Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies Paperback – May 14, 2013

Double Cross, by Ben Macintyre, is an unusual World War II story. It is the true and incredible story of how five Allied double agent spies working for the British Security Service, better known as MI5, fooled the Nazis into thinking the D-Day invasion, the biggest amphibious invasion of all time, would take place in a location that it would not take place. This deception, made by the Double Cross agents, the MI5 double agent section, was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever to take place. This book was very strong in the detail and interest departments, but weak in the department of being able to appeal to a large audience and was confusing at times. Despite this, I found Double Cross to be very good because of its interesting topic and extensive details.This book was, overall, very well written because it was interesting. The abundant little facts and details draw in the reader. Ben Macintyre uses these facts to make the reader better understand who the spies were and how they were able to make D-Day a victory, despite the odds against them. The reader learns that these spies were not the typical James Bond or Mission Impossible type. They had basic intelligence receiving and transmitting training, very different motivations for participating in the war, and they came from all over the world. “For the D-Day spies were, without question, one of the oddest military units ever assembled. They included a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman, a Serbian seducer, and a deeply eccentric Spaniard with a diploma in chicken farming” (5). They did not know martial arts and were not licensed to kill. Their roles were to plant lies into Hitler and the rest of Nazi Germany’s brains to make them the most unprepared for the D-Day invasion. Ben Macintyre does a very good job of making this story interesting and unique.Though Double Cross was a very good book, it has a couple problems. The first of which is not too much of a problem and is quite obvious. This book is intended to be interesting to a select audience, which is okay if the reader is part of this group. The story is very interesting, but not exciting, meaning the author expects that the reader is interested in espionage stories and World War II stories, and the details chosen show that. They make the book interesting to people who like the topic. The book would seem very boring to a reader not interested in World War II history. If this type of reader were to read, Double Cross, I can predict that they will think this book drags on forever. It would also be more confusing to any reader not interested in the topic. These assumptions of the author and the book are reasonable because the book would not have been as good without it. People like me, who love World War II stories, would not find the book as interesting.The second minor problem is that Double Cross gets a little confusing at times. It was clear that this book was going to be a bit confusing because of the complexity of the story, which is okay because it is a true story and is told how it happened. Ben Macintyre, did however, do a very good job of making the story as clear as possible. The story follows five Allied Forces spies which causes confusion at the beginning. It was easy to mix up their names and code names at the start of the book, but was no longer a problem by the middle of the book. The story also has a few important things to remember and can cause confusion if the reader forgets them. The story is also confusing to the reader because it is partially what the story is about. The spies had to confuse and deceive the Germans. Readers who are not interested in the topic will find the book to be more confusing than readers who like it. This is because non interested readers will be more prone to forget key elements and will cause the book to not make sense. Readers who like the book will be able to deal with the confusing bits and find that everything makes sense by the end.To conclude on Double Cross, it was very detailed, had an engaging topic, and will only appeal to those with an interest in the Second World War. Double Cross, in my opinion, was a fascinating book. I loved the extensive detail about this historical series of events. It feels like Ben Macintyre picked apart everything that happened and explained it. It shows how much work he must have put into writing this book to make it the best and most historically accurate as possible. I expected to learn about how the Allies were able to make the Normandy invasion a very possible success before it even happened. My expectation were very much met in this book and I am happy to have read it because of the historical significance of it. I however, would like to reiterate that anyone who does not find interest in espionage and World War II should stay away from this book.

Operation Fortitude, the British plan to keep the Germans from knowing their exact plans for D-Day and the storming of Normandy could not have been as successfully executed without the stable of double cross spies and their British spymasters.In his inimitable style, Ben McIntyre offers us a window into the minds of the some of the most creative military strategists on British soil. He offers us character studies into the heroic and indomitable spirits behind the Anti-Nazi men and women who had to keep their covers under dangerous situations, preventing their double identity being discovered by the Germans. The author also takes into the evaluation process of considering the suitability of converting German spies as double agents, why some are accepted and the characteristics that make others a bigger risk or completely unsuitable.It's not all nerve-wrecking tension in the book though. There are some moments of levity, such as the chapter where the author describes the homing pigeon strategies and the unforeseen end of the one and only heroic pigeon, Gustav, who carried a message back from Normandy to the British.The difference between this and some of the author's other books is that there wasn't a continuous flow between the chapters. They read a little like index cards on individual agents or certain events. It took a little while to get used to the rather abrupt starts and ends to each chapter, but this did not in any way detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

Macintyre deftly weaves an intriguing tale about intrigue that heavily shaped the D-day invasion in World War II. Double Cross tells the amazing story of a motely group of double agents that the German’s thought were feeding them critical information about the Allies but each of the agents was skillfully controlled by the British. Impressively, a small group of British counter-intelligence experts ran the group as a coordinated effort called the Double Cross program. The scope and scale of the effectiveness of their efforts is mindboggling. At the program’s peak the Double Cross team used each agent like a different instrument in an ensemble to craft a sweet tune to which the Germans swayed. Macintyre brings the story to life by delving into each of the cadre of characters on both sides of the grift. In particular it is fascinating to learn so much about the five key agents, their background, how they ended up as spies and then how they excelled and in a couple of cases stumbled, under the pressures of the program. Macintyre is a gifted writer who is accessible and enjoyable to read. My one slight struggle with the book was attempting to keep straight the cast of characters initially. Macintyre attempts to introduce each of them briefly and then return and flesh them out. In time, as the reader you are able to keep straight the mass of characters but initially it is a little daunting. That minor foible aside, the book is filled with insight and gives great color and analysis to an important, and little appreciated, part of World War II history. Hilariously, some of the Double Cross agents were awarded medals by the Germans for their service (even an Iron Cross). At the end of the book, you’ll be so taken with the heroism of this rag tag group of double agents that you’ll want to award them a medal too.