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.

The book was very interesting but the extensive recital of the double agents' sexual proclivities detracted from the narrative. Even if relevant, a page of narrative per agent (at most) would have sufficed.

This is Ben Macintyre's last book in what is stated to be his trilogy of WWII non-fiction British spy books (the other two being Operation Mincemeat and Agent ZigZag). Having read them all I would have to say this is his most ambitious and epic in scope although the other books are both well worth your attention. What we have here is the story of how Britain's MI5 controlled every single German spy in England with emphasis on the five most important double agents in operation "Fortitude". In fact MI5 controlled more spies than were actually alive as they created whole fictional networks of German spies. All of this lead to the greatest deception of WWII and perhaps changed history but no doubt saved countless lives during the D-Day landings on Normandy.The rhythm of Macintyre's narrative takes some getting use too as he presents five individual spies and their stories and it takes a while to introduce them , their backgrounds, and both German and British handlers.. But take it in stride because as you become familiar with each individual and their back stories I promise you that the suspense builds and your interest in each individual case and fate increases. The last chapter is a great epilogue that brings each significant character's (spies, MI5 handlers, and Germans) post war lives to light.Just one example: One of the spies, who before the war was a chicken hating Spanish chicken farmer living outside Barcelona, won the Iron Cross from the Germans... AFTER D-Day so total was his act of deception.If I have a complaint about the book... it would be that there is material here for several books (and several movies). But no doubt about it this is a history that is a very entertaining well researched true life story. And a tribute to those who participated in the deception, lies, immorality, friendships, ideology, loyalty, love and survival that ultimately resulted in the success of Operation Fortitude. Your understanding of the D-Day landings will never be complete without learning of a Serbian playboy, a Polish fighter pilot, a bi-sexual Peruvian party girl, a Frenchwoman who cared more for her dog than the mission's success, and of course that chicken farmer who ended up winning the Iron Cross.