Weird War

The Second World War is the bloodiest on record. It was the first total war in history when civilians, men, women and children were on the front line as never before. With so many millions involved, the rumor machine went into overdrive, with tall stories built on fear of the unknown. With so much at stake, boffins battled with each other to build ever more bizarre weapons to outgun the enemy. Nazi Germany alone had so many government-orchestrated foibles that they would be funny if they were not so tragic.

Did a Warner Bros. cartoon prophesize the use of the atom bomb? Did the Allies really plan to use stink bombs on the enemy? Why did the Nazis make their own version of Titanic and why were polar bear photographs appearing throughout Europe? The Second World War was the bloodiest of all wars. Mass armies of men trudged, flew or rode from battlefields as far away as North Africa to central Europe, from India to Burma, from the Philippines to the borders of Japan. It saw the first aircraft carrier sea battle, and the indiscriminate use of terror against civilian populations in ways not seen ...

This dieselpunk alternate history WW1 story plunges deep into the trenches of France, where the rules of war have changed—and lightning obeys no master. April 1917, Chemin des Dames: a ridge soaked in blood and ambition. Amid the mud and ruin, a French artillery unit is handed a weapon that should not exist, one born from Nikola Tesla’s most dangerous ideas. The Foudre Rapide hums with restrained fury, its copper fins pulsing with charge. But power this raw comes with a price. Captain Émile Fournier, a man of calculations and guilt, must walk the line between science and madness, ...

Weird but True Stories from World War II: Bizarre but Real Tales from the World’s Strangest War dives deep into the hidden, surreal, and astonishing true events that unfolded between 1939 and 1945. From exploding rats and rubber tank armies to psychic infiltrators and bears enlisted in combat, this fascinating book uncovers the strangest corners of World War II history—stories so unbelievable they can only be true. Perfect for history buffs, trivia lovers, and curious readers, this compelling collection brings together ten incredible stories that reveal just how unpredictable and ...

Weird but True Stories from the 1950's: Bizarre, Shocking, and Unbelievable Tales from America’s Atomic Age Think you know the 1950's? Think again. Beneath the surface of poodle skirts, chrome diners, and black-and-white TV was a decade overflowing with mystery, irony, and stranger-than-fiction true stories. This captivating collection reveals ten astonishing real-life events from the 1950's that defy expectation and logic—each one verified and rooted in historical fact. From radar panic over Washington D.C. to the eerie Phantom Whistler of New Jersey, from mid-air collisions with ...

During the second World War, the Merlyn of the United Kingdom — Sir Aleister Magus, the father of Tom Caliban's mentor, Arthur Magus — is captured and imprisoned at the Dachau Concentration Camp. In turns tormented and cared for by the vampire secretly in charge of the camp, Aleister is forced to comply in order to keep a young orphan girl from the suffering a fate worse than death. Herr Mitchell and Doktor Wechselbalg are in league with a patchwork man to use Aleister's magicks to open the Satanic Ark and release the power within the ancient relic. Is the life of one child worth the ...

After the Civil War, frontier doctor Killian Obadiah Davis rides west seeking peace, but finds a nightmare waiting in the settlement of Redemption. Families vanish without struggle. Bodies are found drained of blood. And the creatures responsible move with impossible speed through the darkness. Answering a call for help from an old comrade, Doc joins forces with sharpshooter Jed Raines, the deadly Irish gunfighter Declan Caine, U.S. Marshal Sylvanus Forrester, and steadfast saloonkeeper Patrick Godwin. Together, they stand, first in Redemption and finally, in Springfield, against a rising ...

In a desolate world where dirigibles rule the skies and blood soaks the dry earth, a young man joins the fight against a tyrant who has problems of his own. Andrew Sutter returns home from hunting to find drought-wracked Carroll Town under the thumb of a tax collector from the cannibalistic Flesh-Eating Legion. A riot becomes a battle, leaving Carroll Town in ruins and Andrew alone in the merciless Iron Desert. Saved from certain death by the riders of rebel chieftain Alonzo Merrill, Andrew finds himself fighting for their doomed cause. Meanwhile, Grendel, first lord of the Northlands and ...

Discover the strangest side of the Civil War that textbooks left behind. From sneezed-out bullets and exploding mules to musical ceasefires and sky-high spies in balloons, Weird but True Stories from the Civil War reveals the bizarre, hilarious, and unbelievable moments that actually happened during America’s deadliest conflict. These aren’t fictional tales—they’re real events, drawn from eyewitness accounts, battlefield reports, and historical archives. Explore ten shocking stories that shine a light on the surreal side of 19th-century warfare, including a Confederate soldier who ...

Discover the strangest true stories from the trenches, skies, and deserts of World War I in this fascinating, fully factual collection. Weird but True Stories from World War I: Bizarre, Shocking, and Unbelievable Tales from the Great War is a gripping, entertaining, and meticulously researched collection of real events that defy belief. From the Christmas Truce that stopped the war for carols and soccer, to a homing pigeon who saved an entire battalion, to the spy who used invisible ink made from an unmentionable bodily fluid—these are the stories you never learned in history class. ...

The world is at war — again — and its greatest defenders are back on the front lines. This collection of tales set during the Second World War finds Captain Gideon Argo and his loyal crew, The Flying Zombies, battling those arcane forces the Allies couldn't tackle on their own. In 1937, a werewolf stalks a Japanese camp in China, where Capt. Bullshark Dempsey is imprisoned. In 1938, Wings pilots a giant drilling machine into the deep earth with the crew, uncovering a hidden world of dinosaurs and indigenous people under attack by German soldiers. During the London Blitz, Doc Riley and ...

Step into the stranger side of the Swinging Sixties with Weird but True Stories from the 1960s: Bizarre, Shocking, and Unbelievable Tales from the Swinging Sixties. This fascinating collection uncovers the most outrageous, unexpected, and absolutely real events from one of history’s most transformative decades. From CIA cat spies and a government plan to nuke the Moon to a dolphin experiment that spiraled into psychedelic madness, these true stories reveal just how far imagination, paranoia, and ambition went during the 1960's. Meet the woman who lived with a dolphin, revisit the legend ...

America is turning 250, and somehow the party includes cracked bells, haunted taverns, giant president heads, battlefield ghosts, roadside diners, patriotic gift shops, and one suspicious cannon nobody fully trusts. Weird America 250 is a funny, strange, story-packed road trip through the odd places, dramatic legends, historic landmarks, and bizarre tourist traditions that helped shape the United States. This is not a dry textbook or a stiff patriotic lecture. It is a lively travel-guide-style journey through the country’s most memorable historic stops, from Philadelphia’s Independence ...

Weird but True Stories from the 1980s: Bizarre, Shocking, and Unbelievable Tales from the Decade of Excess explores the wildest, strangest, and most astonishing true events that actually happened during one of the most unforgettable decades in modern history. From Cold War close calls and covert cult operations to lost video games buried in the desert and pop culture disasters on live television, this fascinating collection reveals the bizarre underbelly of the 1980s. Meet the Soviet officer who saved the world by ignoring a computer warning of nuclear war. Discover how Pepsi briefly became...

With more than 12 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! It's Christmas, and you know what that means! Santa Claus is coming to town! Or at least to the local mall. But what happens when kid rapper Cray-Z gives a Christmas concert at the same mall and all his...

Pack your sunscreen, bug spray, and emotional support breakfast taco — the Texas Gulf Coast is not here to behave. Weird Gulf Coast Texas Stories takes readers on a funny, strange, and story-packed road trip along one of the most wildly underrated coastlines in America. This is not a polished beach brochure full of calm waves and perfect sunsets. This is the Gulf Coast of haunted Galveston hotels, pirate legends, shrimp boats, storm-battered beach towns, ferry gulls with criminal intent, mosquitoes that require their own defense strategy, and beach roads where trucks discover that sand is...

History is full of wars fought over land, power, money, religion, and empire. And then there are the wars remembered for buckets, pigs, ears, pastries, stray dogs, bad maps, emus, soup kettles, cod, and one sacred stool a colonial official had absolutely no right to demand. In History’s Most Ridiculous Wars, Beatrice Bellweather takes readers through some of the strangest conflicts in history with sharp humor, clear explanations, and one permanently raised eyebrow. From the War of the Bucket to the Pig War, the Pastry War, the Emu War, the Cod Wars, and the War of the Golden Stool, this ...

Washington, D.C. may be famous for monuments, museums, marble buildings, and very serious-looking statues, but the real weirdness starts when you leave the city. Weird Day Trips from Washington, D.C. is a funny, story-packed travel guide to the strange, haunted, historic, and downright bizarre places hiding within a few hours of the nation’s capital. This is not another polite guidebook about where to stand for the perfect monument photo. This is for travelers who want ghost stories, cryptid legends, battlefield hauntings, mysterious graves, underground music, fossil shark teeth, strange ...

Are you ready to dive into one of the most fascinating and unexpected periods in history? 100 Strange but Fun Facts About World War II is your ticket to uncovering the weird, wild, and downright surprising stories of WWII. Beyond the famous battles and iconic heroes, this book reveals the strange, quirky, and mind-blowing facts that made World War II one of the most unique chapters in history. From wild military strategies to hidden resistance fighters, and bizarre war-time inventions, prepare for a whirlwind adventure through the untold side of WWII that will leave you amazed. Whether ...

In this Dieselpunk thriller, the front lines of World War I twist into something darker—something unrecognizable. Amid shattered trenches and whispering machines, Lieutenant Conor Doyle leads a signal team into the wreckage of Messines Ridge, where the enemy isn’t always visible and the weapons don’t behave like they used to. What began as routine communications work descends into chaos as Doyle’s unit is ordered to field-test a volatile prototype: the Arcbolt Mk II B. Nicknamed the “Ether Lance,” the device crackles with invisible potential—and horrifying consequences. Every ...