A true Nazi spy story that you won't be able to put down:
Agent Zigzag, by Ben Macintyre, recounts the life of charming British crook and autodidact named Eddie Chapman, who was pals with people like Noel Coward. That was before WWII.
Once the war broke out, Chapman embarked upon one of the most improbable espionage careers you'll ever read about -- as a supposed spy for the Nazis, but really a double agent for the British. The whole thing comes with nighttime parachute drops into enemy territory, ruthless inquisitors, secret codes, poison pills, and strangely pastoral interludes.
Chapman's story has been told before in print and also in the movies (Triple Cross, starring Christopher Plummer), but Macintyre's an excellent writer who tells the tale with clarity and wry enthusiasm.
written on Monday Jan 7, 2008
spy vs. spy.
