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Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,738 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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.
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"Excellent book, gives a very interesting insight into a, shall we say, versatile personality and the way he maneuvers no matter where he is. I also found the accounts of the establishments of wartime Britain and Germany intriguing, as well as the very clear picture of the social hierarchies. Recommended!"
— kappel (4 out of 5 stars)
Agent Zigzag Listener Reviews
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Stuart Grant, 5/11/2024
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Bryn Black, 9/15/2022
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" Lovely real-life tale of a British petty criminal, Eddie Chapman, caught up in the 2nd world war who becomes an agent for the British and the Germans. His courage earnt him an Iron Cross from the Germans and a lot of respect from the British Secret Service. Good holiday read. "
— Paul, 2/16/2014 -
" Was history this interesting when I was in school? I don't think so . . . "
— Tami, 1/29/2014 -
" half way through, fascinating, well written, and a true account of war time England 1939... with a double agent... "
— Emma, 1/24/2014 -
" Excellent book. He had an amazing life worth reading about. "
— Dawn, 1/23/2014 -
" Really enjoyed this. I don't know what I was expecting, but it achieved a great balance between interesting detail about espionage during WW2 and actually being an interesting story. I'd definitely recommend this - it's a very interesting and engaging book. "
— Victoria, 1/20/2014 -
" Macintyre is a great author and a fantastic researcher. This book moves at a pace that is almost novel like in its telling. "
— Bill, 1/17/2014 -
" While I wouldn't state that this is anywhere near "the best book ever" it was a fun read and a good story. The main character had a fascinating life as a crook, as a German prisoner, and as a double-agent for the Nazis and the British... "
— Brian, 12/4/2013 -
" Wonderful. You don't have to be a history buff or a spy/thriller genre reader. This meticulously researched story is more astounding than fiction, a page-turner. The author knows how to tell a story. "
— Lisa, 7/2/2013 -
" Nonfiction but written more like a mystery. Fascinating story of petty criminal turned double-agent in World War II. "
— Jan, 2/4/2013 -
" Fascinating book. I've been on a WWII kick lately, and this nonfiction-that-reads-like-a-spy-thriller fit right in. As always, my complaint is I wanted more, more, more! "
— Jody, 1/26/2013 -
" Like the cover says, it's a story of Nazi espionage. Eddie Chapman was a low life criminal & con man who became one of the most successful double-agents in the Second World War. The story of the deception and what he accomplished is really quite incredible. "
— Melinda, 1/24/2013 -
" I read this because it was the same author as Operation Mincemeat. I was a little disappointed. I didn't like the main subject, or maybe it was just that I wasn't made to care about him. A story for real WWII buffs, but not quite my type of English breakfast tea. "
— Joan, 1/3/2013 -
" The entertaining true (almost too fantastic to be true) story of a British double agent and his exploits. A movie about his life would be more entertaining than a James Bond film. "
— Jenny, 7/30/2012 -
" Interesting story, very detailed, written well but not a page burner. "
— Bill, 4/17/2012 -
" Great read. Very entertaining and well researched. "
— Shane, 3/20/2011 -
" It's nonfiction written like a spy novel. "
— Kim, 11/4/2010 -
" His life is a movie! "
— Kipahni, 8/19/2010 -
" This is the story of the most twisted and unpredictable guy I've ever rooted for. I really enjoyed this book as I continuously wondered which side this guy was really on, and hoped he was on our side. This was another audiobook for me that I just could not turn off. "
— Thomas, 5/23/2010 -
" Ben Macintyre is an excellent storyteller, researcher and brings real characters to life so well. His humour is great. "
— Nick, 2/28/2010 -
" True story of a British double agent. Or was he a triple agent? "
— Nancy, 5/5/2008
About Ben Macintyre
Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (London) and the bestselling author of several acclaimed books, including A Spy among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, winner of Spear’s Book Award and named a best book of the year by the New York Times Book Review, Washington Post, and others. He has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.
About John Lee
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.