Was Britain's Thermopylae really fought over a tennis court? What happened in Canada during the invasion of Winnipeg? How did the Night Witches terrify and torment the Axis? Was Hitler actually sent to spy on the Nazis by the army? Who was the schoolgirl who helped win the Battle of Britain? Truth, they say, is the first casualty of war. You will have to decide how many such casualties occur in this book, the third in the Weird War series. Amber rooms worth a fortune, the spear that pierced Christ's side, deadly female snipers and Lucille Ball's spooky teeth, it's all here for the discerning buff of 1939-45. Whether it's official Nazi propaganda dreamed up by Josef Goebbel's Ministry of Enlightenment or the 'scuttlebutt' of the US navy; tall stories from the officers' mess or attempts to escape from the grim reality of total war, the Second World War provides a fascinating glimpse into the mindset and ingenuity of a generation. Have we now exhausted our supply of weirdness? With new information coming to light all the time from the classified archives in the corridors of power, we wouldn't bet on it!

Was Britain's Thermopylae really fought over a tennis court? What happened in Canada during the invasion of Winnipeg? How did the Night Witches terrify and torment the Axis? Was Hitler actually sent to spy on the Nazis by the army? Who was the schoolgirl who helped win the Battle of Britain? Truth, they say, is the first casualty of war. You will have to decide how many such casualties occur in this book, the third in the Weird War series. Amber rooms worth a fortune, the spear that pierced Christ's side, deadly female snipers and Lucille Ball's spooky teeth, it's all here for the discerning buff of 1939-45. Whether it's official Nazi propaganda dreamed up by Josef Goebbel's Ministry of Enlightenment or the 'scuttlebutt' of the US navy; tall stories from the officers' mess or attempts to escape from the grim reality of total war, the Second World War provides a fascinating glimpse into the mindset and ingenuity of a generation. Have we now exhausted our supply of weirdness? With new information coming to light all the time from the classified archives in the corridors of power, we wouldn't bet on it!

Book twelve in the Kit Marlowe series. May 1593. The rumour spreading around London like wildfire is that Kit Marlowe, playwright, poet and government agent, is dead; killed, men say, in a tavern brawl. But can it be true? And is it that simple? A Puritan stranger turns up at the Rose theatre in Southwark bearing somewhat of a resemblance to the man of fire and air. Is it a trick of the light? Is it a ghost? Or has Kit Marlowe really cheated death and is he now out for revenge on those who tried to kill him? From the highest in the land, in the Whitehall corridors of power, to the lowlife of the Smock Alleys, everyone is a target as the dead poet hunts down the men responsible. Moon Rising sees the welcome return of the queen's most enigmatic spy, the Muse's darling, who doesn't let a little thing like death stand in his way.

The Second World War ended over seventy-five years ago and yet it holds a lasting fascination for millions. Most school children worldwide have studied it but it is unlikely that they would have learned any of the fascinating facts to be found in The Ultimate World War Two Trivia Book. Funny, heart-breaking and downright borderline unbelievable, the snippets in this book are perfect for dropping into conversations to amaze and amuse your friends. You might also find yourself becoming the king or queen of the pub trivia quiz when you have knowledge of Winkie the Pigeon, the Battle of the Tennis Court and the Bee Bombs of Prester John. One thing to be careful of - never, ever lend this book to anyone; it is totally addictive and you will never see it again! Many books of trivia push the envelope and the facts inside can't be trusted. This is not something to worry about with The Ultimate World War Two Trivia Book because it comes from the pens of Richard Denham (Robin Hood: English Outlaw and Arthur: Shadow of a God) and M. J. Trow (The Black Book and Enemies of the State). Just because a fact sounds unlikely doesn't mean it isn't true and you can amaze your friends and colleagues as well as clean up at the Dog and Duck by memorizing absolutely any of these facts, presented in short snippets for either devouring all at once or for browsing in the loo. Complete with a whistle-stop tour of the causes, course and consequences of the war by M. J. Trow who, to quote a recent reviewer could 'make a shopping list interesting', this book is a quick way to learn more than you ever thought there was to know about the weird and wonderful side of World War Two.

Welcome to the wonderfully weird World War Two... The Second World War is the bloodiest on record. It was the first total war in history when civilians; men, women and children were in the front line as never before. With so many millions involved, the rumour machine went into overdrive, tall stories built on fear of the unknown. With so much at stake, boffins battled with each other to build ever more bizarre weapons to out-gun the enemy. Nazi Germany alone had so many government-orchestrated foibles that they would be funny if they were not so tragic. Parachuting sheep? Pilot pigeons? Rifles that fire round corners? Men who never were? You will find them all in these pages, the weird, wonderful and barely believable of World War Two

Here are overlooked or forgotten tales from the world's greatest conflict. These are stories of courage, daring, and stupidity, some of which would challenge the imaginations of Hollywood scriptwriters. Some of the many true tales that author Donald Aines recounts include: • He would never be cast as a dashing war hero, but a cast member of "The Addams Family" television show volunteered for one of the most dangerous jobs the Army Air Force had to offer. • The US Navy's deadliest submarine claimed an unexpected victim with its last torpedo, and led to one of the war's most harrowing tales of survival. • Bob Hoover's escape from a German stalag would have made a great movie. • British commando "Mad Jack" Churchill earned his nickname, arming himself to fight a 20th century war with a 15th century attitude and weapons. • The Germans and Japanese wasted precious resources developing weapons more dangerous to the users than their enemies. • The GI who stole the voices of his victims, and other Allied and Axis serial killers. Within the pages of Strange and Obscure Stories of World War II,the reality of war trumps fiction.

When was the last time someone around you brought up World War Two? It's a pretty popular war. Maybe you heard about it yesterday. Maybe last month. But it was probably recent. And when it came up, did you wish that you could be the one to casually drop a fact that would have everyone in the room going, "Wow, I never knew that!" With this book, you can be that person. You can read it in just a few minutes a day. Chapters are bite-sized and easy to read, meant for normal people instead of war historians! Each chapter ends with a bonus helping of trivia and some quick questions to test your knowledge. You'll zoom through this book and be hungry for more. Get ready to impress your friends with your knowledge - not just of the main events of World War Two, but of all the gritty details and weird true facts. By the time you finish this book, you'll have a fact for every occasion, from the first moment someone thought about having a second World War, to the most recent blockbuster movies about it. So get ready to meet characters from Adolf Hitler, rejected art student, to Jack Churchill, the broadsword-swinging male model. Find out why World War Two started in the first place, and why it's never a good idea to invade Russia in winter. Learn why the United States was going to stay out of the war, how Canadians stole airplanes for the British, and what an orange soft drink has to do with the Nazis. Some of the things you're going to learn are sad. Some are scary. Some are sexy. And some are downright strange! It's everything your history teacher never got around to telling you.