{"product_id":"a-game-of-birds-and-wolves-the-ingenious-young-women-whose-secret-board-game-helped-win-world-war-ii","title":"A Game of Birds and Wolves: The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II","description":"As heard on the New Yorker Radio Hour: The triumphant and \"engaging history\" (The New Yorker) of the young women who devised a winning strategy that defeated Nazi U-boats and delivered a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.\n\nBy 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 counter-maneuver that helped turn the tide of World War II.\n\nCombining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral,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.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0316492094\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.0316492094.A\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Acceptable\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Parkin, Simon\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item is very worn but is perfectly usable. Signs of wear can include aesthetic issues such as scratches, dents, worn and creased covers, folded page corners and minor liquid stains. All pages and the cover are intact, but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include moderate to heavy amount of notes and highlighting, but the text is not obscured or unreadable. Page edges may have foxing  age related spots and browning . May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43216362438717,"sku":"BVV.0316492094.A","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0589\/4225\/9261\/files\/0316492094-0.jpg?v=1779310702","url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/a-game-of-birds-and-wolves-the-ingenious-young-women-whose-secret-board-game-helped-win-world-war-ii","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}