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Review
`Rankin goes poking and probing the lesser-known facts of the two World Wars. What an entertaining journey he provides.' --Len Deighton
`A story clamouring to be told...I could not stop reading this book once I had begun.' --Doris Lessing --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
`A story clamouring to be told...I could not stop reading this book once I had begun.' --Doris Lessing --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Thaddeus Holt, author of The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War
A most enjoyable read.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
And I thought I knew a lot about both world wars! There was so much going on that just isnt realised. The `stories` in this book would not make a great film but they did make `winning` the wars possible. The shoreline defences of England,the Home Guard,the wood and cardboard false tanks and aircraft that really did confuse the Germans and thus saved many real ones,its incredible that this isnt widely appreciated.
To sum up, a very interesting book. An eye-opener.
To sum up, a very interesting book. An eye-opener.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
`Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914 - 1945' describes British military deception in two World Wars: the roles of the intelligence services in grand and smaller deception plans. Guerilla warfare, double agents, black propaganda, camouflage and even sniping are all covered. I found the principles and practice of camouflage and the contributions of painters very interesting. The author describes the roles in the development of deception of well known military figures such T E Lawrence and General Wavell, but also presents the activities of people more famous in other walks of life. These include the authors John Buchan, Ian Fleming, Dennis Wheatley, George Bernard Shaw, HG Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle!
Together these interwoven threads of history made a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. The one minor frustration I found came from the title of the book. This implies the involvement or `ownership' of Winston Churchill in the majority the work. I spent the first half of the book anticipating some revelation of his critical involvement in the development of deception in WWI, but it never came! In fact it was apparent from the book that WSC had little or no involvement in the deception activities relating to WWI.
His involvement in the heart of the story - deception - only became clear about two-thirds of the way through the book, once WWII was well underway, after which our heroes - the Wizards - could truly be described as `Churchill's' because of his direct contributions and patronage. Despite the slightly misleading title I found the book informative, well written and hard to put down.
Together these interwoven threads of history made a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. The one minor frustration I found came from the title of the book. This implies the involvement or `ownership' of Winston Churchill in the majority the work. I spent the first half of the book anticipating some revelation of his critical involvement in the development of deception in WWI, but it never came! In fact it was apparent from the book that WSC had little or no involvement in the deception activities relating to WWI.
His involvement in the heart of the story - deception - only became clear about two-thirds of the way through the book, once WWII was well underway, after which our heroes - the Wizards - could truly be described as `Churchill's' because of his direct contributions and patronage. Despite the slightly misleading title I found the book informative, well written and hard to put down.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
being pre-WW1 born I had read previous accounts of some of the ideas and their applications. But found this book pulled things together in one place, explaining the background in a useful way.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pretentious Deception
The work is about Deception and indeed the title is itself deceptive. As others have noted, the early part of
Rankin's work has little to do with the book title Churchill's... Read more
Rankin's work has little to do with the book title Churchill's... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Roy Brocklebank
Entertaining nonsense
Within these pages is an intriguing mix of regurgitated, albeit toothsome titbits of the sort that appeals to those of us of a certain age for whom WWII may be no more than a black... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. Cwp Keyes
Fascinating read...but no images on Kindle version
This review applies to the Kindle version of the book
I found this book fascinating and was able to learn so much about how the Allies used deception to help win both... Read more
I found this book fascinating and was able to learn so much about how the Allies used deception to help win both... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. S. Cairns
Disappointing overall
I expected more from this book despite the mixed reviews on here. I agree with those that believe the book should have been edited to be 20 - 30% shorter. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Elham Valley Man
Deceptive Title
Deception in one form or another has been the stuff of military conflicts for centuries. In the Second World War the Germans were deceived into believing Allied forces would take... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Neutral
Xmas Pressies
Ex father in law loved this - had a sneek peek and agree with him too !
Published on 17 Mar 2010 by Tiny Tim
Easy and Entertaining
I purchased the paperback version of this book in an airport bookshop, and it proved to be an ideal piece of reading for traveling. Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2009 by IM Research
good rollicking fun ? ... erm, afraid not
The best deception of the book is in buying it on the strength of such 'reviews' as Max Hasting's, 'Good rollicking fun' ... Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2009 by Clipper 314
Camouflage in war
A somewhat disappointing book. I expected a lot of technical details about camouflage. Instead, this was more a rerun of WW1 and WW2 and what led up to them. Read more
Published on 28 Oct 2009 by Christopher Wright
Interesting
Good book, a bit sluggish and over detailed in places. But amazing to learn what our grandparents got up to in order to help win the war.
Published on 6 Oct 2009 by Mr. C. N. Moore
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