{"product_id":"secret-soldiers-how-the-us-twentythird-special-troops-fooled-the-nazis-isbn-9780763681531","title":"Secret Soldiers: How the U.S. Twenty-Third Special Troops Fooled the Nazis","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhat do set design, sound effects, and showmanship have to do with winning World War II? Meet the Ghost Army that played a surprising role in helping to deceive — and defeat — the Nazis.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his third book about deception during war, Paul B. Janeczko focuses his lens on World War II and the operations carried out by the Twenty-Third Headquarters Special Troops, aka the Ghost Army. This remarkable unit included actors, camouflage experts, sound engineers, painters, and set designers who used their skills to secretly and systematically replace fighting units — fooling the Nazi army into believing what their eyes and ears told them, even though the sights and sounds of tanks and war machines and troops were entirely fabricated. Follow the Twenty-Third into Europe as they play a dangerous game of enticing the German army into making battlefield mistakes by using sonic deceptions, inflatable tanks, pyrotechnics, and camouflage in more than twenty operations. From the Normandy invasion to the crossing of the Rhine River, the men of the Ghost Army — several of whom went on to become famous artists and designers after the war — played an improbable role in the Allied victory.For those with a mental map of the war, this book will provide delightful details of a very specialized and secret group. Biographical sketches of many of the members of the Twenty-Third Special Troops are included as well as brief sidebars detailing related topics. Plentiful photographs and maps are included throughout...military history lovers will find much to appreciate in this extensive retelling of a skillful deception that helped end World War II.\u003cbr\u003e—School Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn profiling the 23rd, Janeczko has clearly done prodigious research, and the result is an extraordinarily detailed history that sometimes offers a dramatic account of field operations...for teens who enjoy reading about war, this will be a bountiful gift.\u003cbr\u003e—Booklist Online\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSecret Soldiers\u003c\/i\u003e by Paul B. Janeczko (\u003ci\u003eDouble Cross: Deception Techniques in War\u003c\/i\u003e) brings to light a little-known element of the Allied war effort...Janeczko intersperses his narrative with photographs and mini biographies of the men in the unit. \u003ci\u003eSecret Soldiers\u003c\/i\u003e is enlightening and intriguing, a must-read for young military buffs.\u003cbr\u003e—Shelf Awareness for Readers\u003cb\u003ePaul B. Janeczko\u003c\/b\u003e (1945–2019) was a poet and teacher who edited numerous award-winning poetry anthologies for young people, including \u003ci\u003eA Poke in the I, A Kick in the Head, A Foot in the Mouth, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Death of the Hat,\u003c\/i\u003e all of which were illustrated by Chris Raschka; \u003ci\u003eFirefly July, \u003c\/i\u003eillustrated by Melissa Sweet; and \u003ci\u003eThe Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems,\u003c\/i\u003e illustrated by Richard Jones. He also wrote \u003ci\u003eWorlds Afire; Requiem: Poems of the Terezín Ghetto; Top Secret: A Handbook of Codes, Ciphers, and Secret Writing; Double Cross: Deception Techniques in War; The Dark Game: True Spy Stories from Invisible Ink to CIA Moles,\u003c\/i\u003e a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults; and \u003ci\u003eSecret Soldiers: How the U.S. Twenty-Third Special Troops Fooled the Nazis.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Candlewick","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302229397733,"sku":"NP9780763681531","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780763681531.jpg?v=1767736269","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/secret-soldiers-how-the-us-twentythird-special-troops-fooled-the-nazis-isbn-9780763681531","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}