Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
by Ben Macintyre
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ben MacintyreEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-12
ISBN: 0307353419
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Book Reviews of Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
Book Review: Amazing True Spy Tale
Summary: 5 Stars
"Agent Zigzag" was one of the most enthralling spy stories I have read in a long time. A warning, though: once you start it, you may find it difficult to put down.
Those who denigrate Eddie Chapman's accomplishments as a double agent against the Nazis and his "comfortable" lifestyle should consider this. He faced almost unimaginable risks on a daily basis. All it would take was one slip, one betrayal by someone who knew his true identity, and he would have faced hideous torture by the Gestapo and a lonely death. Once he turned double agent, he could have stayed in Britain, where he was safe. Yet he volunteered to return to Nazi-occupied Europe, to serve the cause of freedom.
What made him do it? What turned this erstwhile con man and crook into one of the most successful British double agents of all time? Though we can never know for sure, Ben Macintyre does a great job of uncovering the man's deeper motivations. First and foremost, Chapman was a man of action, who craved thrills. He would never have been satisfied with an ordinary, mundane existence in a 9-to-5 job. This may have been part of what drove him into crime in the first place. Second, there was probably a less-than-savory aspect of his character, that delighted in fooling the Germans who thought they were his friends, and in taking money from both sides. But this was redeemed, somewhat, by another, more unexpected character trait: a true love of his country and a desire to be useful in helping to win the war.
It has been objected that Chapman didn't accomplish that much. It wasn't from lack of motivation. Though he volunteered to assasinate Hitler, the British secret service didn't take him up on the offer. His career was cut short at the end of the war by a priggish handler who disdained his criminal past. But what he did accomplish was significant: he passed on false information to the Abwehr, provided British intelligence with information on German espionage techniques and activities, faked incidents of sabotage to reassure his German handlers, and diverted Germany's limited spying resources into investigating a fake mirror world.
The best thing about the tale, though, is not so much Chapman's accomplishments, but the way it is told. Macintyre paints with vivid colors the British and German spies who carefully maneuvered Chapman like a piece on a chessboard. He describes Chapman's narrow escapes with nail-biting clarity. The prose is worthy of a Le Carre novel; it just carries you along through the story. If I have one complaint, perhaps, it is how abruptly the story ends--but that in itself is a sort of novelistic device, for it is ironic how British intelligence, having benefitted so much from Chapman's services during the war, simply dumped him near its end. One might say he had his revenge, using his service to Britain numerous times after the war to escape punishment for ongoing criminal behavior. But Chapman is no cardboard criminal--as Macintyre portrays him, there is always something much more than one-dimensional about the man.
Summary of Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
"Ben Macintyre's rollicking, spellbinding Agent Zigzag blends the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carr? with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh."
-William Grimes, The New York Times
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
A Washington Post Best Book of 2007
One of the Top 10 Best Books of 2007 (Entertainment Weekly)
New York Times Best of the Year Round-Up
New York Times Editors' Choice
Eddie Chapman was a charming criminal, a con man, and a philanderer. He was also one of the most remarkable double agents Britain has ever produced. Inside the traitor was a man of loyalty; inside the villain was a hero. The problem for Chapman, his spymasters, and his lovers was to know where one persona ended and the other began. Based on recently declassified files, Agent Zigzag tells Chapman's full story for the first time. It's a gripping tale of loyalty, love, treachery, espionage, and the thin and shifting line between fidelity and betrayal.
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