Rick Beyer

Filmmaker and author Rick Beyer talked about the U.S. Army’s creation of a “Ghost Army” to deceive the Germans during World War II. The 1,100-man unit used inflatable rubber tanks, sound effects, fake radio transmissions, and performance art to fool the Germans into miscalculating the strength and location of American troops.

“(The Army was) looking for ways to give the Americans an advantage once they hit the beach,” Beyer said. “We’re going to be there, we’re going to be fighting in Europe and we’re going up against the Nazis, and they’re really great soldiers and what can we do to give our men every advantage?” The answer was a multimedia tactical deception unit set up to fool the eyes and ears of Nazis and their sympathizers.

The secret exploits of the Ghost Army – a special Allied Army tactical unit that waged wartime deception with inflatable tanks, audio and radio cover and more — escaped history for nearly 50 years after World War II. Now, author and documentarian Rick Beyer is doing his best to share the incredible story of the unconventional and heroic unit.

If you love reading about history but you don’t have the next three weeks free for a David McCullough tome, instead give Rick Beyer‘s latest book a try. Rivals Unto Death: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is less than 200 pages in length, and that includes the epilogue, acknowledgments, and a cast of characters section. So how is it that Beyer’s little book is not a historical lightweight? One word: focus.

Warner Bros has acquired rights to tell the story of Ghost Army, a squadron of recruits from art schools, ad agencies and other creative businesses who were tasked with fooling the Nazis into thinking the U.S. had larger troop numbers than it actually did. Bradley Cooper & Todd Phillips’ 22 & Green are teaming with Andrew Lazar, who just teamed with Cooper on American Sniper.

It took decades for the bickering to subside over whether Lexington or Concord had the bragging rights as the true birthplace of the Revolutionary War. But the skirmish may not be over just yet.

The secret exploits of the Ghost Army – a special Allied Army tactical unit that waged wartime deception with inflatable tanks, audio and radio cover and more — escaped history for nearly 50 years after World War II. Now, author and documentarian Rick Beyer is doing his best to share the incredible story of the unconventional and heroic unit.

Eighty-eight-year old Jack Masey's army job during World War II was to blow things up. But not the way one might think.

Rick Beyer's mesmerizing documentary "The Ghost Army"...a kind of World War II version of "Argo.

An effortless summer read for the music lover.

True stories about scientists show that the path to innovation is rarely straight-forward.

Lexington author Rick Beyer  attributes his lifelong interest in science and history to his father, the late Robert T. Beyer, a physicist who loved reading about the Civil War. Beyer combines these passions in his latest book, "The Greatest Science Stories Never Told: 100 Tales of Invention and Discovery to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy.''

"Rick is a creative filmmaker, a wonderful historical interpreter, and he knows Lexington's story inside and out," said Susan Bennett, executive director of the Lexington Historical Society.

Where "The Wright Challenge" really soars is in transmitting the lunatic enthusiasm and sweaty devotion of the aviation geek. It's about something we all can understand — overcoming boundaries.

This little book is like an old-fashioned sweet shop, full of tasty morsels.