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Published Sep 2007
408 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
Eddie Chapman was handsome, witty, and charming—a con man, jailbird, womanizer, and safe-cracker. He was also the most remarkable double agent of World War II.
To the British, he was known as ZigZag, one of MI5’s most valuable agents. To the Abwehr—German military intelligence—he was known as Fritzchen (Little Fritz), one of their most valued and trusted spies. For three long years, Eddie played this dangerous double game, daily risking life and limb to help England win the war. And yet so charming and seductive was Eddie that his German handler, Baron Stefan von Gröning, thought of Fritzchen as the son he never had. In fact, so esteemed was Eddie by the Germans that he was awarded the Iron Cross for spying for the Reich! He was also the only German spy parachuted in Britain twice.
Until now, Eddie Chapman’s extraordinary double life has never been told, thwarted by the Official Secrets Act. Now all the evidence—including Eddie’s MI5 file—has finally been released, paving the way for Nicholas Booth’s enthralling account of Eddie’s long and tumultuous life.
"Whether rogue or patriot, his story makes for intriguing reading, but Booth's transparent cheerleading for Chapman detracts from an otherwise enjoyable biography." - Publishers Weekly.
"Booth offers a wonderful spy story based chiefly on Chapman's memoirs, his widow's recollections and, best of all, on files recently freed under Britain's Official Secrets Act." - Kirkus Reviews.
This information about Zigzag was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Nicholas Booth is the author of six previous books. For 10 years, he was a journalist for The Observer and the The Times (London). Now a writer and broadcaster, he divides his time between London and Cheshire.
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