Reviews
"Macintyre is the more graceful writer;Agent Zigzaghas a clarity and shape that make it the more fluid account… I would give a personal nod to Macintyre's as the better book… A review cannot possibly convey the sheer fun of this story… or the fascinating moral complexities." -New York Times Book Review "[Agent Zigzag's] incredible wartime adventures, recounted in Ben Macintyre's rollicking, spellbindingAgent Zigzagblend the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carré with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh." -The New York Times "Chapman's story has been told in fragments in the past, but only when MI5 declassified his files was it possible to present it in all its richness and complexity. Macintyre tells it to perfection, with endless insights into the horror and absurdity of war….Eddie Chapman was a patriot, in his fashion, and this excellent book finally does him justice." -The Washington Post Book World "Fact sounds like fast-moving fiction in this espionage saga of a man who was probably the most improbable double agent to emerge in World War II. ... The author has written an enormously fascinating book about an enormously fascinating man. The late Eddie Chapman would have been delighted to at last capture the limelight denied him by the restrictions of his wartime profession. The question now is, who will make the movie and who will play the lead? Too bad Errol Flynn is dead." -Washington Times "[R]ichly descriptive, marvelously illuminating, and just plain brilliant….One could not think of a better subject for Macintyre's curious mind than the man whom British intelligence dubbed Agent Zigzag in December 1942…. [A] plot - impossible and pointless to summarize - that is as briskly paced and suspenseful as any novel's. Macintyre's diligent research and access to once-secret files combine here with his gift of empathetic imagination and inspired re-creation. He writes with brio and a festive spirit and has quite simply created a masterpiece." -The Boston Globe "Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving." -John le Carré "Macintyre [relates] his compellingly cinematic spy thriller with verve." -Entertainment Weekly(an "EW Pick") "Agent Zigzagis a true-history thriller, a real spy story superbly written. It belongs to my favorite genre: the 'Friday night book'start it then, because youwillwant to stay with it all weekend." -Alan Furst "A portrait of a man who double-crossed not only the Nazis, but just about every other principle and person he encountered. In doing so, Eddie Chapman made all thriller writers' jobs harder, because this spy tale trumps any fiction." -Men's Journal "One of the most extraordinary stories of the Second World War." -William Boyd,The Sunday Telegraph "This is the most amazing book, full of fascinating and hair-raising true-life adventures…and beautifully told. For anyone interested in the Second World War, spying, romance, skullduggery or the hidden chambers of the human mind, it would be impossible to recommend it too highly." -The Mail on Sunday "Speaking as a former MI6 officer, take it from me: there are very few books which give you a genuine picture of what it feels like to be a spy. This is one…. an enthralling war story.&, "Macintyre is the more graceful writer; Agent Zigzag has a clarity and shape that make it the more fluid account… I would give a personal nod to Macintyre's as the better book… A review cannot possibly convey the sheer fun of this story… or the fascinating moral complexities." -New York Times Book Review "[Agent Zigzag's] incredible wartime adventures, recounted in Ben Macintyre's rollicking, spellbinding Agent Zigzag blend the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carré with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh." -The New York Times "Chapman's story has been told in fragments in the past, but only when MI5 declassified his files was it possible to present it in all its richness and complexity. Macintyre tells it to perfection, with endless insights into the horror and absurdity of war….Eddie Chapman was a patriot, in his fashion, and this excellent book finally does him justice." -The Washington Post Book World "Fact sounds like fast-moving fiction in this espionage saga of a man who was probably the most improbable double agent to emerge in World War II. ... The author has written an enormously fascinating book about an enormously fascinating man. The late Eddie Chapman would have been delighted to at last capture the limelight denied him by the restrictions of his wartime profession. The question now is, who will make the movie and who will play the lead? Too bad Errol Flynn is dead." -Washington Times "[R]ichly descriptive, marvelously illuminating, and just plain brilliant….One could not think of a better subject for Macintyre's curious mind than the man whom British intelligence dubbed Agent Zigzag in December 1942…. [A] plot - impossible and pointless to summarize - that is as briskly paced and suspenseful as any novel's. Macintyre's diligent research and access to once-secret files combine here with his gift of empathetic imagination and inspired re-creation. He writes with brio and a festive spirit and has quite simply created a masterpiece." -The Boston Globe "Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving." -John le Carré "Macintyre [relates] his compellingly cinematic spy thriller with verve." -Entertainment Weekly (an "EW Pick") "Agent Zigzag is a true-history thriller, a real spy story superbly written. It belongs to my favorite genre: the 'Friday night book'start it then, because you will want to stay with it all weekend." -Alan Furst "A portrait of a man who double-crossed not only the Nazis, but just about every other principle and person he encountered. In doing so, Eddie Chapman made all thriller writers' jobs harder, because this spy tale trumps any fiction." -Men's Journal "One of the most extraordinary stories of the Second World War." -William Boyd, The Sunday Telegraph "This is the most amazing book, full of fascinating and hair-raising true-life adventures…and beautifully told. For anyone interested in the Second World War, spying, romance, skullduggery or the hidden chambers of the human mind, it would be impossible to recommend it too highly." -The Mail on Sunday "Speaking as a former MI6 officer, take it from me: there are very few books which give you a genuine picture of what it feels like to be a spy. This is one…. an enthralli, "Macintyre is the more graceful writer; Agent Zigzag has a clarity and shape that make it the more fluid account... I would give a personal nod to Macintyre's as the better book... A review cannot possibly convey the sheer fun of this story... or the fascinating moral complexities." New York Times Book Review "[Agent Zigzag's] incredible wartime adventures, recounted in Ben Macintyre's rollicking, spellbinding Agent Zigzag blend the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carre with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh." The New York Times "Chapman's story has been told in fragments in the past, but only when MI5 declassified his files was it possible to present it in all its richness and complexity. Macintyre tells it to perfection, with endless insights into the horror and absurdity of war....Eddie Chapman was a patriot, in his fashion, and this excellent book finally does him justice." The Washington Post Book World "Fact sounds like fast-moving fiction in this espionage saga of a man who was probably the most improbable double agent to emerge in World War II. ... The author has written an enormously fascinating book about an enormously fascinating man. The late Eddie Chapman would have been delighted to at last capture the limelight denied him by the restrictions of his wartime profession. The question now is, who will make the movie and who will play the lead? Too bad Errol Flynn is dead." Washington Times "[R]ichly descriptive, marvelously illuminating, and just plain brilliant....One could not think of a better subject for Macintyre''s curious mind than the man whom British intelligence dubbed Agent Zigzag in December 1942.... [A] plot - impossible and pointless to summarize - that is as briskly paced and suspenseful as any novel''s. Macintyre''s diligent research and access to once-secret files combine here with his gift of empathetic imagination and inspired re-creation. He writes with brio and a festive spirit and has quite simply created a masterpiece." The Boston Globe "Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving." John le Carre "Macintyre [relates] his compellingly cinematic spy thriller with verve." Entertainment Weekly (an "EW Pick") " Agent Zigzag is a true-history thriller, a real spy story superbly written. It belongs to my favorite genre: the 'Friday night book'start it then, because you will want to stay with it all weekend." Alan Furst "A portrait of a man who double-crossed not only the Nazis, but just about every other principle and person he encountered. In doing so, Eddie Chapman made all thriller writers' jobs harder, because this spy tale trumps any fiction." Men's Journal "One of the most extraordinary stories of the Second World War." William Boyd, The Sunday Telegraph "This is the most amazing book, full of fascinating and hair-raising true-life adventures...and beautifully told. For anyone interested in the Second World War, spying, romance, skullduggery or the hidden chambers of the human mind, it would be impossible to recommend it too highly." The Mail on Sunday "Speaking as a former MI6 officer, take it from me: there are very few books which give you a genuine picture of what it feels like to be a spy. This is one.... an enthralling war story." The Daily Express "Macintyre tells Chapman's tale in a perfect pitch: with the Boys' Own thrills of Rider Haggard, the verve of George MacDonald Fraser an
Synopsis
"Ben Macintyre's rollicking, spellbinding Agent Zigzag blends the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carr with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh."--William Grimes, The New York Times (Editors' Choice) "Wildly improbable but entirely true . . . a] compellingly cinematic spy thriller with verve."-- Entertainment Weekly NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND THE WASHINGTON POST 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. In 1941, after training as German spy in occupied France, Chapman was parachuted into Britain with a revolver, a wireless, and a cyanide pill, with orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory. Instead, he contacted M15, the British Secret service, and for the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service. 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. Based on recently declassified files, Agent Zigzag tells Chapman's full story for the first time. It's a gripping tale of loyalty, love, treachery, espionage, and the thin and shifting line between fidelity and betrayal., "Ben Macintyre's rollicking, spellbinding Agent Zigzag blends the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carré with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh."--William Grimes, The New York Times (Editors' Choice) "Wildly improbable but entirely true . . . [a] compellingly cinematic spy thriller with verve."-- Entertainment Weekly ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Entertainment Weekly ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post 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. In 1941, after training as German spy in occupied France, Chapman was parachuted into Britain with a revolver, a wireless, and a cyanide pill, with orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory. Instead, he contacted M15, the British Secret service, and for the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service. 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. Based on recently declassified files, Agent Zigzag tells Chapman's full story for the first time. It's a gripping tale of loyalty, love, treachery, espionage, and the thin and shifting line between fidelity and betrayal.
