn't been beaten fairly - in which case why not 'have a second go'? By the Second World War, the British were masters of the art. Churchill adored stratagems, ingenious devices and special forces: pretend German radio stations broadcast outrageous British propaganda in German. British geniuses broke German secret codes and eavesdropped on their messages. Every German spy in Britain was captured and many were used to send back false information to their controllers. Forged documents misled their Intelligence. Bogus wireless traffic from entire phantom armies, dummy airfields with model planes, disguised ships and inflatable rubber tanks created a vital illusion of strength. Culminating in the spectacular misdirection that was so essential to the success of D-Day in 1944, Churchill's Wizards is a thrilling work of popular military history. Above all, Nicholas Rankin reveals the true stories of those brave and creative mavericks who helped win what Churchill called 'the war of the Unknown Warriors'."--BOOK JACKET.

Ian Fleming's Commandos

Author: Nicholas Rankin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199782822
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424

Book Description
Rankin tells the story of a secret intelligence outfit conceived and organized by Ian Fleming during World War II, named "30 Assault Unit", a group who was expected to seize enemy codebooks, cipher machines, and documents in high-stakes operations, and which inspired his creation of the James Bond character.

The Wizards of Once

Author: Cressida Cowell
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0316472158
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 347

Book Description
In the first book of a new series by the bestselling author of How to Train Your Dragon, the warring worlds of Wizards and Warriors collide in a thrilling and enchanting adventure. Once there were Wizards, who were Magic, and Warriors, who were not. But Xar, son of the King of Wizards, can't cast a single spell. And Wish, daughter of the Warrior Queen, has a banned magical object of her own. When they collide in the wildwood, on the trail of a deadly witch, it's the start of a grand adventure that just might change the fabric of their worlds. With Cressida Cowell's trademark wit, and the same stunning combination of action, adventure, heart, humor, and incredible artwork that made How to Train Your Dragon a beloved bestselling franchise, The Wizards of Once will transport and bewitch readers.

Churchill's War Lab

Author: Taylor Downing
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0748117539
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
The man, and the only man we have for this hour.' Indefatigable patriot, seasoned soldier, incomparable orator and leader of men - Winston Churchill's greatness in leading Britain's coalition government to triumphant victory in the Second World War is undisputed. Yet Churchill's enduring legacy to the world is attributable at least in equal part to his unshakeable belief in the science of war. From the development of radar and the breakthroughs at Bletchley Park to the study of the D-Day beaches and the use of bouncing bombs, this brilliant and gripping narrative reveals the Second World War as an explosive phase of scientific history, an unprecedented crucible for change that involved a knife-edge race to the finish.

Winston Churchill's Toyshop

Author: Stuart MacRae
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1445610299
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 381

Book Description
The story of Churchill's personal weapons development department, staffed by ingenious boffins, who developed numerous innovative weapons that helped win the war.

Wizards

Author: P. G. Maxwell-Stuart
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780752441276
Category : Magic
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
P.G. Maxwell-Stuart's history of the wizard from ancient times to the present shows just how extraordinary a character the wizard has proved to be - not merely a conjuring trickster or malicious egotist in league with Satan, but also a deeply religious person intent on using magic the better to understand the mind of God.

Pretty Monsters

Author: Kelly Link
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101215429
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 406

Book Description
The crossover literary sensation...now in paperback! Through the lens of Kelly Link's vivid imagination, nothing is what it seems, and everything deserves a second look. From the multiple award- winning "The Faery Handbag," in which a teenager's grandmother carries an entire village (or is it a man-eating dog?) in her handbag, to the near-future of "The Surfer," whose narrator (a soccer-playing skeptic) waits with a planeload of refugees for the aliens to arrive, these ten stories are funny and full of unexpected insights and skewed perspectives on the world. Kelly Link's fans range from Michael Chabon to Peter Buck of R.E.M. to Holly Black of Spiderwick Chronicles fame. Now teens can have their world rocked too!

The Gift

Author: James Patterson
Publisher: jimmy patterson
ISBN: 0316122211
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
Leading the Resistance, Whit and Wisty face their most daunting challenge yet in the jaw-dropping sequel to Witch & Wizard. When Whit and Wisty were imprisoned by the wicked forces of the totalitarian regime known as the New Order, they were barely able to escape with their lives. Now part of a hidden community of teens like themselves, Whit and Wisty have established themselves as leaders of the Resistance, willing to sacrifice anything to save kidnapped and imprisoned kids. Now the villainous leader of the New Order is just a breath away from the ability to control the forces of nature and to manipulate his citizens on the most profound level imaginable: through their minds. There is only one more thing he needs to triumph in his evil quest: the Gifts of Whit and Wisty Allgood. And he will stop at nothing to seize them. In this second installment of James Patterson's epic Witch & Wizard series, Whit and Wisty's heart-pounding adventures through the Overworld and Shadowland lead to a spectacular climax and conclusion.