  | Ghost Army : the troop of artists who helped win WWII Author: Marsh, Sarah Glenn | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
During World War II, a 1,100-man unit known as the Ghost Army was sent to Europe with an important mission: mislead Hitler's forces as to the size and location of Allied troops so that those troops would have time to carry out urgent plans of their own. This unit of artists, musicians, actors, architects, set designers, and engineers came together to construct "shadow soldiers" and put on a traveling show of deception for over twenty different campaigns throughout the war.
| Illustrator: | Stadtlander, Becca |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (03/01/26)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 06/01/2026 *Starred Review* This enthralling piece of military nonfiction spotlights a WWII mission to convince Hitler’s troops in Europe that American soldiers were far greater in number than they actually were and that they were massed in places they actually weren’t. The members of this 1,100-man unit known as “The Ghost Army” were visual artists, set designers, actors, musicians, engineers, and inventors, and their weapons were paints, brushes, chalk, inflatable rubber tanks, sound effects, and fake radio transmissions. Though the mission to fool the Nazis in France is rooted in reality (as the back matter makes clear), Marsh centers the story on a fictional character, keeping the focus tight on a young aspiring artist named Charlie, who enlisted in the Army while in college. Charlie’s unit was able to fool the Nazis into thinking they were much larger than they were, using bulldozers to make tracks around the rubber tanks, which could be seen from the air. The watercolor illustrations emphasize the cost of war by contrasting the bright colors of the U.S. with the browns, grays, and blacks of bombed-out French villages. A fascinating and inspiring read. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.
