Secret Weapons: Death Rays, Doodlebugs and Churchill's Golden Goose (General Military)

Deep in the bunkers of Nazi Germany, many of the world's top scientists worked to create a new generation of war winning super-weapons. A few of these, such as jet aircraft and the V2 rocket, became realities at the end of the war, others never made it off the drawing-board. Written by noted research scientist, Brian Ford, this exciting book charts the history of secret weapons development by all the major powers during the war, from British radar to Japanese ray-guns, and explains the impact that these developments eventually had on the outcome of World War II. Ford also takes a look at the weapons that never made it to development stage, as well as the more radical plans, such as the idea of turning Hitler into a woman with hormone treatment.

Brian J Ford is a prolific research scientist who launched major science programmes for the BBC. Over 100 editions of his books have been published around the world, and he appears in TV programmes produced in studios ranging from Hollywood to Delhi, and from Germany to Japan. He has broadcast on The Food Programme, Woman's Hour, Newsnight, Any Questions? and Sky Television News. In 1998 he joined the annual Round Britain Quiz, partnering Lady Antonia Fraser, and he has featured in his Science Hour phone-in sessions for LBC. His work is widely reported and discussed in journals including Scientific American, Nature, New Scientist, The Microscope and the British Medical Journal. In addition to textbooks he has also written the popular 101 Questions about Science books. His First Encyclopedia of Science (for the pre-teens) sold over 70,000 copies in a month. Brian J Ford contributes to The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Times.