| Title | : | Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0307353400 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780307353405 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 364 |
| Publication | : | First published September 4, 2007 |
In 1941, after training as a German spy in occupied France, Chapman was parachuted into Britain with a revolver, a wireless, and a cyanide pill, with orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory. Instead, he contacted MI5, the British Secret Service. For the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service who at one time volunteered to assassinate Hitler for his countrymen. Crisscrossing Europe under different names, all the while weaving plans, spreading disinformation, and, miraculously, keeping his stories straight under intense interrogation, he even managed to gain some profit and seduce beautiful women along the way.
The Nazis feted Chapman as a hero and awarded him the Iron Cross. In Britain, he was pardoned for his crimes, becoming the only wartime agent to be thus rewarded. Both countries provided for the mother of his child and his mistress. Sixty years after the end of the war, and ten years after Chapman’s death, MI5 has now declassified all of Chapman’s files, releasing more than 1,800 pages of top secret material and allowing the full story of Agent Zigzag to be told for the first time.
A gripping story of loyalty, love, and treachery, Agent Zigzag offers a unique glimpse into the psychology of espionage, with its thin and shifting line between fidelity and betrayal.
Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal Reviews
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”War was coming, everyone said so, but the dining room of the Hotel de la Plage was a place of pure peace that sunny Sunday. Beyond the golden beach, the waves flickered among a scatter of tiny islands, as Eddie and Betty ate trifle off plates with smart blue crests. Eddie was halfway through telling another funny story when he froze. A group of men in overcoats and brown hats had entered the restaurant and one was now in urgent conversations with the headwaiter. Before Betty could speak, Eddie stood up, bent down to kiss her once, and then jumped through the window, which was closed. There was a storm of broken glass, tumbling crockery, screaming women, and shouting waiters. Betty Farmer caught a last glimpse of Eddie Chapman sprinting off down the beach with two overcoated men in pursuit.”
And she didn’t see him again until after the war.
Eddie Chapman: the nefarious Agent Zigzag.
Eddie Chapman was a petty thief...well...maybe a bit more. His dossier shows a steady increase in the complexity of his crimes. He was well liked, admired by the ladies, and had the smooth tongue that insured that people would continue to like him even after he proves a bit untrustworthy. When World War Two starts Chapman is in jail on Jersey Island. The prison library had two hundred books. He read them all and then he read them all again.
The Channel Islands are among Great Britain’s oldest possessions so it was no easy decision for Winston Churchill to decide to leave them undefended, but there was no strategic reason to keep valuable soldiers deployed away from where they were most needed. The islands were left to the Germans. It was a big PR boost for the Reich to be able to crow from the rooftops that they were standing on English soil. I’m sure Winston bit through a cigar or two and probably had thoughts of recruiting a half dozen men and taking it back himself. Despite the blow to English pride it was better to have German troops tied up there instead of shooting at British troops on the mainland.
Churchill didn’t have anyway of knowing it, but he left in Jersey Prison one of the greatest British spies of World War Two. The perfect mixture of bounder, rake, and thief with scruples based on some warped honor system that made him entirely unpredictable.
The Germans loved him.
Chapman, a bright boy, figured out exactly what the Germans wanted. The British after all put him in prison. What loyalty could he possibly have for them? Chapman’s best friend Anthony Faramus is separated out of the prison population as well, but more as a wedge with Chapman than for any other purpose. Part of the deal was if Chapman did what he was supposed to do Faramus would be kept safe. If Eddie welched on any part of it Faramus would be stood up in front of a firing squad.
It makes my blood run a little cold to even think of my life being dependent on Chapman doing what he was supposed to do. After all that did not come natural to him, not at all.
It doesn’t matter because the Germans are the first to change the deal. They send Faramus off to a concentration camp. He survives despite the odds and ends up in Hollywood after the war as an actor and eventually becomes a butler for Cary Grant.
Anthony Faramus (far right) was lucky to survive Buchwald.
Chapman does what he does best and makes friends with the Germans. His mentor Stephan von Groning is someone that Chapman perfectly understands. He is a self-serving thief. The Germans give Chapman an account of money that he can draw on any time he becomes low on funds. He has to ask von Groning for the funds. Von Groning was thrilled every time Chapman needed money because he always drew off more than what Chapman asked for and pocketed the difference. Chapman knew what was happening, but it didn’t bother him because it was exactly what he would have done in the same position. He and von Groning remain lifelong friends. After the war von Groning is invited to the wedding of Chapman’s daughter. Chapman was always much more loyal to people than he was to countries or causes.
Okay so who is Chapman really working for?
He is parachuted into Britain by the Germans and instantly turns himself over to the British Government. After they have a medic look him over they decide they need to take his picture.
”Chapman fought to keep his head up. With a supreme effort, he stared into the lens. The face in the picture is drained by fatigue and stress. There is caked mud in the tangled hair, and a trace of dried blood in the moustache. But there is something else in the face. Behind the drooping eyelids and stubble lies the very faint trace of a smile.”
He knows he has by chance found himself in the best possible situation with value to two governments each wanting full possession of him. He can smell the money and the fame.
There are several British agents that work with Chapman, but I’m only going to point out two of them. John Masterman:
John Cecil Masterman the writer and spymaster.
”He was highly intellectual, intensely conventional, and faintly priggish, with a granite sense of moral duty. Masterman was the embodiment of the British establishment. He neither smoked nor drank, and lived in a world of High Tables and elevated scholarship, exclusively inhabited by wealthy, privileged, intelligent English men.
A confirmed bachelor, he might have been homosexual, but if so, in a wholly repressed and contented English way. Women were simply invisible to him.”
Women on the other hand for Chapman were as necessary as breathing. Another interesting point about Masterman is he wrote detective novels in his spare time.
Lieutenant Colonel Robin “Tin Eye” Stephens had a very special skill.
Legend has it that Tin Eye slept with that monocle firmly in place.
”He broke people. He crushed them, psychologically, into very small pieces and then, if he thought it worthwhile, he would put them back together again. He considered this to be an art, and not one that could be learned.... He spoke Urdu, Arabic, Somali, Amharic, French, German, and Italian.”
Tin Eye could torture you in the language of your choice. These guys were wound about as tightly as a spring that has never sprung. They were dealing with a guy that was about as unreliable as a slinky going down a set of crooked stairs. Chapman’s agent name of Zigzag fit him like a glove.
”’Zigzag had, in some way, managed to obtain entry and was reclining on the bed awaiting dinner which he had ordered on my telephone, together with number of bottles of beer.’ In the space fo a few hours, Chapman had confirmed all the qualities that made him a great crook, a superb spy, and a most fickle man: He had written a love letter to the mother of his child, vanished, slept with a prostitute, broken into a locked room, and helped himself to room service at someone else’s expense....Chapman would do his duty, while merrily picking your pocket.”
Not exactly the hero type that the British government would want to trot out for recruiting posters. His handlers on both sides of the war were always unsure about his loyalty. Both sides knew the direction of the war may determine who Eddie would work for on the long game. He pulled off some amazing capers for both sides of the war effort, but the final contribution that he made for London was radioing the Germans that the V-2 rockets were hitting too far North and to change their coordinates that placed those bombs in the Southern part of London, less densely populated area, saving thousands of lives. He made the Germans believe him. He became one of the great unsung heros of the war effort.
Now you will have to read the book to make your own determination about Eddie Chapman. The British Government does reward him with money to start his own businesses and he becomes very wealthy even to the point of driving a Rolls Royce.
Eddie did quite well for himself after the war.
He tried to publish his memoirs, but the British Government squelched that idea. Ben MacIntyre decided to write this book after most of the material related to Chapman was declassified. As he needed other material the government was accommodating by declassifying even more. As I mentioned before Eddie had these loyalties to people that seemingly ran counter to his self-centered philosophies. After the war he was determined to find Betty Farmer the woman he left at the restaurant as he so dramatically broke through a glass window to escape arrest. He found her just as he was sitting with private investigators who he intended to hire to find her. That just seemed to be the way things worked for Chapman. He was always in the right place at the right time.
5 minute Enticing interview with Ben Macintyre on Agent Zigzag
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit
http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:
https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten -
An amazing real life history of the most notorious British double agent of World War II, Eddie Chapman a.k.a. Agent Zigzag. Well written and just as good to read as any fictional espionage story. I really enjoyed to read about the amazing exploits of Eddie Chapman! Quote that says it all:
“War, briefly, brought out in Chapman an obstinate conscience. His vices were as extreme as his virtues, and to the end of his life it was never clear whether he was on the side of the angels or the devils, whether he deceived the deceivers or whether he had made a pact with his German spymaster. He died of heart failure in 1997 at the age of eighty-three: he may have ascended heavenwards, or perhaps he headed in the opposite direction. He is probably zigzagging still.” -
Agent Zigzag is my first book by Ben Macintyre, but I am curious to read more by him. He has the ability to make a nonfiction account read like an engaging novel. The story of Eddie Chapman, spy and double agent during the Second World War was new to me, and it held my attention from start to finish. Recommended!
Find more reviews and bookish fun at
http://www.princessandpen.com -
If you're looking for an even-handed recounting and reflections on this book, you should probably check out Jeffrey Keeten's
stellar review (it has lots of pictures and everything). However, if you're looking for my favorite moments of skullduggery(along with the occasional pop culture parallel), then you're in the right spot.
Eddie Chapman (codename: ZigZag) was, among other things, the head of the "Jelly Gang" (they used gelignite to break into safes), a bit of a lady's man living in "the world of pimps and racecourse touts, pickpockets and con artists; late nights at Smokey Joe's and early champagne breakfasts at Quaglino's." Much like my personal favorite and the world's greatest secret agent (albeit fictional), Sterling Archer (codename: Duchess), Eddie's silver tongue had a way of getting him out of quagmires and back into the good graces of those who he'd wronged in the past.
Unfortunately, the jig was up, and he landed himself in jail on Jersey Island (almost as bad as being imprisoned on the Jersey Shore, but with far less hair gel and fake tanning cream). I'll skip a lot of important information here and just tell you he ends up being recruited/courted as an agent for the Abwehr (one of those dastardly Nazi intelligence agencies). As a smooth-talking con man who has exhibited few moral compunctions even as a thief, he was a pretty great candidate to become a British spy (but for the Germans- so German spy?). I mean everyone knows that, as a spy:
So he luftwaffles or 99 red luftbaloons himself into Britain where he promptly double crosses (or triple crosses- it's hard to follow) the Germans and cozies up with MI-5 where he has to deal with quite a crew, including Robin "TinEye" Stephens who rocks a monocle like nobody's business. There's also Jasper Maskelyne, a magician in the employ of MI-5 who helps them engineer an illusion (yes, they actually do refer to it as such, so Gob Bluth can rest easy) to make it look like ZigZag is carrying out his subterfuge as promised to his Nazi pals.
The thing about Eddie Chapman was that he basically thrived in the worst of circumstances. He liked to keep things loose and (another shoutout to Archer) couldn't necessarily be relied upon to keep his mouth shut when it came to being a secret agent, especially when ladies were involved. Really, he was kind of a loose canon- unless, of course, he wasn't. That's the thing about being a great double agent, it has to be hard for people to get a pulse on you. That being said, it was probably a good call on the part of MI-5 to try to sever ties. In the end, though, it's undeniable that his life made one heck of an interesting story.
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One of those nonfiction books that would not be believable as fiction, this is the story of Eddie Chapman, a criminal who became one of Britain's best double agents. He was a hero using the traits that made him so successful a rogue and scoundrel. Trained by the Third Reich in occupied France to parachute into his home country to blow up a warplane factory, Chapman instead contacted MI5, the British Secret Service. For the rest of the war he worked for Britain, traveling across Europe spreading disinformation while never losing track of which lies he told. Even operating under the restrictions of wartime espionage he carried on a full love life, leaving a trail of conquests throughout the Continent. By war's end, he had earned not only a pardon from the British government for his past crimes but the Nazi Iron Cross as well.
Since Chapman was barred from writing his memoirs (am I the only one who regrets that book does not exist?), Ben Macintyre's book works as a wonderfully entertaining substitute. Using files declassified after Chapman's death, he relates the one of the most entertaining stories of World War II, one that even people who do not read spy novels or war stories will enjoy. -
The story is a good one but didn't care for the writing style. A struggle to finish
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Oh dear. One third of my way through Agent Zigzag, and I am going to have to give up reading it. I cannot bear the 'And this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened' Boys’ Own stodge a minute longer. I have indigestion and a headache.
One good thing has emerged from this failed reading. I realise I don’t much like biographies and autobiographies. There have been a couple that really shone for me, but it’s a genre I often find myself struggling with. I find them plodding – perhaps due to their commitment to chronological order and prosaic detail. Another issue with this book was that I found Eddie Chapman – the spy under consideration – unattractive, boring and predictable. He totally failed to capture my imagination or enthusiasm.
I find it embarrassing to dislike a book that so many others have relished. You may well be one of the people for whom this is a great read.... -
Rating Clarification: 3.5 Stars
While not as interesting a read as Macintyre's
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, the true story of double agent Eddie Chapman still had its moments. Chapman was a thief, a con-man, a ladies man (with a girl in every port, so to speak) and a hustler.
I liked him immensely.
What a charming rogue. The kind of guy you'd like to have drinks with, but not the kind you'd "take home to mother" (thanks, Rick James).
An engaging tale of a man at odds with his loyalties, a thief who really didn't care about the money he stole but about the excitment involved in stealing it, and a lover who loved many women, but couldn't stay true to one. Chapman was admired by almost everyone in British intelligence who came into contact with his unorthodox ways, and was the only British citizen to receive the German Iron Cross for services rendered to the Fatherland (thankfully Hitler and Co. didn't realize those services were actually rendered to British intelligence).
This story uncovers some pretty tricksey deceptions played out by Chapman and MI-5 during WWII.
Most thrilling of all, I learned that a Norwegian invented the paper clip. Cool, dat. -
On my way to work, a co-worker asked me what I was reading so avidly. I replied "Agent ZigZag. It's about a British bank robber who is stuck in WWII occupied Europe, volunteers to be a spy for the Germans, parachutes into Britain and immediately calls MI5 to volunteer to work for them instead."
"So fiction then." my co-worker replied.
"No way, they can't write fiction this absurd. It'd never get published." (in a later chapter, an MI5 interrogator wrote almost that same line into Eddie Chapman's files).
The thing is, I was only half-way into the book. I still hadn't gotten to Eddie Chapman's adventures in Lisbon, Oslo, Berlin, or his second parachute jump into the British countryside.
This is one of two books about Eddie Chapman's wartime exploits as a double (or is it triple or quad or something) agent. I haven't gotten my hands on the other one, entitled just
Zigzag. According to the
NYT review, this is the "more graceful(ly)" written of the two books, and importantly, the more skeptical. Chapman himself had a habit of retelling his story in a way that best fit the wants of the listener. So there is a need for the author to corroborate the cleaims of meeting both Churchill and Hitler.
I have to wonder when the movie version is coming. There was a 1966 movie
Triple Cross, but from all accounts it was so censored by the Official Secrets Act and rewritten as to be merely "inspired by," history and truly owes more to James Bond than Eddie Chapman (though both Ian Fleming and the inspiration for his fictional tech-geek "Q" do appear in the book).
More evidence that large chunks of WWII seem to have been cast and written by pulp-fiction writers! -
Another well-researched, concise, interesting and wonderfully written spy novel by Ben MacIntyre.
The life of Chapman was certainly interesting and how he was able to be a double agent and maintain his cool for all those years was amazing! Except for a few slight missteps when dealing with von Groning & other German interrogators & his ability to react quickly and have an answer, most likely saved his life, since he would be discovered as a spy.
His ability to convince both the British & Germans was interesting as well. The details as listed in the book of having him go back and forth with information and not really indicated he was a double agent showed he was "cool as a cucumber"
But, in the end, as the saying goes "loose lips sinks ships" proved true. But, Chapman seemed to have a good life to the end.
This book mentions Operation Mincemeat a couple times and that book is on my TBR list and am looking forward to reading that one as well!
And, there's the failed July 20th assassination attempt on Hitler, which I did not know about, until I saw a movie, "Operation Valkyrie", about this a few years ago. It is a pretty good movie if one is interested.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes spy & espionage, WW2 era novels & those who've read or wants to read books by this author. -
לאחר שקראתי את ״בגידה כפולה״ של בן מקנטייר והתמוגגתי לא היה לי ספק שזה מה שאחווה גם ב״סוכן זיגזג״, ספר שיצא לאור חמש שנים קודם.
בן מקנטייר ערך לקראת כתיבת הספר, כהרגלו יש לומר, מחקר מדוקדק שמבוסס על מסמכים ועדויות ממקורות רבים. על בסיס כל אלו כתב ספר שבמרכזו עומד אדי צ׳פמן, נוכל ועבריין מתוחכם ומנוסה, שכדי לחמוק ממאסר באי ג׳רזי, התנדב לסייע לשירות הריגול הנגדי הנאצי ״האבוור״ לאחר שהגרמנים כבשו את האי. צ׳פמן הצליח לרכוש את אמונם של מפעיליו ולאחר תקופת אימונים ארוכה ומהנה מבחינתו נשלח למשימת ריגול והפצצת מפעל באנגליה. הגרמנים וכמובן צ׳פמן עצמו, לא היו מודעים לכך שהבריטים חשפו את מכונת האניגמה הגרמנית וכך למעשה כל רשת התקשורת הגרמנית יורטה ע״י הבריטים שחיכו למרגל החדש צ׳פמן כשהאחרון צנח בשטח בריטניה. הסופר מתאר בכישרון רב איך הבריטים גרמו לצ׳פמן להפוך לסוכן כפול, מרצונו יש לומר, ולרגל למענם אצל הגרמנים ובכך צ׳פמן צורף למערך ההונאה ה״בגידה הכפולה״ שחלקו הגדול תואר בספר שהזכרתי שנושא את אותו שם. לאורך כל הספר מתוארות אפיזודות מרתקות אודות ההתמודדות של שני הצדדים, הגרמני והבריטי, עם אופיו הבעייתי של צ׳פמן שמצד אחד היה הולל וסובא, חובב נשים וזונות ורודף בצע מאין כמוהו ומצד שני היה אמיץ בצורה בלתי רגילה, הביא השגים מודיעיניים שלא יסולאו בפז, בעיקר לבריטיים והרבה פחות מכך לגרמנים למרות שהם האמינו שיש להם אוצר ביד...
זהו ספר מענג לכל חובבי ההיסטוריה בכלל וחובבי ספרי הריגול של תקופת מלחמת העולם השניה בפרט ואין לי אלא להעניק לו חמישה כוכבים מנצנצים. -
Quite an adventure! Eddie Chapman was charming, handsome, smart, cunning and manipulative and able to play both ends against the middle. To this day no one is sure how he really played the game, although Great Britain benefited the most from Eddie's talents....that is with the exception of Eddie himself.
A word should be said about Britain's MI5 unit. After reading this book and Operation Mincemeat by the same author, it would appear that Great Britain had the best Military Intelligence unit in WWII. They came up with creative schemes (even employing a professional magician to aid in illusions) that consistently mislead the Germans. England's unit was structured differently from Germany's - and this made for some interesting dynamics that I don't want to get into here. It would be a spoiler. That they cracked the Enigma code early in the war, while benefiting from being able to read all German coded messages sent, and that Germany was never aware the code was cracked speaks volumes. Pretty slick in my opinion. -
15/10 - A fascinating tale of British and German espionage during WWII. The quote from John Le Carre on the front cover, describing the book as
"Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving."
is absolutely correct. I did find the story 'moving', but mostly only in that the treatment of Chapman by his second handler, after Reed was sent to France, was atrocious and mostly inspired by what I see as Ryde's jealousy over Chapman's success with women and the importance of his role in the British war effort compared with Ryde's own.
If you want to read the true stories of the previously classified details of the exploits of MI5 agents and spies during WWII then Ben Macintyre is the author to go to. This is the second of his books that I've read, and I have pretty much every other one on my to read list. -
I love good historical nonfiction, and Macintyre knows how to write. He tells the story of Eddie Chapman, a charming English criminal who is jailed in France during World War II, becomes a spy for the Nazis, is sent back to England and turns himself into MI5 to become a double agent for the British. The story is better than a spy novel, because it’s true, and proves the old saying that truth is stranger than fiction. Chapman goes back and forth between the British and the Nazis, playing both sides, and no one – possibly not even Chapman – is sure which side he’s on. Macintyre can pick out the humorous and the deliciously absurd details in history, and does a wonderful job bringing historical figures to full, colorful life.
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Едуард Чапман е дребен английски престъпник, известен на полицията със своите обири и измами. Началото на Втората световна война променя живота му изцяло. През 1940 г. германците окупират остров Джърси, разположен в Ла Манша, където Чапман излежава поредната си присъда. В опит да се спаси, той предлага сътрудничество на нацистката разузнавателна служба Abwehr. Но това е поредната му измама. След дълго обучение в методите на саботаж, където верността му към Германия е привидно потвърдена, Чапман е спуснат с парашут в Англия с конкретна мисия. Но още с приземяването си той се свързва с MI5 и започва живота си като двоен агент - ZigZag за британците и Fritz за германците.
Чапман инсценира взривяване на фабрика за самолети De Havilland Mosquito и редовно снабдява нацистите с дезинформация по всякакви военновременни въпроси. За "заслугите" си той става единственият англичанин, награден с Железен кръст - германски орден за военно отличие.
Препоръчвам книгата Agent ZigZag, която отрзаява историческа истина по разсекретени материали на MI5, но се чете като модерен комерсиален трилър. Втората световна война все още крие непознати истории и мистерии. -
A true story that sounds too incredible to be true. Chapman was a spy, a double agent, and was someone who lied constantly and was completely unreliable. Or was he?
The story here is well-told, but is also one that sounds too fantastic to be believable — if this was a novel. A James Bond-type seducer, a hero to the Nazis — and to Britain? Come on, none of this can possibly be true.
Can it.
Truth is stranger than fiction is a cliché often bandied about, but then a book like this comes along, and this story is incredible, yet true. Isn't it? -
John le Carre perfectly described this book, "Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining, and often very moving." I'll just add that this is one helluva book. It made me laugh, it broke my heart and it blew my mind away. Ben Macintyre is the kind of storyteller that I can only dream of becoming. Zigzag is, by himself a highly entertaining and compelling character, but he truly came alive for me with this book. And although a complicated story that was undoubtedly extremely challenging to research and put together, Mr. Macintyre brings it all together so well that I never got lost among all the twists and turns and all the people who come and go. I was sad to come to the end of the story and I pity the next book I pick up to read because it has a big act to follow. If you're at all interested in WWII and/or espionage, read this book. I think you'll be glad you did.
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If it wasn't for the fact that this book is non-fiction, I probably would have rated it low based on a purely unbelievable plot. But all of this happened to Eddie Chapman, the most notorious double agent of World War 2. I don't normally read historical non-fiction, but this book was so effortlessly entertaining purely because of the batshit insane things that happened to Chapman. I mean he really had a life. It was also so fun to find out all about the work the secret services did during the war, both on the British and German sides. Chapman never came across as particularly likable to me, but I have to admire his bravery and quick wit! Definitely check this one out if you are interested in wartime history, but want to read something that reads almost like a real-life James Bond novel.
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I listened to the audio version of this book and it provided a fascinating insight into the workings of the spy agencies of England and Germany during WWII. A cast of interesting characters and written in a very engaging manner. Highly recommend.
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Loved it throughout! What a story to tell and can’t think of anyone better to tell it! I wouldn’t have believed it if it hadn’t been a true story. Absolutely fantastic!
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Colonel Robin 'Tin Eye' Stephens, one of Eddie Chapman's interrogators, said, 'Fiction has not, and probably never will, produce an espionage story to rival in fascination and improbability the true story of Edward Chapman, whom only war could invest with virtue, and that only for its duration.'
Never a truer word has been written or spoken for Chapman's exploits for both the Germans and the British very nearly defy belief. How he held it all together and lied his way through World War II as a double agent is incredible. His was a hard act to portray.
Initially a small time criminal, Chapman became a most important cog in the wheel of secret service work of both camps and maintained great friendships with his mentors on both sides.
A great womaniser, he kept a number of women in tow as well as giving disinformation to the Germans once he had become well and truly ensconsed with the British.
His part in Brtain's subsequent victory is exciting and well worth reading with more twists and turns than a mystery thriller. -
On the back cover of my paperback edition of this book, one critic wrote "The best book ever written". While this may be hyperbole, I would have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed "Agent Zigzag" from cover to cover. Essentially, this book has everything from double and triple crosses to elaborately developed plots to fool the Nazis, to dangerous missions requiring both courage and extreme fortitude. As a historical writer, Macintyre truly knows how to keep a story both moving and amusing. As much as I liked "Operation Mincemeat", I found this book more enjoyable for it's more convoluted storyline and subplots. I can't wait to read more of his books.
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3.5/5
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I really want to rate this book 3 stars, but it was a lot of fun to read. It's not the best writing and the amount of detail is cumbersome at times, but it moves briskly. The plot is instantly intriguing: Eddie Chapman, a small-time crook, is jailed by the English and enslaved by the Nazis when they conquer the Channel Islands. Because of his safe-cracking and explosives experience, he offers to serve as a spy for the Germans. In due time, his request is honored, and he begins training in the French countryside. He develops a deep bond with his bon vivant spy handler, and is eventually returned to England to sabotage an aircraft factory.
Immediately upon landing, Chapman phones the police to say "Hey, I'm a Nazi spy, I know a lot about their operations and can offer my services as a double (triple?) agent." His story checks out and the plan moves forth with Eddie Chapman running interference and sending false information to his German handlers. Long story short, he fakes an explosion at the aircraft factory (complete with photographs of false damage), collects paychecks from two intelligence services, returns to Germany, then to England, and somehow survives the whole ordeal. And he offers a plausible plan to kill Hitler, every alternate historian's trump card.
It's a better story than a book, but it's fun. -
Really excellent story, would have given it three stars if Chapman's life weren't so interesting because I think the author sort of dumbed it down at points and he could have gone into more detail on the backgrounds of the individuals involved, also the organization of the information got a little convoluted at times. I understand that he didn't want to do a full backstory every time a new person came into play, but inserting several chapters between name and history meant at times I was flipping back (of course, I'm not particularly good at names) to clarify who he was describing. I chose to read this one rather then the other Chapman bio that's currently out, as the other one relies heavily on input from his wife, which can't add that much since Chapman had absolutely nothing to do with her during war time (when everything interesting happened).
In general though you really should read this as it's so improbable that you get the delightful effect of reading non-fiction that feels completely made up. Also WW2 British intelligence was just mindblowingly effective so it's always a good topic. -
I picked this up having very much enjoyed 'Operation Mincemeat' by the same author, and this was similarly interesting and absorbing. Despite not being as familiar with the background story (or maybe, because of it) as compared to the aforementioned other book, it took a while to 'get into' this similar non-fictional tale of WWII military espionage, but it developed into a very satisfying and educational story.
The book centres around a British man, Eddie Chapman, and his subsequent involvement (after the occupation of Jersey) as initially a German spy, then subsequently a double agent working for the Allies. It's sometimes a pretty non-linear and complex tale, but clearly very well researched, generally well balanced and unbiased, intriguing stuff.
I might've enjoyed it more had I felt a bit more sympathetic to the titular agent, but he came over as someone I didn't fully warm to. Despite all the good he did for Britain in the war, despite much of his questionable morality being slightly charming and caddish, I couldn't fully escape the fact he was basically a thieving womaniser. The (dead innocent) hero of Operation Mincemeat seemed easier to side with at times. -
A jawdropping read about a small time criminal and con artist turned double agent in WW2. Chapman was a horrible selfish sociopathic exploiter and all round scumbag. He was in prison on Jersey, taken to a German prison camp after the invasion, volunteered to be a spy for the Nazis, trained in sabotage and espionage, sent back to Britain, where he promptly handed himself in and set out to become a double agent, working for the British and blowing up the German spy networks in the UK such as they were while feeding misinformation to his Nazi handlers. Went back to occupied Europe where he risked his life for the Allies for years, lived in constant danger, came back to the UK when it was all over, and promptly returned to a life of petty infidelity and dishonesty as if he'd never been a hero at all. People really are infinitely strange.
This is an utterly fascinating story packed with read-aloud facts and bits. The sequence about the faked sabotage of the Mosquito factory, as carried out by stage magicians to make it look from the air like Chapman had blown the place up, is amazing. Great read. -
This was such a fascinating read. By recounting the (mis)adventures of Eddie Chapman a roue, cad, and small time thief who finds himself in the wrong place at the right time, this biography of a double agent shows the inner workings of the German and British spy networks during WWII. Just when you begin to get caught up in the romance and adventure of Chapman's exploits, MacIntyre brings in images of the horrors of concentration camps, the destruction of Germany's most beautiful towns and edifices, the deprivations faced by those remainiing in Occupied Europe. This was a horrible time, to be sure. Chapman was both used and protected by the forces which saw his potential as a spy...
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This agent was masterful at being himself. Sounds confusing? He was. And his story is too. Primarily because he was such an actor and so much a chameleon by nature that the core man was never "fake".
It's sounds impossible to have the verve and the bad boy nature to this extent over such a constantly transient life. But Chapman lived it and in such a way that a decent goal in wartime became the real, rather than endless prison sentences.
My own experience of enjoying this one? It was good and the intrigue! But I have enjoyed the other Ben Macintyre's of spy and espionage more.
He is an excellent WWII era non-fiction writer.
