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Double Cross : The True Story of the D-Day Spies (2012)

by Ben Macintyre

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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1,0484519,309 (3.86)115
History. Military. Nonfiction. HTML:In Double Cross, New York Times bestselling author Ben Macintyre returns with the untold story of one of the greatest deceptions of World War II, and of the extraordinary spies who achieved it.

On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and suffered an astonishingly low rate of casualties. D-Day was a stunning military accomplishment, but it was also a masterpiece of trickery. Operation Fortitude, which protected and enabled the invasion, and the Double Cross system, which specialized in turning German spies into double agents, deceived the Nazis into believing that the Allies would attack at Calais and Norway rather than Normandy. It was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever carried out, ensuring Allied victory at the most pivotal point in the war.

This epic event has never before been told from the perspective of the key individuals in the Double Cross system, until now. These include its director (a brilliant, urbane intelligence officer), a colorful assortment of MI5 handlers (as well as their counterparts in Nazi intelligence), and the five spies who formed Double Crossâ??s nucleus: a dashing  Serbian playboy, a Polish fighter-pilot, a bisexual Peruvian party girl, a deeply eccentric Spaniard, and a volatile Frenchwoman. The D-Day spies were, without question, one of the oddest military units ever assembled, and their success depended on the delicate, dubious relationship between spy and spymaster, both German and British. Their enterprise was saved from catastrophe by a shadowy sixth spy whose heroic sacrifice is revealed here for the first time.

With the same depth of research, eye for the absurd and masterful storytelling that have made Ben Macintyre an international bestseller, Double Cross is a captivating narrative of the spies who wove a web so intricate it ensnared Hitlerâ??s army and carried thousands of D-Day troops across the Channel in s
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» See also 115 mentions

English (41)  Spanish (2)  All languages (43)
Showing 1-5 of 41 (next | show all)
Read this book a while ago when I was over at G-G's, maybe just getting there when I read it. That part a couple times, about halfway through, I justified to myself why it would be ok to just quit reading it and go on to another book. This book right here showed me just how powerful my O.C.D. is over my rational mind. I thought I was going to enjoy it since it was about Katrina and my love for history, fascination with natural disasters and being someone who went through it and experienced it (although it was a lot different from what others were going through. I did lose my piece of shit damaged car, and that was like the only thing at that point that I owned and was mine. It did knock me out of college (and of course solely this) and prevented me from becoming the pompous, high-brow vegan with a lot of gay friends and the famous writer or intellectual that I was so obviously meant to be)...all those things make me think I would at least not hate this book. Wrong. I actually hated it. And I know it's probably not healthy to have such strong negative feelings towards a book I just read, but it's definitely like that. The premise behind the story could have probably been much more interesting if she did not explain her entire outfit and her friends husband who is some rich, sleazy wh0 happens to be in a current, high profile lawsuit, but whatever. I do love how she gives a nod to her son and his life when she throws in there that she helped her son and his partner move into their apartment, and that information had no relevance to anything else that she was talking about but she did it so her son would know he was accepted and I think that's really cool. I don't know how the dad felt about this particular subject, on his monthly fishing trip with the guys the old fashions were piling up and someone says something off-putting about your son, so you catch him one time in the right eye and put him down, because he's gotta show the guys that his son didn't get any of that punk shit from him. And all of that could have been avoided without exposing the child for your own self-satisfaction. Other than that it was just bland and ok. t doesn't matter at all to what I'm about to say...I loved this book and it got me into other Ben Macintyre books, all on the subject of espionage, which I happen to find fascinating. I still remember parts of this book and individuals who were characters in the book unlike I do for most books I read, which that sounds kind of sad like I can't comprehend what I'm reading, it's just that I read a lot of books and a lot of them are about roughly the same thing. I would say this is his best book without having read all of them just because I'm that confident of how hard he brought it. Since reading the book, I've seen many things on television, podcasts, other books I've read refer to the Double Cross system in ww2 and I still find that entire system as fascinating as the first time I read about it in this book. I've even wanted to read a book on the other individuals in Double Cross that went on to some notoriety (or at least a book written about them which I think is pretty cool) because Ben Macintyre makes these people seem so interesting. Names like Tricycle and Zigzag (Ben Macintyre also wrote a book titled "Agent Zigzag" and I own a copy of it but for some reason I began reading it but distinctively remember not finishing it for whatever reason, it must have been an important one because I would love the ability to put down a shitty book and move onto the next. I think I'll try that but I can't get trigger happy and jump the gun on every instance that I question a book or had higher expectations. I plan to use it only when it's a must) ( )
  booksonbooksonbooks | Jul 24, 2023 |
Read this book a while ago when I was over at G-G's, maybe just getting there when I read it. That part a couple times, about halfway through, I justified to myself why it would be ok to just quit reading it and go on to another book. This book right here showed me just how powerful my O.C.D. is over my rational mind. I thought I was going to enjoy it since it was about Katrina and my love for history, fascination with natural disasters and being someone who went through it and experienced it (although it was a lot different from what others were going through. I did lose my piece of shit damaged car, and that was like the only thing at that point that I owned and was mine. It did knock me out of college (and of course solely this) and prevented me from becoming the pompous, high-brow vegan with a lot of gay friends and the famous writer or intellectual that I was so obviously meant to be)...all those things make me think I would at least not hate this book. Wrong. I actually hated it. And I know it's probably not healthy to have such strong negative feelings towards a book I just read, but it's definitely like that. The premise behind the story could have probably been much more interesting if she did not explain her entire outfit and her friends husband who is some rich, sleazy wh0 happens to be in a current, high profile lawsuit, but whatever. I do love how she gives a nod to her son and his life when she throws in there that she helped her son and his partner move into their apartment, and that information had no relevance to anything else that she was talking about but she did it so her son would know he was accepted and I think that's really cool. I don't know how the dad felt about this particular subject, on his monthly fishing trip with the guys the old fashions were piling up and someone says something off-putting about your son, so you catch him one time in the right eye and put him down, because he's gotta show the guys that his son didn't get any of that punk shit from him. And all of that could have been avoided without exposing the child for your own self-satisfaction. Other than that it was just bland and ok. t doesn't matter at all to what I'm about to say...I loved this book and it got me into other Ben Macintyre books, all on the subject of espionage, which I happen to find fascinating. I still remember parts of this book and individuals who were characters in the book unlike I do for most books I read, which that sounds kind of sad like I can't comprehend what I'm reading, it's just that I read a lot of books and a lot of them are about roughly the same thing. I would say this is his best book without having read all of them just because I'm that confident of how hard he brought it. Since reading the book, I've seen many things on television, podcasts, other books I've read refer to the Double Cross system in ww2 and I still find that entire system as fascinating as the first time I read about it in this book. I've even wanted to read a book on the other individuals in Double Cross that went on to some notoriety (or at least a book written about them which I think is pretty cool) because Ben Macintyre makes these people seem so interesting. Names like Tricycle and Zigzag (Ben Macintyre also wrote a book titled "Agent Zigzag" and I own a copy of it but for some reason I began reading it but distinctively remember not finishing it for whatever reason, it must have been an important one because I would love the ability to put down a shitty book and move onto the next. I think I'll try that but I can't get trigger happy and jump the gun on every instance that I question a book or had higher expectations. I plan to use it only when it's a must) ( )
  booksonbooksonbooks | Jul 24, 2023 |
In this book, Macintyre described the spies who formed the battle plan for the D-Day attack. The story followed five key players who tricked the Nazis. They were each a double agent, working for the German and British sides. These spies would collect information, movements, and plans about the Nazis and give the Germans false or harmless information about British plans. I would give this book 3.5 stars because it was a hard read. The story in general was very interesting but it could not keep my full attention. This book gave me an appreciation and understanding of all the work that goes behind the scenes. ( )
  reader347812 | Jan 10, 2023 |
Another great book by Ben Macintyre. Researched in minute detail. The only "lost" star was for the incredible amount of characters I needed to keep track of. As always the audiobook narration of John Lee was fantastic! ( )
  yukon92 | Jul 3, 2022 |
Read this book a while ago when I was over at G-G's, maybe just getting there when I read it. That part a couple times, about halfway through, I justified to myself why it would be ok to just quit reading it and go on to another book. This book right here showed me just how powerful my O.C.D. is over my rational mind. I thought I was going to enjoy it since it was about Katrina and my love for history, fascination with natural disasters and being someone who went through it and experienced it (although it was a lot different from what others were going through. I did lose my piece of shit damaged car, and that was like the only thing at that point that I owned and was mine. It did knock me out of college (and of course solely this) and prevented me from becoming the pompous, high-brow vegan with a lot of gay friends and the famous writer or intellectual that I was so obviously meant to be)...all those things make me think I would at least not hate this book. Wrong. I actually hated it. And I know it's probably not healthy to have such strong negative feelings towards a book I just read, but it's definitely like that. The premise behind the story could have probably been much more interesting if she did not explain her entire outfit and her friends husband who is some rich, sleazy wh0 happens to be in a current, high profile lawsuit, but whatever. I do love how she gives a nod to her son and his life when she throws in there that she helped her son and his partner move into their apartment, and that information had no relevance to anything else that she was talking about but she did it so her son would know he was accepted and I think that's really cool. I don't know how the dad felt about this particular subject, on his monthly fishing trip with the guys the old fashions were piling up and someone says something off-putting about your son, so you catch him one time in the right eye and put him down, because he's gotta show the guys that his son didn't get any of that punk shit from him. And all of that could have been avoided without exposing the child for your own self-satisfaction. Other than that it was just bland and ok. t doesn't matter at all to what I'm about to say...I loved this book and it got me into other Ben Macintyre books, all on the subject of espionage, which I happen to find fascinating. I still remember parts of this book and individuals who were characters in the book unlike I do for most books I read, which that sounds kind of sad like I can't comprehend what I'm reading, it's just that I read a lot of books and a lot of them are about roughly the same thing. I would say this is his best book without having read all of them just because I'm that confident of how hard he brought it. Since reading the book, I've seen many things on television, podcasts, other books I've read refer to the Double Cross system in ww2 and I still find that entire system as fascinating as the first time I read about it in this book. I've even wanted to read a book on the other individuals in Double Cross that went on to some notoriety (or at least a book written about them which I think is pretty cool) because Ben Macintyre makes these people seem so interesting. Names like Tricycle and Zigzag (Ben Macintyre also wrote a book titled "Agent Zigzag" and I own a copy of it but for some reason I began reading it but distinctively remember not finishing it for whatever reason, it must have been an important one because I would love the ability to put down a shitty book and move onto the next. I think I'll try that but I can't get trigger happy and jump the gun on every instance that I question a book or had higher expectations. I plan to use it only when it's a must) ( )
  swmproblems | Aug 24, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 41 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Ben Macintyreprimary authorall editionscalculated
Barnes, Michael TudorNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Tangle within tangle, plot and counter-plot, ruse and treachery, cross and double-cross, true agent, false agent, double agent, gold and steel, the bomb, the dagger and the firing party, were interwoven in many a texture so intricate as to be incredible and yet true. - Winston Churchill
The enemy must not know where I intend to give battle. For if he does not know where I intend to give battle he must prepare in a great many places. And when he prepares in a great many places, those I have to fight in any one place will be few. And when he prepares everywhere he will be weak everywhere. - Sun Tzu
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For Callum, Pablo, Minnie, and Wilf
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(Preface) In the summer of 1943, a genteel and soft-spoken intelligence officer wearing tartan trousers and smoking a pipe put the finishing touches to a secret weapon he had been working on for more than three years.
Dusko and Johnny were friends.
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History. Military. Nonfiction. HTML:In Double Cross, New York Times bestselling author Ben Macintyre returns with the untold story of one of the greatest deceptions of World War II, and of the extraordinary spies who achieved it.

On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and suffered an astonishingly low rate of casualties. D-Day was a stunning military accomplishment, but it was also a masterpiece of trickery. Operation Fortitude, which protected and enabled the invasion, and the Double Cross system, which specialized in turning German spies into double agents, deceived the Nazis into believing that the Allies would attack at Calais and Norway rather than Normandy. It was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever carried out, ensuring Allied victory at the most pivotal point in the war.

This epic event has never before been told from the perspective of the key individuals in the Double Cross system, until now. These include its director (a brilliant, urbane intelligence officer), a colorful assortment of MI5 handlers (as well as their counterparts in Nazi intelligence), and the five spies who formed Double Crossâ??s nucleus: a dashing  Serbian playboy, a Polish fighter-pilot, a bisexual Peruvian party girl, a deeply eccentric Spaniard, and a volatile Frenchwoman. The D-Day spies were, without question, one of the oddest military units ever assembled, and their success depended on the delicate, dubious relationship between spy and spymaster, both German and British. Their enterprise was saved from catastrophe by a shadowy sixth spy whose heroic sacrifice is revealed here for the first time.

With the same depth of research, eye for the absurd and masterful storytelling that have made Ben Macintyre an international bestseller, Double Cross is a captivating narrative of the spies who wove a web so intricate it ensnared Hitlerâ??s army and carried thousands of D-Day troops across the Channel in s

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