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Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
Unavailable
Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
Unavailable
Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
Audiobook10 hours

Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal

Written by Ben Macintyre

Narrated by John Lee

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

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.

In 1941, after training as a German spy in occupied France, Chapman was orders orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory in Britain. 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. 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. 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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 2, 2007
ISBN9781415942888
Unavailable
Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
Author

Ben Macintyre

Ben Macintyre is a columnist and Associate Editor on The Times. He has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. He is the author of nine books including Agent Zigzag, shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and the Galaxy British Book Award for Biography of the Year 2008, the number 1 bestseller Operation Mincemeat and, most recently, the Richard & Judy Book Club selection, Double Cross. He lives in London.

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Reviews for Agent Zigzag

Rating: 3.967991147461369 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a fantastic intelligence thriller. Eddie Chapman is the right type of person to describe the human condition. Patriotic, clever, vain, self-serving, womanizing, self-indulgent, sensitive, moral and immoral. If there is not a movie out there already, there should be.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Fifth Estate (spies) in World War II for the most part played a larger role in popular imagination than reality. However there were a few who stood apart and lived up to the legends of a James Bond character. Eddie Chapman's files until recently have been locked away in secret government vaults, but through freedom of information, his story has finally gone public. Times corespondent Ben Macintyre has combed through the reports and reconstructed Eddies story with a novelists flair. First serialized in the Times and then published as book in England and the US, it is an addictive page turner, excellent weekend reading that will enthrall and entertain, all the more so because it's so improbably true.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    An interesting read about espionage in the Second World War, showing that it wasn't always about black and white heroes and villains. A fascinating insight into the methods of intelligence services on both sides.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Eddie Chapman was a con man, burglar and safe cracker in pre WW II England. As a rsult , he spent time in jail and was constantly being sought by police. In 1939 he was on the island of Jersey serving time in jail for a crime on the Island when the Germans invaded and took control. He was transferred to a jail in Paris where he convinced the Germans that he hated the British and wished to become a spy for them. After a lengthy training and vetting experience, he was parachuted into England where he immediately contacted the British spy system and changed sides. Chapman was an extraordinarily brave and smart individual who lived adventures that would be difficult to believe if you read them in a novel. A fascinating book that was difficult to put down plus one learns a great deal about how the German spy system worked or maybe how and why it did not work very well.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Unable to finish.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved this book. The picaresque subject had vast charisma and charmed almost everyone he met. The author's conclusion regarding the meeting with Churchill is almost certainly wrong, but in all other areas he's probably correct. Was Zigzag a scoundrel? Well, yes, but when it came down to what was most important, he, like Schindler, did the honorable thing. A wonderful tale, and a well written one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Well written real spy story of Eddie Chapman, who was both on the the British and German payroll.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another fantastic historical fiction masterpiece by Macintyre. The detail and insight are amazing! Again, I’ve learned so much and gained a good deal of insight.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Really interesting story but it is partially ruined by is quaintness. The author starts to add a lot of details he could never know about and it ends up being pretty corny and hollywoodlike.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The amazing true story of a German spy who offers to become a double agent for the British. This man's life was truly unbelievable! An intricate and fascinating read!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Lost interest part way through, as I didn’t like the main Zigzag character, and the huge effort that went into his training and ‘work’. It’s not as good as Macintyre’s other WW2 books.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An astonishing true story about Eddie Chapman, a world war II double agent. Whilst in Jersey, ended up robbing a person called Frank Le Quesne, possibly a relative of my wife, but we're not sure.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's not often you get to read a lively and entertaining history book, but Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre fits the bill. Eddie Chapman was Agent Zigzag in WWII, a dedicated British criminal (safe-cracking, break-ins, etc.) who became a double agent. He was trained as a German spy, only to immediately turn himself into British authorities upon parachuting into a field near London, and he then became an agent instead for the Allies. As book photos confirm, he was handsome, and someone whom a wide variety of personalities found charming, from staid government officials to spy trainers to other spies. His charm also paved the way for a number of romances, with Eddie insisting on female companionship at every port of call.Besides following the remarkable true life exploits of this rogue, I enjoyed reading about the many related deceptions perpetrated on the unsuspecting Germans by British intelligence, from the well-known Enigma code-breaking advantage of knowing what the Germans were transmitting, including between their dangerous U-boats, to the complicated misdirection ploy of convincing the Germans the Allies were beginning their assault at Calais, not Normandy, to the faked destruction of a critical plane factory in which Eddie (and a magician!) played a key role.Eddie's talent for lying repeated served him well, in playing roles and withstanding interrogation. He had a well-earned reputation for accomplishing the assigned mission, with the warning that you'd better be sure to watch your wallet as he was carrying it out. He couldn't resist adding extracurricular fleecing of one sort or another. From a lower class background, he became well-read, and fluent in French and German, and acquired noteworthy expertise in explosives. One section of the book has Eddie and Britain's upper class head man for explosives sharing a gleeful time discussing different ways to blow things up, like two little kids becoming best friends.Eddie Chapman thrived on danger and adrenaline, and had no shortage of bravery. At one point, he was so convincing to the Germans that they awarded him a medal. Meanwhile, his multiple romances in different countries were deeply felt on both sides, and who he ended up marrying both surprised me and made me laugh. For an improbable slice of history served up in delicious fashion, you need look no further. Four stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I thought this was a great book, a very engrossing story, skillfully told. Eddie Chapman, whose codename was in fact Zigzag (I thought it was made up for the title) was a charming incorrigible who turned into a cunning double agent for the British during World War II. The stories of espionage are really remarkable and make James Bond seem not nearly so outlandish--the MI staged a bombing on an aircraft factory to deceive the Germans (thanks to the talents of a master magician!). I couldn't put it down, would recommend it to anyone who likes spy, espionage thrillers.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Among the German spies that became double agents for the British Secret Service during WWII was Eddie Chapman, a man with a penchant for criminal activities in his youth and wanted by the British police for most of the war. Known as Fritz by the Germans, his identity as a double agent was never broken despite his indiscretion to a Norwegian girlfriend and an old member of his previous crime gang. Instead he was feted by the Germans as their most successful and reliable spy to whom he fed a mix of half truths and lies about V-1 bomb strike locations in and around London, a much more effective and dangerous hedgehog that could locate U-boats in deep dive and even helped fake the destruction of the Mosquito factory. Chapman caused his British handlers no end of anxiety because he was a contradiction. He developed a longlasting and true friendship with his German handler and admired him, but at the same time, he knew that the information he was delivering to the British and to the Germans could potentially result in the death of this friend. He was a survivor, a charming story-teller and had the ego the size of the Titanic. MI5 made a drastic mistake late in the war in changing his handler from one with whom he had developed a strong friendship, to one who was the very opposite in personalities, and who took it upon himself to destroy Chapman. His goal was to close the ZigZag operation down. The irrepressible Chapman though, proved to be a survivor and did very well for himself after the war.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I read Agent Zig Zag until the part about the training as a German spy and then I gave up, because it sounded false to me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Journalist Ben McIntyre has cornered the market on WWII British espionage histories, utilizing a wealth of freshly declassified and released records. Fast upon the heels of finishing his Double Cross, I picked up this remarkable story of Eddie Chapman -- one of Britain's most valuable double agents. From lowly beginnings, Chapman eases into life as a gentleman criminal, leading a safecracking ring and running various scams. Nabbed on the Isle of Jersey, he is unfortunately incarcerated when the island comes under German occupation. A series of bizarre twists lead to his offering his services as an agent to Nazi Germany. Chapman is carefully trained at a French chateau in a variety of espionage skills, including coding, explosives and weaponry. With much invested in him, Germany is counting on him to parachute back into England, charm his way into a variety of circles, blow up key locations and relay important intelligence. He could quickly become their key espionage asset. The enormous surprise is that he manages to accomplish all this -- while acting as a double agent for the British. Chapman is by turns charming, devious, brave, venal and enormously attractive to women. Read this book and meet the real life version of James Bond.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I wish like hell there had been no war—I begin to wish I had never started this affair. To spy and cheat on one's friends it's not nice it's dirty. However, I started this affair and I will finish it.I haven't read a book by Ben Macintyre that I didn't enjoy. When I picked this out of my tbr jar I knew I was in for a true story so odd that it would make a great spy novel/movie. Eddie Chapman was quite the character and it was a pleasure reading about him.At times it is hard to believe that a man like Eddie could and would become a double agent for England during WWII. You wouldn't expect a criminal to have been allowed such an important and dangerous role but besides being a criminal Eddie was also loyal and had a charisma that would draw others to him. I grew to really like Eddie while reading this and felt horrible for him towards the end with all that Ryde threw against him, even though I knew most of it was Eddie's fault.Reading one of Macintyre's books is always an experience. With this book, and the others by Macintyre that I have read, I didn't get a dry telling of history but rather a colorful telling of the events and the people behind them. There are always these wonderfully quirky people highlighted and some hilarious events discussed throughout Macintyre's books.I would highly recommend this book if you want to read about a double agent unlike no other.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wait…this really happened? You mean this isn’t a John le Carre spy novel? Really? Wow! I thought I was reading fiction. I’m stunned. And a little embarrassed that I didn’t know.Eddie Chapman was sitting in a Jersey jail when the island was invaded by the Germans in 1940. A petty criminal and ladies’ man, he was always, above all, looking out for himself. So it came as no surprise when he decided to find a niche in the armor of his German jailers and proposed that he would make a good German spy. The fact that they took him up on it is as preposterous as the rest of this unbelievable, yet true, story of espionage during WWII. But wait, that’s not all. The fact is, after being trained for months in France, by the German intelligence group, Abwehr he parachutes down from a German plane into the English countryside and immediately turns himself in to the authorities and is picked up by MI5, the British intelligence group where he sings to the high heavens about all he’s done in France. They determine that he will make a suitable double agent. You see, this is the thing about Eddie Chapman: he is really quite unlikable, with not much of a moral compass. He does what is in his own best interests, leaving women in his wake in two countries, a charming con man and philanderer and yet….in the end he did the right thing and supported his own country. It’s just that he was such a loose canon and completely untrustworthy, so much so that neither side was ever sure of what he would do. The first time he came back to London, after his German training he found a changed city:”Chapman last lived in London in 1939, and the city had changed almost beyond recognition, and the city had changed almost beyond recognition. The Blitz had stiffened British resolve, but it had left livid scars across the capital, inflicting some forty-three thousand deaths, destroying more than a million houses, and damaging such landmarks as the Houses of Parliament, and St. James Place. Chapman had left a swinging, prosperous London. The one he returned to was shabby and toughened, crouched in self-defense, festooned in barbed wire, inured to deprivation, and braced for the next assault. It would take Chapman weeks to adapt to this transformed world of coupons and rationing, blackouts and bomb shelters.” (Page 142)The book is absolutely unputdownable. Well researched using recently released British secret documents, an engaging narrative non-fiction, it reads like a spy thriller. It’s just that, well, it’s hard to believe that it all actually happened. But it did. It happened. Very highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Agent Zigzag is the remarkable story of Second World War double agent Eddie Chapman. Along the way Eddie meets an extraordinary cast of characters. Here's a couple of examples:Jasper Maskelyne who was Britain's official illusionist (and a master-illusionist at that) who came from a long line of magicians, alchemists and astronomers. In addition to his marvellous war work he also invented the coin operated toilet door. Praetorius, one of Chapman's Abwehr (German Secret Service) minders. A fan of English folk dancing and who adored Morris dancing. As the war was concluding, Praetorius left the Abwehr, to take up a role as dance instructor to the Wehrmacht.There are many, many more. You couldn't make some of this stuff up. It's incredible. The most incredible thing of all is Eddie's tale: from criminal, to British prisoner, to Nazi prisoner (both in Jersey and Paris), to Nazi agent, and then to British double agent. Eddie's gift was his charm and his cunning. Almost universally liked, he seemed to win over even the most sceptical. This appears to be because he frequently developed real affection for the many people he met, including his Abwehr controllers. He also seemed to genuinely love the various women with whom he became entangled.Ben Macintyre tells Chapman's story with skill, verve, and wit, and does his subject justice. Chapman emerges as a real life, working class James Bond-type character: handsome, charming, and drawn to danger, gambling, fine food, drink, and women. He is a seething mass of contradictions, with one essential attribute, he was the perfect double agent. If you enjoy either good biographies, or larger-than-life characters, then you'll almost certainly enjoy this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I won't go so far as to say that this is "the best book ever written," as one reviewer on the back cover of the paperback claimed, but I did enjoy it more than any other book I've read about WWII. It's a cross between Ian Fleming and Hogan's Heroes, and it's based on declassified MI5 files. A great read, and especially satisfying if you stick with it from the beginning to the last paragraph. Terrific ending.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Agent Zigzag is an insanely true story - a WWII yarn to rival The Dirty Dozen or anything else Hollywood has ever put up. Propelled by a charismatic mountebank dancing between the Nazis, the Allies, and a seeming bevy of women, it still manages to sneak in some interesting thoughts about the nature of patriotism, war, and relationships. Eddie Chapman is picked up by the Nazis whilst languishing in a Jersey prison cell. Trained up to be an uber-spy, he's dropped off into England - and the creative, mature spy network of MI5. The problem with double agents, though, is that they so easily multiple into triple agents, quadruple agents, and so on. Whose side is Chapman really on, and which side is going to call his bluff first?Macintyre has made a history of publishing accessible novels dealing with eccentric corners of WWII, and in doing so, exposing smaller narratives running parallel or in contradiction to the dominant discourse.Agent ZigZag is no exception. Aside from the genuinely exciting particulars of the plot, Macintyre calls out the contribution made by spies in general, and MI5 in particular, during the course of WWII. His research is deep and seemed impeccable to me, and it illustrates the vital importance of intelligence, and the subtleties of doing it well.Chapman is not the only interesting character in Agent Zigzag, far from it. The unique, talented, and tragic individuals - both British and Nazi - that populate the book hint at a plethora of equally fascinating stories hovering at the wings, and it gives the book a depth that these kind of histories don't always achieve.Macintyre's affection for Chapman, the era, and the quirky peripheries of war is obvious, and quite infectious. Despite the incredible seriousness, the often jocular tone and the sheer audacity of Chapman's exploits stop this from being a heavy read.And yet, for those looking for something deeper, it's here. Chapman was hated by his country in some ways; how much did he actually love it? What impact did class have on the military apparatus of both sides during the course of the war - and in the treatment of Chapman? There's some interesting questions hiding out under this rousing story.All together, Agent ZigZag is a very well put together book, the most amazing thing is that it's true.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Eddie Chapman was a rather rakish thief whose specialty was breaking into safes using explosives. He happened to be serving time in a prison on the island of Jersey when the Nazis invaded it, got stuck there in occupied territory after his release, and only managed to avoid spending the rest of the war in yet another prison by offering to go back to Britain as a spy for the Germans. Assuming they paid him, of course. They took him up on it, trained him in espionage, and parachuted him into England, where he promptly contacted the authorities and offered to work as a double agent, despite the fact that he was still wanted for numerous crimes there. They took him up on it, too, and so back and forth he went...This is a fascinating story. Kind of a crazy story, even, full of larger-than-life characters and improbable situations and odd coincidences. If it were presented as fiction, I'd probably find it entertaining but too far-fetched, which I guess just goes to show you that the truth really is stranger.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Entertaining and interesting account of the story of Eddie Chapman, a double agent during WWII for the Nazis and the British MI5. I really enjoyed this book. Small time crook from England gets arrested on Isle of Jersey and is in jail there when it is soon occupied by the Nazis during WWII. He naively makes a deal with them to be a spy. They recruit him, but then as soon as he's on his first mission in England, he goes to the British and makes a deal with them. A real operator but endearing in his own way. Good inside view of this side of WWII. Very easy listening on audio and John Lee was excellent as the narrator.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sally Apollon Review 9/5/12 ofAgent Zigzag By Ben McIntyre6 out of 10Setting: The events as they unfolded around the Second World War do provide a compelling story. The settings of occupied France and war-time England are intriguing to me and it was an enlightening read for this reason alone.Language: I did find that the language & style let the book down to an extent. The content was very engaging, but the style didn’t really help move it along, I did have the sense of “wading through” a factual account at times. Given that it was a true story I don’t think it’s impossible to improve the narration; I’ve read far better “Investigative Reporter” style articles in newspapers and magazines many times. I did appreciate however how well-researched the book was, that it came from so many different sources and was the result of much work. It seemed a little sad, however, that the author appeared too exhausted to tell the story any better. Content:The story itself was brilliant the real-life characters did come alive, with their foibles and contradictions. None better that Chapman himself, who was a brilliantly flawed anti-hero in real life. In spite of his weaknesses, you really want him to succeed in his efforts. The scope and scale and sheer length of the war itself is well-illustrated. People made their lives and careers out of it and of course, lives were forever changed as a result. Satisfying to complete, but difficult to get through at times.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Wow! Truly an incredible story of a British citizen, whose life of crime lands him in prison, then in German hands during the Second World War. With his smooth talk and charming manner, Chapman finds himself with an offer that tantalizes his love of adventure - to spy on Britain, for the Germans. Thus begins Chapman's life of duality.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the exploits of Eddie Chapman, the WWII double agent.It is a well researched and written book about a small time crook double crossing the Germans to considerably help out the allies during the war. Chapman was an interesting chap and despite his criminal beginnings there he showed great passion and loyalty to Britain. Overall a good informative read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was a fascinating read. It is documentary like and tells the story of Eddie Chapman, and how he came to work for both the German and British Secret Services during WWII.It is factual, and gives some inkling of the thinking of two agencies with regards to running an agent, and to the motivation of Chapman himself, who was, basical, a hood to begin with.I must say, regardless of his motivations or money raising exploits, he was very brave to do what he did.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Here's the story of a handsome, charismatic lowlife thief. He's arrested by the Nazis and then recruited as an agent. Sent to Britain, he changes gears and offers to work for the Brits against the Germans. So we've got a real double agent playing a very dangerous game. The first two-thirds of the book read like a novel; the last third tails off, and there is very little suspense. So it's a mixed bag, but still worth it if you enjoy learning the techniques actual spies use as well as the techniques to apprehend intelligence agents. Also good for its descriptions of wartime London, France, Norway and other venues.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the most entertaining nonfiction books I have ever read. Eddie Chapman remains a rogue throughout, but MacIntyre makes him sympathetic to the reader. He lived a life few of us will ever have the chance to.