Fascinatingly fun and informative. I felt like I learnt more from this than I have ever learnt. From the beginning saying how we have rose tinted glasses to those days and then the introduction I was hooked. It’s a subject that is relevant, recent and should be a reminder. This book gives a whole new view to the World War Two

If you are a WWII buff and love your history with a touch of humour and quirkiness, then this is for you. The number of madcap schemes, larger than life characters and tales that are fantastical are too numerous to mention. The stories are short and concise, inviting you to seek out more - and possibly, maybe, provide some with the inspiration for a fictional tome set in the period. This certainly validates that phrase that fact is much better than fiction!

There are many books about the World War II but Weird War 2 attempts something different. It’s a collection of weird facts, myths ; some known & some unknown, some amusing and disturbing, all from the World War II. It also has some interesting yet forgotten stories. At the very outset, the writer is honest to admit that not all the stories may be real and many don’t have any reference or source to back them. Having said that, it still is a very entertaining read.


This book can be broadly divided into different parts viz;
. Weird Facts: The Battle of LA (did the Japanese raid LA?), Allies & Germans fighting together, Hitler almost dying in WWI,Ghost Armies and various high profile disappearances & conspiracies.

• Nazi & Allied Super-weapons, Myths & Rumors: From V1 & V2 rockets to Ice ships, From anti tank Dog (which incidentally killed more dog trainers than enemies), Bat Bombs & Bat Soldiers, Search for Atlantis & weird Nazi experiments

But the highlight of the book for me were the stories about the bravery, sacrifice and kindness of some individuals, amidst the destruction of the war. Some of them like, A Japanese navy pilot who regretted bombing a US town, the story of The Stalingrad Symphony: holding of a musical performance in Stalingrad at the height of the Nazi siege, the Bride of Belsen, The Kindertransport project, the German priest who saved thousands of Jewish lives or the Russian female sniper were truly memorable. These are the stories that restore your faith in humanity and will stay with you long after you have read the book.

Each topic has a brief summary and the stories are short but well detailed . Overall this book is a superb collection of interesting facts & myths and if you are history buff you will find this entertaining & exciting to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for the ARC.

Very interesting read. These are amusing and informative stories. This is a very good historical read. My only problem with it is lack of references. I am a keen reader of historical books and I like to know that a lot of research has gone into them and that they are as accurate as possible.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Thanks to Author/publisher for giving me an ARC.

True to each word in the title, after reading the book one cannot help but wonder how many weird things went during the war.

There is a good introduction so anyone who knows nothing about world war 2 will be able to read this and understand the context.

Fun quick read.

One of those books filled with zany facts and weird stories around the build up to and duration of World War II.
A wonderful introduction set it all in context so that the light humorous tales don’t diminish the horrors of this time of conflict and unimaginable deaths.
Some interesting subjects are covered and wider reading prior to this and items seen on TV are familiar. Most are crazy and incredible but demonstrate that sometimes only with the distance of time can they be understood.
I liked the speculation about why the public were allowed to or led to believe misleading information. At a time when much could be controlled the control of facts are fiction was vital for the war effort.
There is something for everyone here from the last Japanese soldier to surrender to the use of animals to gain an advantage.
Each subject has a brief summary and explanation under a title. Each title is presented in alphabetical order.
In passing it speaks clearly about Fascism being a strong factor in anti-Communist alliances and the reality of such views in Great Britain at the time of Hitler’s rise to power. It also has themes of appeasement and that America coming to our aid not a given.
I was also angered that our war debt to America was not repaid until long after the war ended.
Perhaps not a book to be read in one sitting but coffee table book to dip into; certainly an alternative to nothing on the box. The subjects here could raise some interesting conversations like Henry Ford was a fan of Mr Hitler - discuss!
Plenty here to relax you and get your brain going. From the role of secret weapons to spies.
A good addition to the stranger facts around this period, in comic tones but never belittling the sacrifice, loss or terrible events at this time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing style and found the book easy to read. Denham covers some very unusual events and some quirky military inventions. He managed to find dark humour in the most unlikely places. However, from a military historians perspective, the book does not give detailed enough descriptions of the more bizarre facts of WW2. This did not detract from the read, and gave me a lot of ideas on areas to research in the future.

To be honest, I did not know that the war rumour machine was quite so powerful!

The introduction by MJ Trow, succinctly covered the timeline of virtually all the major events of the entire war. (Just one little niggle about the Battle of Britain, German Stukas were bombers not fighters!).

Looking forward to reading Weird War Two Part Two!

Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!


This is not an academic study; there is no bibliography or footnotes. The author himself states that there will be no reference to historical sources. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it. World War Two is such a heavy topic, we have a war that took nearly 50 million lives (civilian and military), cause so much heartache, destruction and really showed the worst of humanity.

With so many millions involved, the rumour machine went into overdrive, tall stories built on fear of the unknown. It’s full of strange anecdotes and facts that keep you reading onto the next one. Parachuting Sheep? Pilot Pigeons? Rifles that fire round corners? Men who never were? You will find them all here, the weird, wonderful and barely believable of World War Two.

I really enjoyed it and I think any history buff would find this a thrilling read as I did!

3.5 stars

I liked this book. It was interesting and it didn't shy away from harrowing stories, even if this was written for more of a younger audience. The fact there were no sources is kind of odd to me, even if the author did explain why in the introduction, but I don't know. I'm one of those people that likes sources. As entertainment though, this was a good one. I learned some things I didn't know before and I did catch myself saying I'd 'read one more before I go to bed,' and end up reading about ten more facts. Overall a good book and I would recommend it. 3,5 out of 5 stars.

This is a short book with even shorter vignettes of incidents during the war. Many of the stories are well known to historians but a few are unusual and interesting. The stories do not get into deep detail primarily I think because the author does not seem to be well versed in military history and terminology.

Thank you Thistle publishing for offering me this advanced copy of Weird War Two for review. Many books have been written about World War II and this book is not another book regurgitating the same material from different author's perspective. Needless to say WWII was gruesome with uncountable lives lost and psychological trauma suffered for years by those who survived. The echoes of this war was felt in all aspects be it economical, social, cultural, personal, political, psychological, and on and on the list goes. During those times of hardship and unbelievable tragedy there were some anecdotes and events that momentarily made you forget the suffering and made you laugh out loud. This book is a collection of such anecdotes and events that were too trivial to gain attention and were sidelined by past authors and scholars. Some are plain weird, some made you question the sanity of those leading this war and some are outright ridiculous. It is a quick read with each anecdote not more than a page and half in length. If you are a WWII historian or simple looking to get a better understanding of the mindset of those who lived during those times, pick up this book and have a good laugh and learn a thing or two along the way. You may need to do fact checking for yourself but hey, like I said this book is collection of ridiculous and borderline unbelievable anecdotes and events so who cares. about facts. Read anyways.

Great book of strange facts and stories of WW 11. I have read other books about this, but I think think this is one of the best because there are facts included with the weird. I loved it. My husband who is a huge history buff had not heard about of most of these stories. So basically I read some of this book out loud so he could hear it. He plans to buy it so he can read the rest of it. There are many stories about Hitler and the Nazi's. They were sad and terrible. Balloon bombs and blow up dolls made me snicker a little. This book has so !much in it that you never knew but wish you had. Yes, I would totally buy it. I received this book from Net Galley and Thistle Publishing for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.

The name (Weird War Two) is certainly appropriate for this book. Reading about the oddities that happened in World War II, is something that is likely to interest a WWII buff. There are some many oddities that are being reported, it reads a bit like “fake news” as some of the happenings are so extreme. Obviously the author has spent a lot of time researching and compiling the information. As a reader who generally likes to know more, the lack of any reference material is off-putting. It is understandable that this is not cited like a research paper but at the end of each short essay, it would have been very nice or even in an appendix. The length of the “chapters” is all very short – generally a page or two. If you are interested in reading about some of the oddities of the second world war, then this is the volume for you. The writing is conversational in nature and flows easily making reading a breeze. I would recommend the book for the war buff looking for some conversational anecdotes to share.

I ate this short collection of usually no more than two page forays into the bloodiest and yet weirdest wars on record. The Nazis were formidable but completely crazy and this short piece will reinforce that fact.

This book is for fun not research as there are not a lot of footnotes to fact check but it is very interesting!!!

Weird War 2 by Richard Denham is a look at the odd and experimental plans to gain the upper hand in the war. Aside from the curious, there are also some myths that are straightened out. Denham is the co-author of the popular 'Britannia' series with M. J. Trow. These books follow a group of soldiers and their descendants through the madness of a chain of events which will eventually lead to the fall of Roman Britain and the descent into the Dark Ages.

World War II was a conflict that killed well over 50 million people directly and many millions indirectly through displacement and famine. It is not a war that is associated with humor, but in hindsight, several programs that were taken seriously are now seen as almost comical. From sheep and cat bombs to antitank dogs there were a number of weaponized animal programs that failed miserably. There are also stories of actual products and event of the war from Fanta to Marines (not soldiers) raising the flag on Iwo Jima that are separated from their mythical in their origins. Other stories reflect heroes like the Navajo Code Talkers whose talk could not be decoded by the enemy and the allies own code breaker who was later charged as a homosexual.

Denham leads the reader through an improbable collection of stories and facts from World War II. Each item is only a page or two but provides enough information to explain the event or project. Are the stories true? There does seem to be enough supporting evidence although none of the stories are cited as the author claims there is still some disagreement among historians. Several of the stories I have had heard of before in my reading and history classes. Some, however, are very new to me. A fun look at out of the box thinking that accompanied WWII and the desire for a technological edge.

Thank you NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for the eARC.
A fascinating, quick read with some astonishing facts and stories (perhaps true, or embellished?) of WWII.
My father was in a German camp for most of the war and when rescued only weighed, at 6 feet tall, 98 pounds. He told me many stories, some horrendous, but, to my surprise, many funny ones. He said he never laughed so much as during his imprisonment, because he and his fellow inmates got up to some hilarious stunts. He said it was the only way to stave off despondency. The other thing that was amazing to me was that most of the men, upon their rescue, first asked for cigarettes instead of food!
This book is funny as well as sad, and makes you wonder 'what the heck were they thinking?!' The stories of the use of animals gave me the creeps, but the poor guy who kept getting shot in the butt made me laugh (guiltily). One can only shake one's head at the thought processes of the supposedly same men who came up with these ridiculous ideas...it beggars belief!
Highly recommended for history buffs and anyone interested in WWII, or just anyone who loves a great read.

Weird War 2 by Richard Denham
I thought I knew a lot about WW2. After reading this book, I now know a lot more. Despite being a serious subject, the author does a fantastic job of highlighting and re-telling of some of the weird, zany, and bizarre stories to come out of this war. With a deft touch, the author switched between reminding the reader of the true horrors of war and the ridiculous rumours, half-truths, and mysteries emanating from this war.

There are too many individual stories to mention but I think my favourites were the aircraft carrier made from ice, the unsinkable cat, and the German Field-Marshal who was so fond of decorating himself with honours and medals it resulted in a joke: he was disturbed in his bedroom by his wife who asked what he was doing. The response: “Don’t worry darling, I’m just promoting my underpants to over pants.”

I have been trying to remind myself where and when I have read a similar style of book. At times, it read like an old-fashioned ‘boy’s own’ comic, enjoyable and light-hearted despite the serious backdrop.

It also reminded me of the type of book found in some people’s loos. One you could pick up from where you last left off and still enjoy it [the book].

Thank you to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for a digital ARC of this book. All views are my own and there was no mandatory requirement for me to review it.

This is a short book with a wide range of diverse facts/stories from WW2 and the many participants in the conflict, and whilst so much is tragic, the main thrust here is to try and concentrate on the strange, weird, and often comic aspects that occurred. Denham admits that not all facts in the war are certain, whilst some facts are not what actually happened but what was reported to be so. Any war, and WW2 is no different, is a scenario where rumours proliferate, and as such were often used as a strategic tool as part of the war effort. For readers that are not familiar with the key pre-war and during WW2 events, a concise summary is provided by the author as a guide.

The elements of the book that made the most impression on me were those involving the use of animals. Animal lovers will be appalled at the deployment of antitank dogs, something that was particularly popular with the Russians who continued with the practice long after the end of the war. There were crazy ideas put forward like that by an American dentist of bat bombs, that were thankfully discarded, as indeed were cat bombs, explosive rats and more. One of the most helpful illusions that many will already be aware of is the American use of Ghost Armies, techniques and tactics used to give the impression to the Germans that huge numbers were being deployed as in the preparation for D-Day. This is an interesting book likely to appeal to history buffs, those with a special interest in WW2 and or those just drawn to the odd and the strange features of the war. Many thanks to Thistle Publishing for an ARC.

My dad loved books about WW II so I was reluctant to read another one. But I do love the strangeness of history and the 'shit happens' aspect of real life,

I found this book really fascinating: the summary of the war in the beginning is really succinct and puts some of the things I thought I understood in a whole new light.
The chapters of short and direct; the writing is clear and accessible.

I ended up really enjoyed this book, the history and the really strange things that happened during the war. It did change what I thought I knew about the war. I recommend it to anyone who thinks they knew what happened in the world from 1938 on.

I'm not sure why, but WW two has always held a certain odd fascination for me. I never had any grandpa's talk about it, nor any family members. Dan, "my other half" has always watched or read everything about this damn war. Truth is that Paul Harvey had a segment or two of strange stories and that may have been what done it. War is abominable. The war to end all wars, is a phrase that always rings in my mind. Soon after, it was the 2nd. So, quite honestly, "Im guessing" there just wasn't enough death and destruction to satisfy power hungry mother effers. Because Aryans? Hmm. Then conflicts, then.....Men and their mindless killing has been going on since the dawn of humankind. These stories were both amusing and terrible. Terrible because they shouldn't have happened at all. Still, somehow funny because in the midst of the horrible, sometimes funny happens. Maybe, just maybe that's what gets us through the bad.