Tag: World War II
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The Volunteer by Jack Fairweather
Quick synopsis of The Volunteer: The story of Polish World War II hero, Witold Pilecki. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The dude VOLUNTEERED to be sent to Auschwitz to foment rebellion in the camp. Yes, THAT Auschwitz. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Dude then BROKE OUT OF AUSCHWITZ. My Take on The Volunteer: Well,…
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Scholars of Mayhem by Daniel Guiet/Timothy Smith
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Scholars of Mayhem: PhD in killing Nazis. Quick synopsis: The story of Jean Claude Guiet and his team of saboteurs in World War II France. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Once France was liberated, you could tell which women collaborated with the Germans by their telltale shaved head which was…
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Lucky 666 by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Lucky 666: Sure, why not just build your own plane during World War II. Quick synopsis: The story of the Old 666, a B-17 bomber put together with scraps in Papua New Guinea in World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The main event of the book is the…
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Faster by Neal Bascomb
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Faster: Apparently, Hitler would have loved the Fast and the Furious movies. Quick synopsis: The story of how a French race car driver and American heiress embarrassed the German racing team on the eve of World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Car racing in the 1920s and 30s…
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The Good Assassin by Stephan Talty
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Good Assassin: Of course he’s a good assassin. He’s killing Nazis. Quick synopsis: The story of the hunt and killing of Herbert Cukurs, the Butcher of Latvia. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Ilha da Queimada Grande, an island off the coast of Brazil, has one snake for every 6…
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The Immortals by Steven Collis
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Immortals: A priest, two ministers, and a rabbi walk onto a boat…. Quick synopsis: The story of the SS Dorchester, a World War II troop ship sunk by a Nazi U-boat and the men who died saving others. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: All four chaplains would independently give…
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Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Agent Zigzag: I believe the English term for a guy like this is “cheeky.” Quick synopsis: The story of Eddie Chapman, the most unexpected double agent of World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: One of the men in this book was known as “Passion Pants.” Fun Fact for…
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Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Shadow Divers: Damn Nazis are still causing problems. Quick synopsis: The discovery and attempts to identify an unknown Nazi sub off New Jersey in 1991. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Back in 1991, when the book takes place, a diver could only be at a wreck for about 20 minutes…
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The Ratline by Philippe Sands
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ratline: Nazi blood runs deep. Quick synopsis: The story of Nazi Otto van Wachter and his family. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The path many Nazis took to avoid prosecution was called the “Ratline.” I don’t know of a term that was so apt. Fun Fact for History Nerds:…