Book Review: Strange and Obscure Stories of World War II: Little Known Tales about the Second World War by Dan Aines. (three stars)
“An officer who goes into combat without his sword is improperly dressed.” Jack Churchill (credited with killing enemy with as bow and arrow)
Excellent compendium of World War Two details and statistics. Topically organized and presented.
“Most people have seen a lot more World War II movies than have read books on the war.”
Compared to The World War 2 Trivia Book by Bill O’Neill, Strange and Obscure has more factual data and numbers. Trivia has more gossipy trivia (and a lot more opinion). Quirky anecdotes abound in both books.
“The more desperate a nation’s straits, the more effort and resources it wastes chasing a miracle weapon.”
Statistics abound. More Army were killed in the Pacific theater than Marines. USAAF Eighth Air Force (heavy bombers flying from the United Kingdom) lost 26,000 airmen, more than the total number of Marines killed in all theaters of the war. The M-4 Sherman tank had a bad reputation in combat, but we produced over 50,00 of them while Germany built fewer than 1,900 Tigers.
“I will always been the political prisoner of my father’s name.” Svetlana Alliluyeva (Stalin’s daughter)
As a Matter of Fancy 