Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
by Ben Macintyre
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Biography & Autobiography. History. Military. Nonfiction. HTML: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 show more 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. show less
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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 show more 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. show less
Besides following show more 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. show less
A true story that reads like a cracking adventure novel. Eddie Chapman was a British criminal imprisoned on the island of Jersey when the Germans occupied it during the Second World War. Looking for a way out of prison, he and his cell mate offered to spy for the Germans. Once they accepted his offer and had trained him and dropped him into Britain, he immediately turned around and offered to spy for the British. It was only recently that papers related to his work were declassified by MI5, allowing the whole story to be told, and what a story it is!
This book is absolutely fascinating. It features interesting information (e.g. the section where Chapman is trained in the proper use of explosives), dry-witted narration ("Like every show more sprawling bureaucracy, the Abwehr combined nitpicking with inefficiency"), a perhaps-new perspective on some historical figures (Lord Rothschild, for instance, with his unfettered enthusiasm for all things explosive), and a glimpse at the more human side of some of the Germans involved (Chapman's German spymaster was almost like a father to him). I was constantly stopping to take notes, which is the only reason it took me so long to read.
Very highly recommended for those interested in WW2 and the spy trade, and those who like to hear the stories of charming rogues. show less
This book is absolutely fascinating. It features interesting information (e.g. the section where Chapman is trained in the proper use of explosives), dry-witted narration ("Like every show more sprawling bureaucracy, the Abwehr combined nitpicking with inefficiency"), a perhaps-new perspective on some historical figures (Lord Rothschild, for instance, with his unfettered enthusiasm for all things explosive), and a glimpse at the more human side of some of the Germans involved (Chapman's German spymaster was almost like a father to him). I was constantly stopping to take notes, which is the only reason it took me so long to read.
Very highly recommended for those interested in WW2 and the spy trade, and those who like to hear the stories of charming rogues. show less
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 show more 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. show less
Chapman is carefully trained at a French chateau in a variety of espionage skills, including coding, explosives and show more 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. show less
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 show more 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:
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. show less
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 show more 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. show less
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. show more 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. show less
This is a fascinating story. show more 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. show less
Career criminal and double-agent Eddie Chapman was the only British citizen to receive the iron cross. for his service to Germany during WWII. But he was really working for MI5, and ultimately himself. Apparently amoral, but patriotic, Chapman found himself jailed in German occupied Jersey at the beginning of the war and convinced the Abwehr he would work for them in order to get back to England.
This began with infiltration into England, sending back misleading reports under the aegis of MI5, then returning to occupied France, Germany and Norway to regroup and return to England for good. Along the way he pulled a few scams of his own and was sure to get paid by both countries.
Chapman made lifelong friends, and some enemies, on both show more sides and returned to a life of crime after the war.
As with all of Ben Macintyre's books, Agent Zigzag is supremely researched and written. There's never a part that you would skip over. show less
This began with infiltration into England, sending back misleading reports under the aegis of MI5, then returning to occupied France, Germany and Norway to regroup and return to England for good. Along the way he pulled a few scams of his own and was sure to get paid by both countries.
Chapman made lifelong friends, and some enemies, on both show more sides and returned to a life of crime after the war.
As with all of Ben Macintyre's books, Agent Zigzag is supremely researched and written. There's never a part that you would skip over. show less
This is a rattling good read. I'd say 'yarn', but it isn't one. It's all true. This is the story of Eddie Chapman, small-time crook, POW, German spy, British double agent, womaniser and small-time crook (again). Well written and researched, this complex and fast moving tale gives an astonishing picture of the world of espionage in WWII. The deceit and double-dealing involved, the secrecy, cross-checking and plain old-fashioned bravery are all quite astonishing. It's a quite unbelievable thriller. And a true story.
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Mr. Macintyre, a writer at large for The Times of London, paints a detailed picture, supported by newly opened MI5 files on espionage training in the Third Reich and Britain’s desperate scramble to throw the enemy off course through a campaign of disinformation.
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- Canonical title
- Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
- Original title
- Agent Zigzag: The True Wartime Story of Eddie Chapman: Lover, Betrayer, Hero, Spy
- Original publication date
- 2007
- People/Characters
- Eddie Chapman; John Cecil Masterman; Hugh Anson; Paul Backwell; Hjalti Bjornsson; Wilhelm Canaris (show all 44); Winston Churchill; George Convine; Martha Convine; Anthony Charles Faramus; Betty Farmer; Herman Feltman; Vera Freidberg; Roman Garby-Czerniawski; Adolf Hitler; Johnny Holst; James Wells Hunt; Ralph Jarvis; Sigurdur Nordmann Juliusson; Reginald Sanderson Kearon; Leo Kreutsch; Dagmar Mohne Hansen Lahlum; Antony Latt; John Marriott; Laurie Marshall; Jasper Maskelyne; Ewen Montagu; Arthur Owens; Walter Praetorius; Vidkun Quisling; Ronnie Reed; Thomas Argyll Robertson; Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild; Michael Ryde; Albert Schael; Franz Stoezner; Robin "Tin Eye" Stephens; Freda Stevenson; Allan Tooth; Joseph Vail; Stephan Albert Heinrich Von Gröning; H.G. Wells; Horst Barton; Terence Young
- Important places
- London, England, UK; Paris, France; Nantes, France; Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid, Spain; Berlin, Germany (show all 7); Oslo, Norway
- Important events
- World War II (1939 | 1945)
- Related movies
- Agent Zigzag (2011 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- Zigzag. n, adj, and vb. '... a pattern made up of many small corners at an acute angle, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular'.
'It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus double agents are recruited and used.'
Sun Tzu, ... (show all)The Art of War
'War makes thieves and peace hangs them.'
George Herbert - Dedication
- For Kate
- First words
- A German spy drops from a black Focke-Wulf reconnaissance plane over Cambridgeshire.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)His own death appears imminent in John Dixon’s footage, but there is Eddie Chapman still playing by his own rules: a grinning villain, spinning a yarn, looking you straight in the eye while he picks your pocket.
- Blurbers
- le Carré, John ; Beam, Alex
Classifications
- Genres
- General Nonfiction, History, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 940.548641092 — History & geography History of Europe History of Europe 1918- Military history of World War II Other Topics Unconventional warfare of Allies Europe British Isles
- LCC
- D810 .S8 .C385 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania History (General) World War II (1939-1945)
- BISAC
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