Double-Edged Sword

by Steve Anderson, Max Roll (Reading)

This concise, fast listen tells the true story of a self-made double agent who bluffed his way into the most ambitious Allied deception operation of WWII. In 1942, German military intelligence believed the Spaniard Juan Pujol Garcia was running a formidable spy network for them inside enemy Britain. In reality their man in London was making it all up, from Portugal. Pujol had fooled the Germans all on his own after the British embassies in Madrid and Lisbon rejected his services repeatedly. But soon British intelligence would smuggle the dogged double agent to London and build up his subterfuge under the code name Garbo. In 1944, Pujol aka Garbo took the lead on an elaborate Allied deception campaign that fooled Hitler and his generals about the D-Day invasion - and surely saved thousands of lives. Double-Edged Sword focuses solely on the most crucial moments of an epic double cross that Pujol was so uniquely built to pull off.

Genres: Nonfiction, World War II

MP3 CD

First published June 14, 2012

About the author

Steve Anderson writes the Kaspar Brothers historical thrillers and other novels. His latest novels are Show Game and Lines of Deception. Anderson was a Fulbright Fellow and has translated bestselling German fiction. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

More about Steve Anderson:
Years ago, Steve Anderson planned to become a history professor. He even landed a Fulbright Fellowship in Munich. Then he discovered fiction writing — he could make stuff up, he realized, using actual events and characters to serve the story. Now he writes novels that often introduce a little-known aspect of history, mixing in overlooked crimes, true accounts, and gutsy underdogs.

Steve has also written narrative nonfiction, short stories, and screenplays. His day jobs have included busy waiter, Associated Press rookie, language instructor, and copywriter. As a freelancer, he translates bestselling German fiction and edits novels.

He lives in his hometown of Portland, Oregon with his wife René. He’s loved and played soccer since he was a kid and still follows Portland Timbers FC.

Reviews

[Iao · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Double - Edged Sword is the cutting edge of WWII espionage.

Wonderful true story of intrigue and deception. You can never overestimate the amount of collusion and duplicity in any of these cases.....

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Anderson has become a first rate author of little-known stories of World War II. His earlier "The Losing Role" (fiction) and "Sitting Ducks" (nonfiction) were fascinating treatments of Germany's Operation Greif, a secret plan to infiltrate the Allied lines during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.

"Double-Edged Sword" is the story of Spaniard Juan Pujol Garcia, who ran a sham espionage network with the code name "Garbo." For more than three years, double agent Pujol and his network of phony subagents fed false information to the German Abwehr, culminating in a massive deception about the D-Day invasion. It's an absorbing story that the author chose to narrate as "creative nonfiction," where he used meticulously researched facts, filling in the blanks with actions and dialogues that could be reasonably surmised. As such, the story reads much like a novel.

Pujol's motivation was his hatred of fascism. After seeing the fascist regime of Francisco Franco emerge after the Spanish Civil War, he was repulsed at the thought of Europe being dominated by fascist Germany. Offering his services to Great Britain, he was repeatedly rebuffed and dismissed, but eventually he was accepted and proceeded to begin operations. To his Abwehr handlers, he was agent "Arabel." For the next three years, he posted or radioed a staggering amount of misleading information to the Germans.

The story is full of remarkable tidbits of history. Most amazingly, although the Germans thought he was operating from London, for the first few months of operation, he was actually in Lisbon, Portugal. Eventually, the British brought him to London, and the Abwehr never caught on to the deception. Another interesting piece of the story was the role of Pujol's wife Araceli, who with enthusiastic complicity, prodded him to approach the British with his double agent scheme.

Kudos to author Steve Anderson for another superb treatment of a little-known operation of World War II.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little read that tells the true story of an unremarkable Spaniard who emerged from the Spanish Civil War intact but smarting. By thinking globally and acting locally, Sr. Pujol decides to strike a blow for anti-fascism by doggedly re-inventing himself as a WWII double agent, duping the Nazi's and working for the British, by feeding the Germans a steady stream of dis-information.

This nifty tale was well researched (see the notes at the end)and fun to read. A story that reminds us how one person can make a difference, however improbably.

This is my first Kindle single and I enjoyed the format very much. I enjoy vertical history (a narrow focus on a smaller event that helps to illuminate a broader topic)and this format lends itself wonderfully to the genre. Mr. Anderson sheds a bright light on a very obscure but very key thread of the WWII narrative and does it in an engaging, entertaining and laconic manner. At 75 pages, Double-Edged Sword was a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Bravo, Senor Anderson.

[Elli · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was more non-fiction, talking about an actual double agent who was essentially working for the British. He had seen enough of the fascistic autocracy and the abuses of power personally and was very dedicated to doing all he could to stop it. He was successful, but it was not easy, and the price was high. They had their ways of working with the Axis powers, particularly Germany and Franco's Spanish admirers. the person and the people, for that matter, were real, and the author tells of his research. It was classified for a number of years. Techniques used reminded me of another false spy that gummed up the Axis works....in that case, the spy was literally a dead body that had died quite some time ago, but in a position where his ID and story could be silently passed on. Interesting, but a bit too much too detailed to totally engross me, and that's mainly what I am looking for. And that's why the three stars. A real student of World War II might give it 5 stars. It is well written, well researched, and well done. Just a bit too much for me right now, though.

[Frances Levy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this true spy story especially interesting in comparison with "Agent Zig-Zag," which I recently finished reading. These were ordinary people who acted with extraordinary cleverness and bravery in time of war, and whatever their character flaws, they deserve our admiration. (Plus it's a good yarn.)

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty fun read. Really quick and interesting the whole way through. It's fun to read the little known stories about one of the most written about subjects.