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gurenmkd's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining. Found all the characters getting mixed together after a while. Perhaps would be a better read as several short stories.
whitneymariebee's review against another edition
4.0
This non-fiction book reads like a fictional book.
The setting, description, and the way the author explains the rich history of the spies and why they became what they were was fascinating.
It is a rich history of real life spies who swayed the fate of D-Day. I did not know this piece of history until I read this book. But learning about these unsung heroes and what they did to lie to the Nazi's in order for D-Day to be what is was, was inspiring.
Shoutout to the author for highlighting these spies, their very important story, and why it needed to be shared.
The setting, description, and the way the author explains the rich history of the spies and why they became what they were was fascinating.
It is a rich history of real life spies who swayed the fate of D-Day. I did not know this piece of history until I read this book. But learning about these unsung heroes and what they did to lie to the Nazi's in order for D-Day to be what is was, was inspiring.
Shoutout to the author for highlighting these spies, their very important story, and why it needed to be shared.
gjmaupin's review against another edition
5.0
Splendid. I hereby petition BBC or ITV to produce a 6 to 12 hr miniseries. Thank you
krep___'s review against another edition
4.0
It's title should perhaps be "The Amazing but True...". A fascinating and, yes, amazing history of the amateurish and haphazard espionage of WWII. Both sides really had no idea what they were doing; certainly the level of competence in this area had not progressed nearly as far as the technology and tactics of actual combat.
stevienlcf's review against another edition
3.0
Macintyre's latest WWII book details Operation Fortitude -- how the British bamboozled the Germans into believing that the D-Day invasion would take place not in Normandy but in the Pas de Calais, far away to the northeast, where a fictitious “First United States Army Group,” led by a boozy actor impersonating General Montgomery, would land. The main quintet of double agents comprised “a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman, a Serbian seducer and a deeply eccentric Spaniard with a diploma in chicken farming.” Together they, and their British handlers (an equally eccentric cast of Wodehousian and Waughian characters) would save thousands of lives.
Macintyre writes of the madcap exploits of these double agents: One enjoyed a lavish lifestyle draining $86,000 in less than 9 months and requiring a steady stream of chocolates and nylons for gifts for his many lovers, and another demanded a navy sub to fetch a beloved quarantined pooch. While the details of the personal lives of this group of double agents are entertaining, and the quirkier aspects of the story are remarkable (the British diverted over $4.5 million that the Germans believed were financing its espionage activivities in the UK, so that Double Cross was a self-financing and profitable system) Macintyre does not adequately explain how the Germans could be so easily duped by a ragtag group of agents, suggesting that they were just too humorless, too German, to see the joke being played on them. Having read Double Cross, one expects that the German military was led by Colonel Klink.
Macintyre writes of the madcap exploits of these double agents: One enjoyed a lavish lifestyle draining $86,000 in less than 9 months and requiring a steady stream of chocolates and nylons for gifts for his many lovers, and another demanded a navy sub to fetch a beloved quarantined pooch. While the details of the personal lives of this group of double agents are entertaining, and the quirkier aspects of the story are remarkable (the British diverted over $4.5 million that the Germans believed were financing its espionage activivities in the UK, so that Double Cross was a self-financing and profitable system) Macintyre does not adequately explain how the Germans could be so easily duped by a ragtag group of agents, suggesting that they were just too humorless, too German, to see the joke being played on them. Having read Double Cross, one expects that the German military was led by Colonel Klink.
skybalon's review against another edition
5.0
Even if you did not know anything about WWII this would be a fun and worthwhile read. If you do know some facts, this will be even better. And if you think you know everything about WWII, you'll still be surprised. There is so much going on that it is easy to get people confused, but it is so entertaining that you won't even mind. Highly recommended.
tomfairfax's review against another edition
3.0
A set of narratives woven together in the author's habitual easily readable style, where human eccentricities are brought to the fore. This book is harder to follow than his others owing to the number of participants and the chronological jumping about required. A rewarding read in the end and points to learn about human motivations.
kurtwombat's review against another edition
4.0
Contemplating the stirs and eddies of history, it's easy to assume inevitable the currents that carried events one way or another. That Hitler's reach exceeded his grasp seems obvious now but had he been afforded a little more time, advancements in his nuclear program and the implementation of his V-2 rockets might have dramatically changed the course of things. Time is largely why the D-Day landing at Normandy became the hinge upon which the history of the 20th century swung. Should it have failed, the Allied cause might have been stalled for years. Among the many factors that contributed to the ultimate success of the landings was the use of spies to pepper the German intelligence command with half-truths and outright deceit. Virtually every spy the Germans sent to England was either killed, captured or turned. It is those who were turned who are the focus Ben Macintyre's DOUBLE CROSS a very well done real life spy thriller that I enjoyed more for the spies than the thrills. The origins, motivations and dubious characters of the central group of spies is all unfolded quite well and captivated me for the first half of the book. Each uniquely skilled and monstrously flawed double agent was so self absorbed that the thought of actually being caught was unimaginable. Recreated here with a deft hand for detail, I was quite often surprised by the turns each spy's life took. The book balances the stories of the spies with their British MI5 handlers who on good days had to satisfy diva spies and on bad days had to worry about being triple crossed and all their work vanishing in a sudden flash. As much as I enjoyed the first half of the book, there is a significant portion just past midway where the book seems to be treading water--as if the author were determined to get every bit of research into the book at the expense of momentum. The pace picks up again once the D-Day landing is underway and all the double agent's efforts are aimed in the same direction. As with any spy story, it is often difficult to directly link cause A with effect B, which does make some of the payoff from the spies activities a tad tepid, but generally there seems to be enough justification to credit the double agents with at least making the D-Day landing easier and possibly with making the landing possible at all.
lakecake's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating look at a relatively unknown but likely critical part of WWII. Had it not been for the system of double agents working for Britain, it's possible that DDay may not have actually worked and the outcome for the world could have been very very different. This is a great overall look at intelligence during the war and at the type of personalities it takes to play a dangerous game of double cross.