The Spy Who Spent the War in Bed: And Other Bizarre Tales from World War II

by William B. Breuer

Book Overview

A rare treat for World War II history buffs and fans of the strange, absurd, and unexplained

Acclaimed military historian William Breuer takes readers on a trip through the looking glass to acquaint them with the weirder side of World War II. Featuring a cast of characters including double- and triple-agents, femme fatales, fearless leaders, and men at arms, The Spy who Spent the War In Bed is a collection of seventy concise, vividly...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471267392
• ISBN13: 9780471267393
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Trade Paper Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Good for short reading periods

I have a lengthy commute on a train and discovered this author purely by accident. William Breuer writes brief tales with a sense of humor about the incidents during WWII. I found this book to be amusing and a nice light read about the war, as opposed to other authors who are very in-depth. Don't let the title of this one throw you off. It's pretty good.

Unusual Events

This is a better book for dipping into than for reading cover to cover. It is full of interesting and engaging stories, but it is clearly designed for the "dipper." We are told at least ten times, for instance, the "feld grau" means field gray means the average German soldier. It would also be better if the author had better sources for his stories. Most of the stories are footnoted "author's files" which tells you nothing. A lot of fun, though.

Light Bedtime Reading for WWII Buffs

By Bill Marsano. This book is for fun, although it does appear to be well researched (there are chapter notes, and they often refer to actual published sources, not websites and TV shows) and the author is an established writer on military affairs. It's the content that's fun--a likable and sometimes funny collection of oddball stories of foolery by Axis and Allies alike. The anecdotes--there are several dozen of them--run from one end of the war to the other. They include the US general who lost his pants on a secret mission; the German spy who was caught with a batch of secret plans--but got away when his captors simply forgot about him; the incredible shortsightedness of the British government about Bletchley Park (where the Enigma secrets were unraveled); and secret agents who bilked their masters of large sums of money for high times--and provided no intelligence whatsoever (Joe Stalin's son was among them). This is a brisk tour of the situation-comedy side or WWII, and the author's charmingly dated, almost archaic tabloid writing style only adds to the fun. Bill Marsano is a long-time WWII buff himself.