| Operation Mincemeat |  | Author: Ben Macintyre
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Category: Book
List Price: £16.99
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Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 2,384
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 1.7
ISBN: 0747598681
EAN: 9780747598688
ASIN: 0747598681
Publication Date: January 18, 2010
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product Description
'Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed the Course of World War II'.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
 Simply brilliant January 26, 2010
Gassucker (Hertfordshire)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful
This is by far one of the very best "contemporary" historical accounts I have read for ages. It flows seamlessly linking the characters and describing them in such an absolutely interesting way that you feel that you know them all personally. This is done simply with great skill. It takes great skill to keep you interested in characters now sadly long gone whose backgrounds and life style now seems so alien to our own. We owe much to those unsung heroes who never received the recognition they richly deserved. This book is a tribute to them. It rises above most books of its ilk by having been thoroughly and comprehensively researched. You never ever get the feeling that anything has either been missed out or made up. An excellent gripping read.
excellent January 22, 2010
Mr. Pj Williams (cardiff uk)
28 out of 32 found this review helpful
brilliant book, well written and flys along like a thriller, might not appeal to the historical purist but for someone delving into intelligence during world war two and want somewhere to start this is perfect. really creates a picture of the protagonists and the scenario. bought mine in the lake district and couldn't put it down. you wont regret the purchase. an excellent book by a great storyteller. have just bought his previous book zig zag on the strength of this
READS LIKE A FAST-PACED THRILLER February 6, 2010
Paul Gelman (HAIFA , ISRAEL)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
During World War Two spying and intelligence played an important role.The British attached much importance to this aspect and spared no means in order to achieve substantial success.The purpose was dual:to surprise the Nazi enemy and to save the lives of as many combatants in battle as possible.
"Operation Mincemeat"was one of those deceptions which have eventually surprised the Nazis into believing that an invasion od the Allies would take place not in Sicily but in Greece.This great hoax was the brainchild of a Jewish barrister, Ewen Montagu,and a RAF officer who concocted a cocktail of deception involving a list of eccentric characters.Among them wasa famous forensic pathologist(whose style of life was bizzare),a gold-prospector,a submarine commander, three novelist and a tranvestite spymaster.
The whole deception plan started beneath Whitehall.Montagu was looking for a corpse of someone who was supposed to carry classified documents on his body.These papers were to be the proof that the Allies had invasion plans for Greece.But where do you look for a suitable corpse? Enter Sir Bernard Spilbury,a senior pathologist at the Home Office and pioneer of forensics.With the help of another colleague,Spilbury located the corpse of Welsh young man who was mentally deranged and poisoned himself.Thus,the whole procedure of arranging a forged identity of this man started.It was an arduous journey and all this was meant to build a plausible story for the Nazis.Another man working for the British intelligence designed the canister which would contain the corpse of the fictitious Major William Martin.Montagu and his RAF officer would then deliver the canister to a British submarine commander whose mission was to drop it in Spanish waters.Why Spain? Because there were many who were in love with the Nazi regime.It is a well-known fact that the British agreed to pay huge sums of money to the Spanish leader so that he would not join Hitler's forces.In addition, there were some very rich German families who were ardent supporters of the Nazis and many of them were engaged in the Great Game working for the Germans.These had good connections with the Spanish police and other authorities,therefore Spain would be an excallent place to drop the body.
On the morning of April 30th,1943,a sardine fisherman spotted the corpse of the British fictitious Major floating in the sea off the coast of Spain and set in motion a number of events that would change the course of the war.An autopsy performed by a Spanish doctor confirmed that the corpse "fell in the water while still alive,showed no evidence of bruising,and drowned through asphyxia caused by submersion"(p.205).The body was placed in a wooden coffin and returned to the care of the British vice consul.At this point the rumour about the body was already gaining speed and the Germans in Spain heard about the suitcase which was attached to the body and which contained the forged documents showing the Allies' intentions.This was when the whole process of convincing Berlin that the documents were genuine started.There were some ironies in the whole story:the British were drmined to give the Germans the suitcase.Another irony was that the poor Welsh chap got a funeral which was attended by many, while in his real life he was barely known.The Germans turned for help to one of their most trusted spies,a Spanish air force general officer who had various connections in the military.This was the turning point and nine days after arriving in Spain,the forged documents were in Berlin.Among them were letters addressed to General Alexander and Admiral Cunningham;another addressee was General Eisenhower.
The whole affair spared the lives of perhaps tens of thousands of combatants and of the 160000 soldiers who took part in the invasion of Sicily more than 153000 were still alive at the end.This was the result of the deception, logistics,strength,secrecy and surprise and all these were the result of the fertile imagination of a team of spies led by an English lawyer(whose brother, we are told,was a communist who spied for the Russians.These knew about this web of deception from its inception).
This book is written in a very dynamic style.The characters are extremely well depicted and there is action and intrigue on every page of it.The research invested in this book is excellent and it will definitely be enjoyed by any history buff and professional alike.Five cheers for this superb book!!!!!
Brings history alive January 25, 2010
S. Turnbull (Buckinghamshire, England)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
As carefully plotted as Operation Mincemeat itself and a well-written and absorbing read. The author maintains the suspense and vividly brings to life the diverse and eccentric characters who populate a story where fact really is stranger than fiction. Macintyre combines the skills of a historical researcher and a thriller writer and like the previous reviewer I 'couldn't put it down'. I'd recommended this book to everybody -- even if its a genre you wouldn't normally consider.
Gripping stuff! February 28, 2010
George Dixon (North wales)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you have read Agent Zig-zag you 'll really enjoy this fascinating offering from Ben Macintyre.What sets this book apart from other military history books is the style in which it is written.The reader is very easily sucked into the world of second world war espionage and I found it gripping stuff.The book also puts right the story portrayed by the film 'The man who never was'.If you are interested in the shadowy world of spys and espionage then this is the book for you.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
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