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Agent Zigzag: The True Wartime Story of Eddie Chapman: Lover, Traitor, Hero, Spy
From the bestselling author of Operation Mincemeat, now a major filmSHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD'Engrossing as any thriller' Daily Telegraph'Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining' John le Carré'This is the most amazing book, full of fascinating and hair-raising true life adventures ... It would be impossible to recommend it too highly' Mail on Sunday_______One December night in 1942, a Nazi parachutist landed in a Cambridgeshire field. His to sabotage the British war effort. His name was Eddie Chapman, but he would shortly become MI5's Agent Zigzag. Dashing and suave, courageous and unpredictable, Chapman was by turns a traitor, a hero, a villain and a man of conscience. But, as his spymasters and many lovers often wondered, who was the real Eddie Chapman?Ben Macintyre weaves together diaries, letters, photographs, memories and top-secret MI5 files to create an exhilarating account of Britain's most sensational double agent.
385 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 4, 2007
1729 people are currently reading
16275 people want to read
About the author
Ben Macintyre
38 books4,268 followersBen Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (U.K.) and the bestselling author of The Spy and the Traitor, A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, and Rogue Heroes, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.
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July 30, 2019
”War was coming, everyone said so, but the dining room of the Hotel de la Plage was a place of pure peace that sunny Sunday. Beyond the golden beach, the waves flickered among a scatter of tiny islands, as Eddie and Betty ate trifle off plates with smart blue crests. Eddie was halfway through telling another funny story when he froze. A group of men in overcoats and brown hats had entered the restaurant and one was now in urgent conversations with the headwaiter. Before Betty could speak, Eddie stood up, bent down to kiss her once, and then jumped through the window, which was closed. There was a storm of broken glass, tumbling crockery, screaming women, and shouting waiters. Betty Farmer caught a last glimpse of Eddie Chapman sprinting off down the beach with two overcoated men in pursuit.”
And she didn’t see him again until after the war.
Eddie Chapman: the nefarious Agent Zigzag.
Eddie Chapman was a petty thief...well...maybe a bit more. His dossier shows a steady increase in the complexity of his crimes. He was well liked, admired by the ladies, and had the smooth tongue that insured that people would continue to like him even after he proves a bit untrustworthy. When World War Two starts Chapman is in jail on Jersey Island. The prison library had two hundred books. He read them all and then he read them all again.
The Channel Islands are among Great Britain’s oldest possessions so it was no easy decision for Winston Churchill to decide to leave them undefended, but there was no strategic reason to keep valuable soldiers deployed away from where they were most needed. The islands were left to the Germans. It was a big PR boost for the Reich to be able to crow from the rooftops that they were standing on English soil. I’m sure Winston bit through a cigar or two and probably had thoughts of recruiting a half dozen men and taking it back himself. Despite the blow to English pride it was better to have German troops tied up there instead of shooting at British troops on the mainland.
Churchill didn’t have anyway of knowing it, but he left in Jersey Prison one of the greatest British spies of World War Two. The perfect mixture of bounder, rake, and thief with scruples based on some warped honor system that made him entirely unpredictable.
The Germans loved him.
Chapman, a bright boy, figured out exactly what the Germans wanted. The British after all put him in prison. What loyalty could he possibly have for them? Chapman’s best friend Anthony Faramus is separated out of the prison population as well, but more as a wedge with Chapman than for any other purpose. Part of the deal was if Chapman did what he was supposed to do Faramus would be kept safe. If Eddie welched on any part of it Faramus would be stood up in front of a firing squad.
It makes my blood run a little cold to even think of my life being dependent on Chapman doing what he was supposed to do. After all that did not come natural to him, not at all.
It doesn’t matter because the Germans are the first to change the deal. They send Faramus off to a concentration camp. He survives despite the odds and ends up in Hollywood after the war as an actor and eventually becomes a butler for Cary Grant.
Anthony Faramus (far right) was lucky to survive Buchwald.
Chapman does what he does best and makes friends with the Germans. His mentor Stephan von Groning is someone that Chapman perfectly understands. He is a self-serving thief. The Germans give Chapman an account of money that he can draw on any time he becomes low on funds. He has to ask von Groning for the funds. Von Groning was thrilled every time Chapman needed money because he always drew off more than what Chapman asked for and pocketed the difference. Chapman knew what was happening, but it didn’t bother him because it was exactly what he would have done in the same position. He and von Groning remain lifelong friends. After the war von Groning is invited to the wedding of Chapman’s daughter. Chapman was always much more loyal to people than he was to countries or causes.
Okay so who is Chapman really working for?
He is parachuted into Britain by the Germans and instantly turns himself over to the British Government. After they have a medic look him over they decide they need to take his picture.
”Chapman fought to keep his head up. With a supreme effort, he stared into the lens. The face in the picture is drained by fatigue and stress. There is caked mud in the tangled hair, and a trace of dried blood in the moustache. But there is something else in the face. Behind the drooping eyelids and stubble lies the very faint trace of a smile.”
He knows he has by chance found himself in the best possible situation with value to two governments each wanting full possession of him. He can smell the money and the fame.
There are several British agents that work with Chapman, but I’m only going to point out two of them. John Masterman:
John Cecil Masterman the writer and spymaster.
”He was highly intellectual, intensely conventional, and faintly priggish, with a granite sense of moral duty. Masterman was the embodiment of the British establishment. He neither smoked nor drank, and lived in a world of High Tables and elevated scholarship, exclusively inhabited by wealthy, privileged, intelligent English men.
A confirmed bachelor, he might have been homosexual, but if so, in a wholly repressed and contented English way. Women were simply invisible to him.”
Women on the other hand for Chapman were as necessary as breathing. Another interesting point about Masterman is he wrote detective novels in his spare time.
Lieutenant Colonel Robin “Tin Eye” Stephens had a very special skill.
Legend has it that Tin Eye slept with that monocle firmly in place.
”He broke people. He crushed them, psychologically, into very small pieces and then, if he thought it worthwhile, he would put them back together again. He considered this to be an art, and not one that could be learned.... He spoke Urdu, Arabic, Somali, Amharic, French, German, and Italian.”
Tin Eye could torture you in the language of your choice. These guys were wound about as tightly as a spring that has never sprung. They were dealing with a guy that was about as unreliable as a slinky going down a set of crooked stairs. Chapman’s agent name of Zigzag fit him like a glove.
”’Zigzag had, in some way, managed to obtain entry and was reclining on the bed awaiting dinner which he had ordered on my telephone, together with number of bottles of beer.’ In the space fo a few hours, Chapman had confirmed all the qualities that made him a great crook, a superb spy, and a most fickle man: He had written a love letter to the mother of his child, vanished, slept with a prostitute, broken into a locked room, and helped himself to room service at someone else’s expense....Chapman would do his duty, while merrily picking your pocket.”
Not exactly the hero type that the British government would want to trot out for recruiting posters. His handlers on both sides of the war were always unsure about his loyalty. Both sides knew the direction of the war may determine who Eddie would work for on the long game. He pulled off some amazing capers for both sides of the war effort, but the final contribution that he made for London was radioing the Germans that the V-2 rockets were hitting too far North and to change their coordinates that placed those bombs in the Southern part of London, less densely populated area, saving thousands of lives. He made the Germans believe him. He became one of the great unsung heros of the war effort.
Now you will have to read the book to make your own determination about Eddie Chapman. The British Government does reward him with money to start his own businesses and he becomes very wealthy even to the point of driving a Rolls Royce.
Eddie did quite well for himself after the war.
He tried to publish his memoirs, but the British Government squelched that idea. Ben MacIntyre decided to write this book after most of the material related to Chapman was declassified. As he needed other material the government was accommodating by declassifying even more. As I mentioned before Eddie had these loyalties to people that seemingly ran counter to his self-centered philosophies. After the war he was determined to find Betty Farmer the woman he left at the restaurant as he so dramatically broke through a glass window to escape arrest. He found her just as he was sitting with private investigators who he intended to hire to find her. That just seemed to be the way things worked for Chapman. He was always in the right place at the right time.
5 minute Enticing interview with Ben Macintyre on Agent Zigzag
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
And she didn’t see him again until after the war.
Eddie Chapman: the nefarious Agent Zigzag.
Eddie Chapman was a petty thief...well...maybe a bit more. His dossier shows a steady increase in the complexity of his crimes. He was well liked, admired by the ladies, and had the smooth tongue that insured that people would continue to like him even after he proves a bit untrustworthy. When World War Two starts Chapman is in jail on Jersey Island. The prison library had two hundred books. He read them all and then he read them all again.
The Channel Islands are among Great Britain’s oldest possessions so it was no easy decision for Winston Churchill to decide to leave them undefended, but there was no strategic reason to keep valuable soldiers deployed away from where they were most needed. The islands were left to the Germans. It was a big PR boost for the Reich to be able to crow from the rooftops that they were standing on English soil. I’m sure Winston bit through a cigar or two and probably had thoughts of recruiting a half dozen men and taking it back himself. Despite the blow to English pride it was better to have German troops tied up there instead of shooting at British troops on the mainland.
Churchill didn’t have anyway of knowing it, but he left in Jersey Prison one of the greatest British spies of World War Two. The perfect mixture of bounder, rake, and thief with scruples based on some warped honor system that made him entirely unpredictable.
The Germans loved him.
Chapman, a bright boy, figured out exactly what the Germans wanted. The British after all put him in prison. What loyalty could he possibly have for them? Chapman’s best friend Anthony Faramus is separated out of the prison population as well, but more as a wedge with Chapman than for any other purpose. Part of the deal was if Chapman did what he was supposed to do Faramus would be kept safe. If Eddie welched on any part of it Faramus would be stood up in front of a firing squad.
It makes my blood run a little cold to even think of my life being dependent on Chapman doing what he was supposed to do. After all that did not come natural to him, not at all.
It doesn’t matter because the Germans are the first to change the deal. They send Faramus off to a concentration camp. He survives despite the odds and ends up in Hollywood after the war as an actor and eventually becomes a butler for Cary Grant.
Anthony Faramus (far right) was lucky to survive Buchwald.
Chapman does what he does best and makes friends with the Germans. His mentor Stephan von Groning is someone that Chapman perfectly understands. He is a self-serving thief. The Germans give Chapman an account of money that he can draw on any time he becomes low on funds. He has to ask von Groning for the funds. Von Groning was thrilled every time Chapman needed money because he always drew off more than what Chapman asked for and pocketed the difference. Chapman knew what was happening, but it didn’t bother him because it was exactly what he would have done in the same position. He and von Groning remain lifelong friends. After the war von Groning is invited to the wedding of Chapman’s daughter. Chapman was always much more loyal to people than he was to countries or causes.
Okay so who is Chapman really working for?
He is parachuted into Britain by the Germans and instantly turns himself over to the British Government. After they have a medic look him over they decide they need to take his picture.
”Chapman fought to keep his head up. With a supreme effort, he stared into the lens. The face in the picture is drained by fatigue and stress. There is caked mud in the tangled hair, and a trace of dried blood in the moustache. But there is something else in the face. Behind the drooping eyelids and stubble lies the very faint trace of a smile.”
He knows he has by chance found himself in the best possible situation with value to two governments each wanting full possession of him. He can smell the money and the fame.
There are several British agents that work with Chapman, but I’m only going to point out two of them. John Masterman:
John Cecil Masterman the writer and spymaster.
”He was highly intellectual, intensely conventional, and faintly priggish, with a granite sense of moral duty. Masterman was the embodiment of the British establishment. He neither smoked nor drank, and lived in a world of High Tables and elevated scholarship, exclusively inhabited by wealthy, privileged, intelligent English men.
A confirmed bachelor, he might have been homosexual, but if so, in a wholly repressed and contented English way. Women were simply invisible to him.”
Women on the other hand for Chapman were as necessary as breathing. Another interesting point about Masterman is he wrote detective novels in his spare time.
Lieutenant Colonel Robin “Tin Eye” Stephens had a very special skill.
Legend has it that Tin Eye slept with that monocle firmly in place.
”He broke people. He crushed them, psychologically, into very small pieces and then, if he thought it worthwhile, he would put them back together again. He considered this to be an art, and not one that could be learned.... He spoke Urdu, Arabic, Somali, Amharic, French, German, and Italian.”
Tin Eye could torture you in the language of your choice. These guys were wound about as tightly as a spring that has never sprung. They were dealing with a guy that was about as unreliable as a slinky going down a set of crooked stairs. Chapman’s agent name of Zigzag fit him like a glove.
”’Zigzag had, in some way, managed to obtain entry and was reclining on the bed awaiting dinner which he had ordered on my telephone, together with number of bottles of beer.’ In the space fo a few hours, Chapman had confirmed all the qualities that made him a great crook, a superb spy, and a most fickle man: He had written a love letter to the mother of his child, vanished, slept with a prostitute, broken into a locked room, and helped himself to room service at someone else’s expense....Chapman would do his duty, while merrily picking your pocket.”
Not exactly the hero type that the British government would want to trot out for recruiting posters. His handlers on both sides of the war were always unsure about his loyalty. Both sides knew the direction of the war may determine who Eddie would work for on the long game. He pulled off some amazing capers for both sides of the war effort, but the final contribution that he made for London was radioing the Germans that the V-2 rockets were hitting too far North and to change their coordinates that placed those bombs in the Southern part of London, less densely populated area, saving thousands of lives. He made the Germans believe him. He became one of the great unsung heros of the war effort.
Now you will have to read the book to make your own determination about Eddie Chapman. The British Government does reward him with money to start his own businesses and he becomes very wealthy even to the point of driving a Rolls Royce.
Eddie did quite well for himself after the war.
He tried to publish his memoirs, but the British Government squelched that idea. Ben MacIntyre decided to write this book after most of the material related to Chapman was declassified. As he needed other material the government was accommodating by declassifying even more. As I mentioned before Eddie had these loyalties to people that seemingly ran counter to his self-centered philosophies. After the war he was determined to find Betty Farmer the woman he left at the restaurant as he so dramatically broke through a glass window to escape arrest. He found her just as he was sitting with private investigators who he intended to hire to find her. That just seemed to be the way things worked for Chapman. He was always in the right place at the right time.
5 minute Enticing interview with Ben Macintyre on Agent Zigzag
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
July 22, 2020
An amazing real life history of the most notorious British double agent of World War II, Eddie Chapman a.k.a. Agent Zigzag. Well written and just as good to read as any fictional espionage story. I really enjoyed to read about the amazing exploits of Eddie Chapman! Quote that says it all:
“War, briefly, brought out in Chapman an obstinate conscience. His vices were as extreme as his virtues, and to the end of his life it was never clear whether he was on the side of the angels or the devils, whether he deceived the deceivers or whether he had made a pact with his German spymaster. He died of heart failure in 1997 at the age of eighty-three: he may have ascended heavenwards, or perhaps he headed in the opposite direction. He is probably zigzagging still.”
“War, briefly, brought out in Chapman an obstinate conscience. His vices were as extreme as his virtues, and to the end of his life it was never clear whether he was on the side of the angels or the devils, whether he deceived the deceivers or whether he had made a pact with his German spymaster. He died of heart failure in 1997 at the age of eighty-three: he may have ascended heavenwards, or perhaps he headed in the opposite direction. He is probably zigzagging still.”
December 20, 2018
Agent Zigzag is my first book by Ben Macintyre, but I am curious to read more by him. He has the ability to make a nonfiction account read like an engaging novel. The story of Eddie Chapman, spy and double agent during the Second World War was new to me, and it held my attention from start to finish. Recommended!
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
May 14, 2015
If you're looking for an even-handed recounting and reflections on this book, you should probably check out Jeffrey Keeten's stellar review (it has lots of pictures and everything). However, if you're looking for my favorite moments of skullduggery(along with the occasional pop culture parallel), then you're in the right spot.
Eddie Chapman (codename: ZigZag) was, among other things, the head of the "Jelly Gang" (they used gelignite to break into safes), a bit of a lady's man living in "the world of pimps and racecourse touts, pickpockets and con artists; late nights at Smokey Joe's and early champagne breakfasts at Quaglino's." Much like my personal favorite and the world's greatest secret agent (albeit fictional), Sterling Archer (codename: Duchess), Eddie's silver tongue had a way of getting him out of quagmires and back into the good graces of those who he'd wronged in the past.
Unfortunately, the jig was up, and he landed himself in jail on Jersey Island (almost as bad as being imprisoned on the Jersey Shore, but with far less hair gel and fake tanning cream). I'll skip a lot of important information here and just tell you he ends up being recruited/courted as an agent for the Abwehr (one of those dastardly Nazi intelligence agencies). As a smooth-talking con man who has exhibited few moral compunctions even as a thief, he was a pretty great candidate to become a British spy (but for the Germans- so German spy?). I mean everyone knows that, as a spy:
So he luftwaffles or 99 red luftbaloons himself into Britain where he promptly double crosses (or triple crosses- it's hard to follow) the Germans and cozies up with MI-5 where he has to deal with quite a crew, including Robin "TinEye" Stephens who rocks a monocle like nobody's business. There's also Jasper Maskelyne, a magician in the employ of MI-5 who helps them engineer an illusion (yes, they actually do refer to it as such, so Gob Bluth can rest easy) to make it look like ZigZag is carrying out his subterfuge as promised to his Nazi pals.
The thing about Eddie Chapman was that he basically thrived in the worst of circumstances. He liked to keep things loose and (another shoutout to Archer) couldn't necessarily be relied upon to keep his mouth shut when it came to being a secret agent, especially when ladies were involved. Really, he was kind of a loose canon- unless, of course, he wasn't. That's the thing about being a great double agent, it has to be hard for people to get a pulse on you. That being said, it was probably a good call on the part of MI-5 to try to sever ties. In the end, though, it's undeniable that his life made one heck of an interesting story.
Eddie Chapman (codename: ZigZag) was, among other things, the head of the "Jelly Gang" (they used gelignite to break into safes), a bit of a lady's man living in "the world of pimps and racecourse touts, pickpockets and con artists; late nights at Smokey Joe's and early champagne breakfasts at Quaglino's." Much like my personal favorite and the world's greatest secret agent (albeit fictional), Sterling Archer (codename: Duchess), Eddie's silver tongue had a way of getting him out of quagmires and back into the good graces of those who he'd wronged in the past.
Unfortunately, the jig was up, and he landed himself in jail on Jersey Island (almost as bad as being imprisoned on the Jersey Shore, but with far less hair gel and fake tanning cream). I'll skip a lot of important information here and just tell you he ends up being recruited/courted as an agent for the Abwehr (one of those dastardly Nazi intelligence agencies). As a smooth-talking con man who has exhibited few moral compunctions even as a thief, he was a pretty great candidate to become a British spy (but for the Germans- so German spy?). I mean everyone knows that, as a spy:
So he luftwaffles or 99 red luftbaloons himself into Britain where he promptly double crosses (or triple crosses- it's hard to follow) the Germans and cozies up with MI-5 where he has to deal with quite a crew, including Robin "TinEye" Stephens who rocks a monocle like nobody's business. There's also Jasper Maskelyne, a magician in the employ of MI-5 who helps them engineer an illusion (yes, they actually do refer to it as such, so Gob Bluth can rest easy) to make it look like ZigZag is carrying out his subterfuge as promised to his Nazi pals.
The thing about Eddie Chapman was that he basically thrived in the worst of circumstances. He liked to keep things loose and (another shoutout to Archer) couldn't necessarily be relied upon to keep his mouth shut when it came to being a secret agent, especially when ladies were involved. Really, he was kind of a loose canon- unless, of course, he wasn't. That's the thing about being a great double agent, it has to be hard for people to get a pulse on you. That being said, it was probably a good call on the part of MI-5 to try to sever ties. In the end, though, it's undeniable that his life made one heck of an interesting story.
August 17, 2025
Thief, Gambler, Womaniser, Spy
Ben Macintyre has proven himself to be an outstanding author on popular history, especially in the era of the Second World War. Agent Zigzag is his telling of the story of Eddie Chapman a crook turned spy, turned double agent in this most testing of human conflicts. Macintyre uses recently released files on Zigzag, which is an incredible story of a lessor know theatre of war during WWII.
Chapman was born in the north east of England and before the war he was a criminal. A thief and a fraudster. He was also a womaniser and it is clear that as the man had no security, permanence or foundation, he moved around, his mind could not settle or focus and he would never stay honest in any aspect of his life. This just was not his nature. This underground lifestyle guided him into a prison in Jersey when the Second World War started and the Germans conquered this island in the English Channel. Ever scheming and without a long term goal, he found himself first in France and then in the employment of the Nazis to betray his own country. He was born for this game and his German spymasters could see the value in this asset they had acquired. Fluent in French and German, the most natural language to him was the one of lies. This allowed him to keep everyone guessing what he was really thinking and allowed him to buy time and make his next move.
Macintyre believes that Chapman was always loyal to Britain really, but I feel like he was more of a survivor l. Whatever the best deal was he took it. Both sides didn’t really know how to handle him and neither did they fully trust him. When he returned back to the UK from Germany, there were fears he’d defected again. Although in the end he came through for the British gathering vital intelligence that helped the war effort. Chapman kept his options open and filled his mental space with information that would be of deep interest to MI5. He even offered to assassinate Adolf Hitler, convinced he would be allowed to get close at a Nazi rally. The files appear to be silent on the matter and Macintyre surmises that Winston Churchill himself shut down the idea.
In the end Agent Zigzag served his country well and risked his life for it. The Germans never intimated they knew he was a double or agent or if they did, they did not comment on the matter. His missions weee dangerous and both sides considered taking him out. In the end MI5 dropped him. They disapproved of working with a man of Chapman’s character and thought he was a risk to their secrecy. He was not reliable and after al he was a dishonest crook. National security could not have relied on such a man to keep state secrets. They paid him off and got rid of him. Chapman for his part returned to the underworld he knew so well and appears to have become extremely wealthy out of it.
I enjoyed Agent Zigzag as it reads like a novel, is light and does not get bogged down in any fine grain detail. I love detail in the right places, but with keeping this book streamlined Macintyre keeps the pitch right. This is not an academic read and Macintyre does not try and present it as so. However, he does an excellent job in introducing the reader to not only WWII, but some of the more quirky and less covered sides of it. This is no James Bond story, however Ian Fleming does cross a path here. What it does do, is show how the spy world is far from glamorous, equally dangerous and wholly essential. Glad I’ve finally read this one.
Ben Macintyre has proven himself to be an outstanding author on popular history, especially in the era of the Second World War. Agent Zigzag is his telling of the story of Eddie Chapman a crook turned spy, turned double agent in this most testing of human conflicts. Macintyre uses recently released files on Zigzag, which is an incredible story of a lessor know theatre of war during WWII.
Chapman was born in the north east of England and before the war he was a criminal. A thief and a fraudster. He was also a womaniser and it is clear that as the man had no security, permanence or foundation, he moved around, his mind could not settle or focus and he would never stay honest in any aspect of his life. This just was not his nature. This underground lifestyle guided him into a prison in Jersey when the Second World War started and the Germans conquered this island in the English Channel. Ever scheming and without a long term goal, he found himself first in France and then in the employment of the Nazis to betray his own country. He was born for this game and his German spymasters could see the value in this asset they had acquired. Fluent in French and German, the most natural language to him was the one of lies. This allowed him to keep everyone guessing what he was really thinking and allowed him to buy time and make his next move.
Macintyre believes that Chapman was always loyal to Britain really, but I feel like he was more of a survivor l. Whatever the best deal was he took it. Both sides didn’t really know how to handle him and neither did they fully trust him. When he returned back to the UK from Germany, there were fears he’d defected again. Although in the end he came through for the British gathering vital intelligence that helped the war effort. Chapman kept his options open and filled his mental space with information that would be of deep interest to MI5. He even offered to assassinate Adolf Hitler, convinced he would be allowed to get close at a Nazi rally. The files appear to be silent on the matter and Macintyre surmises that Winston Churchill himself shut down the idea.
In the end Agent Zigzag served his country well and risked his life for it. The Germans never intimated they knew he was a double or agent or if they did, they did not comment on the matter. His missions weee dangerous and both sides considered taking him out. In the end MI5 dropped him. They disapproved of working with a man of Chapman’s character and thought he was a risk to their secrecy. He was not reliable and after al he was a dishonest crook. National security could not have relied on such a man to keep state secrets. They paid him off and got rid of him. Chapman for his part returned to the underworld he knew so well and appears to have become extremely wealthy out of it.
I enjoyed Agent Zigzag as it reads like a novel, is light and does not get bogged down in any fine grain detail. I love detail in the right places, but with keeping this book streamlined Macintyre keeps the pitch right. This is not an academic read and Macintyre does not try and present it as so. However, he does an excellent job in introducing the reader to not only WWII, but some of the more quirky and less covered sides of it. This is no James Bond story, however Ian Fleming does cross a path here. What it does do, is show how the spy world is far from glamorous, equally dangerous and wholly essential. Glad I’ve finally read this one.
May 3, 2018
One of those nonfiction books that would not be believable as fiction, this is the story of Eddie Chapman, a criminal who became one of Britain's best double agents. He was a hero using the traits that made him so successful a rogue and scoundrel. Trained by the Third Reich in occupied France to parachute into his home country to blow up a warplane factory, Chapman instead contacted MI5, the British Secret Service. For the rest of the war he worked for Britain, traveling across Europe spreading disinformation while never losing track of which lies he told. Even operating under the restrictions of wartime espionage he carried on a full love life, leaving a trail of conquests throughout the Continent. By war's end, he had earned not only a pardon from the British government for his past crimes but the Nazi Iron Cross as well.
Since Chapman was barred from writing his memoirs (am I the only one who regrets that book does not exist?), Ben Macintyre's book works as a wonderfully entertaining substitute. Using files declassified after Chapman's death, he relates the one of the most entertaining stories of World War II, one that even people who do not read spy novels or war stories will enjoy.
Since Chapman was barred from writing his memoirs (am I the only one who regrets that book does not exist?), Ben Macintyre's book works as a wonderfully entertaining substitute. Using files declassified after Chapman's death, he relates the one of the most entertaining stories of World War II, one that even people who do not read spy novels or war stories will enjoy.
September 6, 2012
Oh dear. One third of my way through Agent Zigzag, and I am going to have to give up reading it. I cannot bear the 'And this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened' Boys’ Own stodge a minute longer. I have indigestion and a headache.
One good thing has emerged from this failed reading. I realise I don’t much like biographies and autobiographies. There have been a couple that really shone for me, but it’s a genre I often find myself struggling with. I find them plodding – perhaps due to their commitment to chronological order and prosaic detail. Another issue with this book was that I found Eddie Chapman – the spy under consideration – unattractive, boring and predictable. He totally failed to capture my imagination or enthusiasm.
I find it embarrassing to dislike a book that so many others have relished. You may well be one of the people for whom this is a great read....
One good thing has emerged from this failed reading. I realise I don’t much like biographies and autobiographies. There have been a couple that really shone for me, but it’s a genre I often find myself struggling with. I find them plodding – perhaps due to their commitment to chronological order and prosaic detail. Another issue with this book was that I found Eddie Chapman – the spy under consideration – unattractive, boring and predictable. He totally failed to capture my imagination or enthusiasm.
I find it embarrassing to dislike a book that so many others have relished. You may well be one of the people for whom this is a great read....
August 14, 2024
Sometimes reality is far more interesting than any fiction and this fellow Chapman was quite a figure, not to speak about his adventures.
So there is a lot of material for an interesting book.
Probably a little bit too long and somehow redundant, but surely a good one...
So there is a lot of material for an interesting book.
Probably a little bit too long and somehow redundant, but surely a good one...
February 9, 2024
Written/composed in true Ben Macintyre fashion: exciting, informative and entertaining at the same time.
Much recommended.
Much recommended.
October 16, 2015
The story is a good one but didn't care for the writing style. A struggle to finish
September 5, 2012
Rating Clarification: 3.5 Stars
While not as interesting a read as Macintyre's Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, the true story of double agent Eddie Chapman still had its moments. Chapman was a thief, a con-man, a ladies man (with a girl in every port, so to speak) and a hustler.
I liked him immensely.
What a charming rogue. The kind of guy you'd like to have drinks with, but not the kind you'd "take home to mother" (thanks, Rick James).
An engaging tale of a man at odds with his loyalties, a thief who really didn't care about the money he stole but about the excitment involved in stealing it, and a lover who loved many women, but couldn't stay true to one. Chapman was admired by almost everyone in British intelligence who came into contact with his unorthodox ways, and was the only British citizen to receive the German Iron Cross for services rendered to the Fatherland (thankfully Hitler and Co. didn't realize those services were actually rendered to British intelligence).
This story uncovers some pretty tricksey deceptions played out by Chapman and MI-5 during WWII.
Most thrilling of all, I learned that a Norwegian invented the paper clip. Cool, dat.
While not as interesting a read as Macintyre's Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, the true story of double agent Eddie Chapman still had its moments. Chapman was a thief, a con-man, a ladies man (with a girl in every port, so to speak) and a hustler.
I liked him immensely.
What a charming rogue. The kind of guy you'd like to have drinks with, but not the kind you'd "take home to mother" (thanks, Rick James).
An engaging tale of a man at odds with his loyalties, a thief who really didn't care about the money he stole but about the excitment involved in stealing it, and a lover who loved many women, but couldn't stay true to one. Chapman was admired by almost everyone in British intelligence who came into contact with his unorthodox ways, and was the only British citizen to receive the German Iron Cross for services rendered to the Fatherland (thankfully Hitler and Co. didn't realize those services were actually rendered to British intelligence).
This story uncovers some pretty tricksey deceptions played out by Chapman and MI-5 during WWII.
Most thrilling of all, I learned that a Norwegian invented the paper clip. Cool, dat.
April 22, 2025
«در ادبیات داستانی، تا به حال هیچ قصه جاسوسی ای نبوده و به احتمال زیاد نخواهد بود که از منظر جذابیت و غیرقابل باور بودن به داستان واقعی ادی چپمن برسد؛ کسی که تنها استمرار جنگ میتوانست فضیلت را برای او به ارمغان آورد.»
کتاب «مامور زیگزاگ»اثر بن مکینتایر، داستانی فوقالعاده جذاب و مهیج از دنیای جاسوسی و خیانت در جنگ جهانی دوم را روایت میکند. داستان زندگی واقعی «ادی چپمن» معروف به «مامور زیگزاگ» کسی که ابتدا به عنوان دزد و مجرم حرفهای شناخته میشد و سپس به یک جاسوس دوجانبه تبدیل میشود که هم آلمانیها و هم بریتانیاییها عاشقش بودند و تبدیل به یک دارایی ارزشمند برای آنها شد.
چپمن به خاطر تواناییهایش در نفوذ و فریب، به فردی قابل اعتماد برای هر دو طرف جنگ تبدیل شد. او همزمان هم برای بریتانیاییها جاسوسی میکرد و هم اطلاعات اشتباه و گمراهکنندهای برای آلمانیها ارسال میکرد. نقش او در موفقیت عملیاتهای جاسوسی موثر و کلیدی بود و همچنین خدمت بسیار بزرگی به بریتانیا و پیروزی متفقین در جنگ کرد.
او با خطرات و چالشها به خوبی روبهرو میشد و تواناییاش در فرار از موقعیتهای خطرناک و استفاده از شرایط به نفع خود ، عاملی مهم در موفقیت عملیاتها بود. نویسنده با استناد به اسناد و مدارک واقعی، توصیف دقیق و جذابی از عملیاتهای جاسوسی و خطراتی که چپمن با آنها مواجه بود را ارائه میدهد.
کتاب «مامور زیگزاگ»اثر بن مکینتایر، داستانی فوقالعاده جذاب و مهیج از دنیای جاسوسی و خیانت در جنگ جهانی دوم را روایت میکند. داستان زندگی واقعی «ادی چپمن» معروف به «مامور زیگزاگ» کسی که ابتدا به عنوان دزد و مجرم حرفهای شناخته میشد و سپس به یک جاسوس دوجانبه تبدیل میشود که هم آلمانیها و هم بریتانیاییها عاشقش بودند و تبدیل به یک دارایی ارزشمند برای آنها شد.
چپمن به خاطر تواناییهایش در نفوذ و فریب، به فردی قابل اعتماد برای هر دو طرف جنگ تبدیل شد. او همزمان هم برای بریتانیاییها جاسوسی میکرد و هم اطلاعات اشتباه و گمراهکنندهای برای آلمانیها ارسال میکرد. نقش او در موفقیت عملیاتهای جاسوسی موثر و کلیدی بود و همچنین خدمت بسیار بزرگی به بریتانیا و پیروزی متفقین در جنگ کرد.
او با خطرات و چالشها به خوبی روبهرو میشد و تواناییاش در فرار از موقعیتهای خطرناک و استفاده از شرایط به نفع خود ، عاملی مهم در موفقیت عملیاتها بود. نویسنده با استناد به اسناد و مدارک واقعی، توصیف دقیق و جذابی از عملیاتهای جاسوسی و خطراتی که چپمن با آنها مواجه بود را ارائه میدهد.
November 24, 2008
On my way to work, a co-worker asked me what I was reading so avidly. I replied "Agent ZigZag. It's about a British bank robber who is stuck in WWII occupied Europe, volunteers to be a spy for the Germans, parachutes into Britain and immediately calls MI5 to volunteer to work for them instead."
"So fiction then." my co-worker replied.
"No way, they can't write fiction this absurd. It'd never get published." (in a later chapter, an MI5 interrogator wrote almost that same line into Eddie Chapman's files).
The thing is, I was only half-way into the book. I still hadn't gotten to Eddie Chapman's adventures in Lisbon, Oslo, Berlin, or his second parachute jump into the British countryside.
This is one of two books about Eddie Chapman's wartime exploits as a double (or is it triple or quad or something) agent. I haven't gotten my hands on the other one, entitled just Zigzag. According to the NYT review, this is the "more graceful(ly)" written of the two books, and importantly, the more skeptical. Chapman himself had a habit of retelling his story in a way that best fit the wants of the listener. So there is a need for the author to corroborate the cleaims of meeting both Churchill and Hitler.
I have to wonder when the movie version is coming. There was a 1966 movie Triple Cross, but from all accounts it was so censored by the Official Secrets Act and rewritten as to be merely "inspired by," history and truly owes more to James Bond than Eddie Chapman (though both Ian Fleming and the inspiration for his fictional tech-geek "Q" do appear in the book).
More evidence that large chunks of WWII seem to have been cast and written by pulp-fiction writers!
"So fiction then." my co-worker replied.
"No way, they can't write fiction this absurd. It'd never get published." (in a later chapter, an MI5 interrogator wrote almost that same line into Eddie Chapman's files).
The thing is, I was only half-way into the book. I still hadn't gotten to Eddie Chapman's adventures in Lisbon, Oslo, Berlin, or his second parachute jump into the British countryside.
This is one of two books about Eddie Chapman's wartime exploits as a double (or is it triple or quad or something) agent. I haven't gotten my hands on the other one, entitled just Zigzag. According to the NYT review, this is the "more graceful(ly)" written of the two books, and importantly, the more skeptical. Chapman himself had a habit of retelling his story in a way that best fit the wants of the listener. So there is a need for the author to corroborate the cleaims of meeting both Churchill and Hitler.
I have to wonder when the movie version is coming. There was a 1966 movie Triple Cross, but from all accounts it was so censored by the Official Secrets Act and rewritten as to be merely "inspired by," history and truly owes more to James Bond than Eddie Chapman (though both Ian Fleming and the inspiration for his fictional tech-geek "Q" do appear in the book).
More evidence that large chunks of WWII seem to have been cast and written by pulp-fiction writers!
December 8, 2020
Another well-researched, concise, interesting and wonderfully written spy novel by Ben MacIntyre.
The life of Chapman was certainly interesting and how he was able to be a double agent and maintain his cool for all those years was amazing! Except for a few slight missteps when dealing with von Groning & other German interrogators & his ability to react quickly and have an answer, most likely saved his life, since he would be discovered as a spy.
His ability to convince both the British & Germans was interesting as well. The details as listed in the book of having him go back and forth with information and not really indicated he was a double agent showed he was "cool as a cucumber"
But, in the end, as the saying goes "loose lips sinks ships" proved true. But, Chapman seemed to have a good life to the end.
This book mentions Operation Mincemeat a couple times and that book is on my TBR list and am looking forward to reading that one as well!
And, there's the failed July 20th assassination attempt on Hitler, which I did not know about, until I saw a movie, "Operation Valkyrie", about this a few years ago. It is a pretty good movie if one is interested.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes spy & espionage, WW2 era novels & those who've read or wants to read books by this author.
The life of Chapman was certainly interesting and how he was able to be a double agent and maintain his cool for all those years was amazing! Except for a few slight missteps when dealing with von Groning & other German interrogators & his ability to react quickly and have an answer, most likely saved his life, since he would be discovered as a spy.
His ability to convince both the British & Germans was interesting as well. The details as listed in the book of having him go back and forth with information and not really indicated he was a double agent showed he was "cool as a cucumber"
But, in the end, as the saying goes "loose lips sinks ships" proved true. But, Chapman seemed to have a good life to the end.
This book mentions Operation Mincemeat a couple times and that book is on my TBR list and am looking forward to reading that one as well!
And, there's the failed July 20th assassination attempt on Hitler, which I did not know about, until I saw a movie, "Operation Valkyrie", about this a few years ago. It is a pretty good movie if one is interested.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes spy & espionage, WW2 era novels & those who've read or wants to read books by this author.
December 2, 2019
לאחר שקראתי את ״בגידה כפולה״ של בן מקנטייר והתמוגגתי לא היה לי ספק שזה מה שאחווה גם ב״סוכן זיגזג״, ספר שיצא לאור חמש שנים קודם.
בן מקנטייר ערך לקראת כתיבת הספר, כהרגלו יש לומר, מחקר מדוקדק שמבוסס על מסמכים ועדויות ממקורות רבים. על בסיס כל אלו כתב ספר שבמרכזו עומד אדי צ׳פמן, נוכל ועבריין מתוחכם ומנוסה, שכדי לחמוק ממאסר באי ג׳רזי, התנדב לסייע לשירות הריגול הנגדי הנאצי ״האבוור״ לאחר שהגרמנים כבשו את האי. צ׳פמן הצליח לרכוש את אמונם של מפעיליו ולאחר תקופת אימונים ארוכה ומהנה מבחינתו נשלח למשימת ריגול והפצצת מפעל באנגליה. הגרמנים וכמובן צ׳פמן עצמו, לא היו מודעים לכך שהבריטים חשפו את מכונת האניגמה הגרמנית וכך למעשה כל רשת התקשורת הגרמנית יורטה ע״י הבריטים שחיכו למרגל החדש צ׳פמן כשהאחרון צנח בשטח בריטניה. הסופר מתאר בכישרון רב איך הבריטים גרמו לצ׳פמן להפוך לסוכן כפול, מרצונו יש לומר, ולרגל למענם אצל הגרמנים ובכך צ׳פמן צורף למערך ההונאה ה״בגידה הכפולה״ שחלקו הגדול תואר בספר שהזכרתי שנושא את אותו שם. לאורך כל הספר מתוארות אפיזודות מרתקות אודות ההתמודדות של שני הצדדים, הגרמני והבריטי, עם אופיו הבעייתי של צ׳פמן שמצד אחד היה הולל וסובא, חובב נשים וזונות ורודף בצע מאין כמוהו ומצד שני היה אמיץ בצורה בלתי רגילה, הביא השגים מודיעיניים שלא יסולאו בפז, בעיקר לבריטיים והרבה פחות מכך לגרמנים למרות שהם האמינו שיש להם אוצר ביד...
זהו ספר מענג לכל חובבי ההיסטוריה בכלל וחובבי ספרי הריגול של תקופת מלחמת העולם השניה בפרט ואין לי אלא להעניק לו חמישה כוכבים מנצנצים.
בן מקנטייר ערך לקראת כתיבת הספר, כהרגלו יש לומר, מחקר מדוקדק שמבוסס על מסמכים ועדויות ממקורות רבים. על בסיס כל אלו כתב ספר שבמרכזו עומד אדי צ׳פמן, נוכל ועבריין מתוחכם ומנוסה, שכדי לחמוק ממאסר באי ג׳רזי, התנדב לסייע לשירות הריגול הנגדי הנאצי ״האבוור״ לאחר שהגרמנים כבשו את האי. צ׳פמן הצליח לרכוש את אמונם של מפעיליו ולאחר תקופת אימונים ארוכה ומהנה מבחינתו נשלח למשימת ריגול והפצצת מפעל באנגליה. הגרמנים וכמובן צ׳פמן עצמו, לא היו מודעים לכך שהבריטים חשפו את מכונת האניגמה הגרמנית וכך למעשה כל רשת התקשורת הגרמנית יורטה ע״י הבריטים שחיכו למרגל החדש צ׳פמן כשהאחרון צנח בשטח בריטניה. הסופר מתאר בכישרון רב איך הבריטים גרמו לצ׳פמן להפוך לסוכן כפול, מרצונו יש לומר, ולרגל למענם אצל הגרמנים ובכך צ׳פמן צורף למערך ההונאה ה״בגידה הכפולה״ שחלקו הגדול תואר בספר שהזכרתי שנושא את אותו שם. לאורך כל הספר מתוארות אפיזודות מרתקות אודות ההתמודדות של שני הצדדים, הגרמני והבריטי, עם אופיו הבעייתי של צ׳פמן שמצד אחד היה הולל וסובא, חובב נשים וזונות ורודף בצע מאין כמוהו ומצד שני היה אמיץ בצורה בלתי רגילה, הביא השגים מודיעיניים שלא יסולאו בפז, בעיקר לבריטיים והרבה פחות מכך לגרמנים למרות שהם האמינו שיש להם אוצר ביד...
זהו ספר מענג לכל חובבי ההיסטוריה בכלל וחובבי ספרי הריגול של תקופת מלחמת העולם השניה בפרט ואין לי אלא להעניק לו חמישה כוכבים מנצנצים.
September 27, 2012
Quite an adventure! Eddie Chapman was charming, handsome, smart, cunning and manipulative and able to play both ends against the middle. To this day no one is sure how he really played the game, although Great Britain benefited the most from Eddie's talents....that is with the exception of Eddie himself.
A word should be said about Britain's MI5 unit. After reading this book and Operation Mincemeat by the same author, it would appear that Great Britain had the best Military Intelligence unit in WWII. They came up with creative schemes (even employing a professional magician to aid in illusions) that consistently mislead the Germans. England's unit was structured differently from Germany's - and this made for some interesting dynamics that I don't want to get into here. It would be a spoiler. That they cracked the Enigma code early in the war, while benefiting from being able to read all German coded messages sent, and that Germany was never aware the code was cracked speaks volumes. Pretty slick in my opinion.
A word should be said about Britain's MI5 unit. After reading this book and Operation Mincemeat by the same author, it would appear that Great Britain had the best Military Intelligence unit in WWII. They came up with creative schemes (even employing a professional magician to aid in illusions) that consistently mislead the Germans. England's unit was structured differently from Germany's - and this made for some interesting dynamics that I don't want to get into here. It would be a spoiler. That they cracked the Enigma code early in the war, while benefiting from being able to read all German coded messages sent, and that Germany was never aware the code was cracked speaks volumes. Pretty slick in my opinion.
October 15, 2015
15/10 - A fascinating tale of British and German espionage during WWII. The quote from John Le Carre on the front cover, describing the book as
"Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving."
is absolutely correct. I did find the story 'moving', but mostly only in that the treatment of Chapman by his second handler, after Reed was sent to France, was atrocious and mostly inspired by what I see as Ryde's jealousy over Chapman's success with women and the importance of his role in the British war effort compared with Ryde's own.
If you want to read the true stories of the previously classified details of the exploits of MI5 agents and spies during WWII then Ben Macintyre is the author to go to. This is the second of his books that I've read, and I have pretty much every other one on my to read list.
"Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving."
is absolutely correct. I did find the story 'moving', but mostly only in that the treatment of Chapman by his second handler, after Reed was sent to France, was atrocious and mostly inspired by what I see as Ryde's jealousy over Chapman's success with women and the importance of his role in the British war effort compared with Ryde's own.
If you want to read the true stories of the previously classified details of the exploits of MI5 agents and spies during WWII then Ben Macintyre is the author to go to. This is the second of his books that I've read, and I have pretty much every other one on my to read list.
November 8, 2013
I love good historical nonfiction, and Macintyre knows how to write. He tells the story of Eddie Chapman, a charming English criminal who is jailed in France during World War II, becomes a spy for the Nazis, is sent back to England and turns himself into MI5 to become a double agent for the British. The story is better than a spy novel, because it’s true, and proves the old saying that truth is stranger than fiction. Chapman goes back and forth between the British and the Nazis, playing both sides, and no one – possibly not even Chapman – is sure which side he’s on. Macintyre can pick out the humorous and the deliciously absurd details in history, and does a wonderful job bringing historical figures to full, colorful life.
December 7, 2024
CONTAINS SPOILERS
The subtitle of this book is The Most Notorious Double Agent of World War II. It concerns Eddie Chapman, a successful London crook whose gang were known for using gelignite to blow open safes.
Author Ben MacIntyre has done a superb job in telling the life story of this brave, intelligent, unscrupulous and skilful man, having conducted extensive research.
Chapman was in prison in Jersey at the beginning of the war, having been tracked down there by the Met (Metropolitan Police). [For the benefit of our non-British readers, that’s Jersey in the Channel Islands, near France, not New Jersey in the USA.] He was not returned to the mainland to stand trial for the robberies because while on the run he committed a crime in Jersey and under their laws he had to be tried and imprisoned there. No doubt the Met were just grateful to have him banged up somewhere so that he couldn’t cause more trouble for them.
Chapman was very intelligent and continually restless – as we know much more now about neurological conditions, I reckon he probably had ADHD. He was also very resourceful, unafraid of anything and a charmer – he had several girlfriends and a couple of wives over the years, all of which he loved passionately at the time he was with them.
After the Germans invaded the Channel Islands and took over the prison, Chapman thought of a way to get out, which was his main objective. He hated being locked up and had already escaped once. He asked the governor of the jail if he could speak to German Military Intelligence, then offered to spy for Germany if they trained him and sent him back to England. While in prison, Chapman had learned French and German to relieve the boredom, and coupled with his professed hatred of the British Establishment (which was true), they agreed to try him out.
Chapman was then thoroughly interrogated, trained and assessed, and the German Abwehr decided to take a chance on him. He was tasked with blowing up the De Havilland Mosquito factory in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, a pretty big job for one man to carry out.
[Built of wood – yes, really – the Mosquito was one of the most successful aircraft of WW2. It was light and fast, thanks to its twin Rolls Royce Merlin engines, and was adapted as a bomber, fighter-bomber, night fighter and photo-reconnaissance aircraft, so it was no wonder Goering wanted the factory destroyed.]
Dropped into a field in Norfolk in the middle of the night, Chapman immediately surrendered and asked to speak with MI5. He then endured another round of interrogations and training, all while keeping in touch with the Abwehr by radio, under the watchful eyes of MI5, of course.
All this was just the beginning; Chapman went on (ostensibly) to serve both sides throughout the war, though his primary loyalty was the Britain – he fed the Germans a huge amount of disinformation that helped us to win the war, including telling them that the D-Day landings would take place in the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy. That in itself saved countless lives because he was considered their best agent in England.
While doing all this, Chapman drank, gambled, womanised and spent loads of money enjoying himself – money mostly provided by the Abwehr. He was a ‘loveable rogue’ as the saying goes, and an enormously successful one.
I won’t give more away; suffice to say that Ben MacIntyre has written a highly readable, in-depth and utterly incredible biography of an amazing man, and I heartily recommend it.
The subtitle of this book is The Most Notorious Double Agent of World War II. It concerns Eddie Chapman, a successful London crook whose gang were known for using gelignite to blow open safes.
Author Ben MacIntyre has done a superb job in telling the life story of this brave, intelligent, unscrupulous and skilful man, having conducted extensive research.
Chapman was in prison in Jersey at the beginning of the war, having been tracked down there by the Met (Metropolitan Police). [For the benefit of our non-British readers, that’s Jersey in the Channel Islands, near France, not New Jersey in the USA.] He was not returned to the mainland to stand trial for the robberies because while on the run he committed a crime in Jersey and under their laws he had to be tried and imprisoned there. No doubt the Met were just grateful to have him banged up somewhere so that he couldn’t cause more trouble for them.
Chapman was very intelligent and continually restless – as we know much more now about neurological conditions, I reckon he probably had ADHD. He was also very resourceful, unafraid of anything and a charmer – he had several girlfriends and a couple of wives over the years, all of which he loved passionately at the time he was with them.
After the Germans invaded the Channel Islands and took over the prison, Chapman thought of a way to get out, which was his main objective. He hated being locked up and had already escaped once. He asked the governor of the jail if he could speak to German Military Intelligence, then offered to spy for Germany if they trained him and sent him back to England. While in prison, Chapman had learned French and German to relieve the boredom, and coupled with his professed hatred of the British Establishment (which was true), they agreed to try him out.
Chapman was then thoroughly interrogated, trained and assessed, and the German Abwehr decided to take a chance on him. He was tasked with blowing up the De Havilland Mosquito factory in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, a pretty big job for one man to carry out.
[Built of wood – yes, really – the Mosquito was one of the most successful aircraft of WW2. It was light and fast, thanks to its twin Rolls Royce Merlin engines, and was adapted as a bomber, fighter-bomber, night fighter and photo-reconnaissance aircraft, so it was no wonder Goering wanted the factory destroyed.]
Dropped into a field in Norfolk in the middle of the night, Chapman immediately surrendered and asked to speak with MI5. He then endured another round of interrogations and training, all while keeping in touch with the Abwehr by radio, under the watchful eyes of MI5, of course.
All this was just the beginning; Chapman went on (ostensibly) to serve both sides throughout the war, though his primary loyalty was the Britain – he fed the Germans a huge amount of disinformation that helped us to win the war, including telling them that the D-Day landings would take place in the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy. That in itself saved countless lives because he was considered their best agent in England.
While doing all this, Chapman drank, gambled, womanised and spent loads of money enjoying himself – money mostly provided by the Abwehr. He was a ‘loveable rogue’ as the saying goes, and an enormously successful one.
I won’t give more away; suffice to say that Ben MacIntyre has written a highly readable, in-depth and utterly incredible biography of an amazing man, and I heartily recommend it.
September 6, 2022
Едуард Чапман е дребен английски престъпник, известен на полицията със своите обири и измами. Началото на Втората световна война променя живота му изцяло. През 1940 г. германците окупират остров Джърси, разположен в Ла Манша, където Чапман излежава поредната си присъда. В опит да се спаси, той предлага сътрудничество на нацистката разузнавателна служба Abwehr. Но това е поредната му измама. След дълго обучение в методите на саботаж, където верността му към Германия е привидно потвърдена, Чапман е спуснат с парашут в Англия с конкретна мисия. Но още с приземяването си той се свързва с MI5 и започва живота си като двоен агент - ZigZag за британците и Fritz за германците.
Чапман инсценира взривяване на фабрика за самолети De Havilland Mosquito и редовно снабдява нацистите с дезинформация по всякакви военновременни въпроси. За "заслугите" си той става единственият англичанин, награден с Железен кръст - германски орден за военно отличие.
Препоръчвам книгата Agent ZigZag, която отрзаява историческа истина по разсекретени материали на MI5, но се чете като модерен комерсиален трилър. Втората световна война все още крие непознати истории и мистерии.
Чапман инсценира взривяване на фабрика за самолети De Havilland Mosquito и редовно снабдява нацистите с дезинформация по всякакви военновременни въпроси. За "заслугите" си той става единственият англичанин, награден с Железен кръст - германски орден за военно отличие.
Препоръчвам книгата Agent ZigZag, която отрзаява историческа истина по разсекретени материали на MI5, но се чете като модерен комерсиален трилър. Втората световна война все още крие непознати истории и мистерии.
September 2, 2022
A true story that sounds too incredible to be true. Chapman was a spy, a double agent, and was someone who lied constantly and was completely unreliable. Or was he?
The story here is well-told, but is also one that sounds too fantastic to be believable — if this was a novel. A James Bond-type seducer, a hero to the Nazis — and to Britain? Come on, none of this can possibly be true.
Can it.
Truth is stranger than fiction is a cliché often bandied about, but then a book like this comes along, and this story is incredible, yet true. Isn't it?
The story here is well-told, but is also one that sounds too fantastic to be believable — if this was a novel. A James Bond-type seducer, a hero to the Nazis — and to Britain? Come on, none of this can possibly be true.
Can it.
Truth is stranger than fiction is a cliché often bandied about, but then a book like this comes along, and this story is incredible, yet true. Isn't it?
August 12, 2024
If truth is more astounding than fiction, then Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre is a case of the unbelievable but true. The story of Eddie Chapman, jewel thief turned German spy and eventually British double agent in World War Two, must be read to be believed. Chapman not only proved himself to be a wily criminal in England, but used the same level of shrewdness and chutzpah to garner favor and an important place in the German spy ring. By an odd string of circumstances, the English prison on the Channel Islands where he was held for his crimes, became controlled by German forces at the outset of the war. With remarkable ingenuity, Chapman persuaded the German authorities to recruit him as an agent against his country, for which initially he felt nothing but loathing. The astonishing adventures he becomes embroiled in when serving as a German spy and, over time, as a British double agent smack of the stuff of legend. While Chapman used his street smarts to fool and confound, he always sought to satisfy his two desires, money and women. His harrowing feats, including parachuting out of airplanes and acting multiple parts, were no less treacherous than treading a high wire that could lead to falling into perilous traps set by the Nazis. Chapman's story makes for thrilling reading, as compelling as any novel churned out by Le Carre or Robert Ludlum. We will leave the reader with one question: how was this man of the backstreets, under the age of 30, able to be as effective in penetrating the German spy world as any highly educated top brass military genius? This book offers fascinating clues and insights into this remarkable personage of World War Two.
December 2, 2008
This is a splendid biography of Eddie Chapman, who went from small-time criminal to double-agent for the British during World War II while never fully abandoning his anti-establishment urges. Chapman performed many wartime feats of derring-do, and although his main allegiance appeared to lie with the Allies, he was was also trusted and rewarded by the German Abwehr; after the war, he even invited one of his principal German contacts to attend his daughter's wedding. This multi-facted and multi-talented man clearly saved many lives for the Allies, but in the end was forced out of his career as a consummate British spymaster.
In preparing this biography, the author Ben Macintyre was granted access to recently declassified files, and his mastery and presentation of the material is astonishing. In addition to Chapman, there is a terrific cast of characters here, and I doubt that any fictional thriller could be more captivating than this true story.
In preparing this biography, the author Ben Macintyre was granted access to recently declassified files, and his mastery and presentation of the material is astonishing. In addition to Chapman, there is a terrific cast of characters here, and I doubt that any fictional thriller could be more captivating than this true story.
April 21, 2013
John le Carre perfectly described this book, "Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining, and often very moving." I'll just add that this is one helluva book. It made me laugh, it broke my heart and it blew my mind away. Ben Macintyre is the kind of storyteller that I can only dream of becoming. Zigzag is, by himself a highly entertaining and compelling character, but he truly came alive for me with this book. And although a complicated story that was undoubtedly extremely challenging to research and put together, Mr. Macintyre brings it all together so well that I never got lost among all the twists and turns and all the people who come and go. I was sad to come to the end of the story and I pity the next book I pick up to read because it has a big act to follow. If you're at all interested in WWII and/or espionage, read this book. I think you'll be glad you did.
September 1, 2020
If it wasn't for the fact that this book is non-fiction, I probably would have rated it low based on a purely unbelievable plot. But all of this happened to Eddie Chapman, the most notorious double agent of World War 2. I don't normally read historical non-fiction, but this book was so effortlessly entertaining purely because of the batshit insane things that happened to Chapman. I mean he really had a life. It was also so fun to find out all about the work the secret services did during the war, both on the British and German sides. Chapman never came across as particularly likable to me, but I have to admire his bravery and quick wit! Definitely check this one out if you are interested in wartime history, but want to read something that reads almost like a real-life James Bond novel.
March 29, 2021
I listened to the audio version of this book and it provided a fascinating insight into the workings of the spy agencies of England and Germany during WWII. A cast of interesting characters and written in a very engaging manner. Highly recommend.
August 23, 2021
Loved it throughout! What a story to tell and can’t think of anyone better to tell it! I wouldn’t have believed it if it hadn’t been a true story. Absolutely fantastic!
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August 30, 2017A jawdropping read about a small time criminal and con artist turned double agent in WW2. Chapman was a horrible selfish sociopathic exploiter and all round scumbag. He was in prison on Jersey, taken to a German prison camp after the invasion, volunteered to be a spy for the Nazis, trained in sabotage and espionage, sent back to Britain, where he promptly handed himself in and set out to become a double agent, working for the British and blowing up the German spy networks in the UK such as they were while feeding misinformation to his Nazi handlers. Went back to occupied Europe where he risked his life for the Allies for years, lived in constant danger, came back to the UK when it was all over, and promptly returned to a life of petty infidelity and dishonesty as if he'd never been a hero at all. People really are infinitely strange.
This is an utterly fascinating story packed with read-aloud facts and bits. The sequence about the faked sabotage of the Mosquito factory, as carried out by stage magicians to make it look from the air like Chapman had blown the place up, is amazing. Great read.
This is an utterly fascinating story packed with read-aloud facts and bits. The sequence about the faked sabotage of the Mosquito factory, as carried out by stage magicians to make it look from the air like Chapman had blown the place up, is amazing. Great read.
March 29, 2021
Colonel Robin 'Tin Eye' Stephens, one of Eddie Chapman's interrogators, said, 'Fiction has not, and probably never will, produce an espionage story to rival in fascination and improbability the true story of Edward Chapman, whom only war could invest with virtue, and that only for its duration.'
Never a truer word has been written or spoken for Chapman's exploits for both the Germans and the British very nearly defy belief. How he held it all together and lied his way through World War II as a double agent is incredible. His was a hard act to portray.
Initially a small time criminal, Chapman became a most important cog in the wheel of secret service work of both camps and maintained great friendships with his mentors on both sides.
A great womaniser, he kept a number of women in tow as well as giving disinformation to the Germans once he had become well and truly ensconsed with the British.
His part in Brtain's subsequent victory is exciting and well worth reading with more twists and turns than a mystery thriller.
Never a truer word has been written or spoken for Chapman's exploits for both the Germans and the British very nearly defy belief. How he held it all together and lied his way through World War II as a double agent is incredible. His was a hard act to portray.
Initially a small time criminal, Chapman became a most important cog in the wheel of secret service work of both camps and maintained great friendships with his mentors on both sides.
A great womaniser, he kept a number of women in tow as well as giving disinformation to the Germans once he had become well and truly ensconsed with the British.
His part in Brtain's subsequent victory is exciting and well worth reading with more twists and turns than a mystery thriller.
August 4, 2014
On the back cover of my paperback edition of this book, one critic wrote "The best book ever written". While this may be hyperbole, I would have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed "Agent Zigzag" from cover to cover. Essentially, this book has everything from double and triple crosses to elaborately developed plots to fool the Nazis, to dangerous missions requiring both courage and extreme fortitude. As a historical writer, Macintyre truly knows how to keep a story both moving and amusing. As much as I liked "Operation Mincemeat", I found this book more enjoyable for it's more convoluted storyline and subplots. I can't wait to read more of his books.
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