Lots of women helped out in lots of ways during World War II. Propaganda Girls: the Secret War of the Women in the OSS, by Lisa Rogak focuses on four from birth to death. Their job was to weaken the morale of the Axis soldiers. Creating false rumors was harder than you might think which made for a very interesting read. Detail was very important here, as was the paper a flier was printed on, or even how it arrived at its destination. How was this carried out, often behind enemy lines? Words could be changed in songs, or the tempo changed, or a subtle shift from major to minor all to make a once happy song more melancholy. The OSS had more leeway, luckily, as many of these changes, that maybe should have been routed through the higher ups, weren't, meaning they could be put in place more quickly and with less chance of being found out by the enemy. I read this in one day!

I do seem to come across some rather odd books I think! Weird War One: Intriguing Items and Fascinating Feats from the First World War fits the description. Peter Taylor did a great job scouring the collections of the Imperial War Museum for his books (yes, there is another one). One of the most unusual here is a portrait of President Woodrow Wilson ... done using 21,000 troops! (Taken from a high vantage point, obviously). There are chapters on deception and gadgets, communication, animals that were used, and what was done for fun. There was a shovel, made with a hole so a rifle could be aimed through it and it would also act as a shield. It did not work very well. There were classes in semaphore, the best means of communication from a ship, or in a noisy situation. Even civilians learned it. There were theaters completely underground so the show could go on even during hostile air raids. Most interesting!

Reading Hermit With Dog