A Game of Birds and Wolves: The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II - Hardcover

Parkin, Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316492094 ISBN 13: 9780316492096

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2020

Synopsis

The triumphant story of a group of young women who helped devised a winning strategy to defeat the Nazi U-boats and deliver a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic
By 1941, Winston Churchill had come to believe that the outcome of World War II rested on the battle for the Atlantic. A grand strategy game was devised by Captain Gilbert Roberts and a group of ten Wrens (members of the Women's Royal Naval Service) assigned to his team in an attempt to reveal the tactics behind the vicious success of the German U-boats. Played on a linoleum floor divided into painted squares, it required model ships to be moved across a make-believe ocean in a manner reminiscent of the childhood game, Battleship. Through play, the designers developed "Operation Raspberry," a countermaneuver that helped turn the tide of World War II.
Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral, "contributed in no small measure to the final defeat of Germany." Rich with unforgettable cinematic detail and larger-than-life characters, A Game of Birds and Wolves is a heart-wrenching tale of ingenuity, dedication, perseverance, and love, bringing to life the imagination and sacrifice required to defeat the Nazis at sea.

About this title

About the Author

Simon Parkin is an award-winning British writer and journalist. He is a contributing writer for the New Yorker, game critic for the Observer newspaper and a regular contributor to the Guardian's Long Read. He is the recipient of two awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, and his work has been featured in The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He lives on the south coast of England.

Review

"History writing at its best."―Booklist, starred review

"A magnificent look at a war game that mattered most: how to out fox the Nazi's dreaded U-boats. Told with poetic mastery, Simon Parkin's A Game of Birds and Wolves unveils the story of Operation Raspberry, how eight young women and a retired naval captain found the key to winning the Battle of the Atlantic on a giant board game played on a linoleum floor."―Annie Jacobsen, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Pentagon's Brain

"A hugely enjoyable and exciting book. It is fascinating to read about this little-known aspect of the war which made such a massive difference to the outcome. A compelling and important new story, lucidly and humanely told."―Roland Philipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma of Donald Maclean

"This is the riveting true story of war, amazing women, and one of the most important games in history. Read it here before some film producer makes a mess of it."―Tom Mouat MBE, Simulation and Modelling Technology School, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom



"A fascinating story, wonderfully well-told on a little known but hugely important aspect of naval warfare. The characters of the main players, notably the Wrens are beautifully and colourfully put across."―Admiral Sir Michael Layard KCB, CBE, former Second Sea Lord

"A stunning book of an unknown part of the largely forgotten Battle of the Atlantic, which is a must to read."―Niall Kilgour, CB, former Rear Admiral, Submarines and President of the Submariners Association

"With novelistic flair, Parkin transforms material gathered from research, interviews, and unpublished accounts into a highly readable book that celebrates the ingenuity of a British naval "reject" and the accomplishments of the formerly faceless women never officially rewarded for their contribution to the Allied defeat of Germany. A lively, sharp WWII history."―Kirkus Reviews

"Simon Parkin's book rips along at full sailand is full of personality and personalities.Above all, it brings a barely known aspectof the sea war out into the light. Which isa triumph in itself."―Sunday Express (U.K.)

"With novelistic flair, Parkin transforms material gathered from research, interviews, and unpublished accounts into a highly readable book that celebrates the ingenuity of a British naval "reject" and the accomplishments of the formerly faceless women never officially rewarded for their contribution to the Allied defeat of Germany. A lively, sharp WWII history."―Kirkus

Edition details

• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 0316492094
• ISBN 13: 9780316492096
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 320