Agent Zigzag

A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal

By: Ben MacIntyre

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Eddie Chapman was a charming criminal, a con man, and a philanderer. He was also one of the most remarkable double agents Britain has ever produced. Inside the traitor was a man of loyalty; inside the villain was a hero. The problem for Chapman, his spymasters, and his lovers was to know where one persona ended and the other began.

In 1941, after training as a German spy in occupied France, Chapman was orders orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory in Britain. Instead, he contacted MI5, the British Secret Service. For the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service.

Crisscrossing Europe under different names, all the while weaving plans, spreading disinformation, and, miraculously, keeping his stories straight under intense interrogation, he even managed to gain some profit and seduce beautiful women along the way.

The Nazis feted Chapman as a hero and awarded him the Iron Cross. In Britain, he was pardoned for his crimes, becoming the only wartime agent to be thus rewarded.

Sixty years after the end of the war, and 10 years after Chapman’s death, MI5 has now declassified all of Chapman’s files, releasing more than 1,800 pages of top secret material and allowing the full story of Agent Zigzag to be told for the first time.

©2007 Ben MacIntyre (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"[An] intriguing and balanced biography." (Publishers Weekly)

“Macintyre is the more graceful writer; Agent Zigzag has a clarity and shape that make it the more fluid account...I would give a personal nod to Macintyre’s as the better book...A review cannot possibly convey the sheer fun of this story...or the fascinating moral complexities.” (New York Times Book Review)

“[Agent Zigzag’s] incredible wartime adventures, recounted in Ben Macintyre’s rollicking, spellbinding Agent Zigzag blend the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carré with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh.” (The New York Times)

Unbelievably good

An entertaining telling of one of the most entertaining men who may have ever lived.

A great audiobook

“Agent Zigag” is a riveting and informative audiobook; I looked forward to my long commute, just so I could listen to the story.

The author spins a delightful narrative, recounting numerous real life exploits of a WWII spy. The story contains a wonderful balance of history, intrigue, romance and action. But overall it is a story of personalities, moralities and human frailties that makes the listener wonder: how he would react under similar circumstances?
A full 5-star performance.

Bond, James Bond........

Would you listen to Agent Zigzag again? Why?

I have already listened to this audio book twice.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I enjoyed John Lees' reading of this book, his ability to extract different sounds of English, Irish and German as well as French place you in the room where the action is happening.

Any additional comments?

The flow of the story as compiled by the author greatly enhances the experience of hearing this book. Another interesting fact is many of the characters in the story were played out on the movie screen in the James Bond spy movies.Terence Young was one of these real-life characters who actually became a director and screenwriter for movies in the 1950s and 60s. Triple Cross was the name of the movie that briefly, and only briefly touches on this book. I am surprised that the famous author Jack Higgins has not written a book which touches on the real-life character of Eddie Chapman.I cannot begin to imagine the stamina of nerve which is required to be a spy and placed into the situations which Eddie Chapman born every day. His contribution to the World War II effort passes into history as a byline. Hopefully this book will give credit to his courage.

Exciting! What a Character!

I really enjoyed this remarkable story of a crook who uses his many talents to help the British defeat Germany during WWII.

Entertaining with some serious undertones.

Would you listen to Agent Zigzag again? Why?

Yes, given time to digest the first pass.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character, very interesting personality and real too

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

John Lee is one of my favorite performers; another winner here.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The suspense wasn't so great that I wanted to finish it all in one sitting but parts were seizing.

a great story of a life lived on ones own terms!!!

loved every bit of it. good read for all. I wonder what Jordan Peterson would say about this remarkable man?

Fantastic Story

A remarkable true story that only Ben MacIntye can write, with John Lee superb narration.

a compelling true tale of good merging with evil

a compelling true tale of good merging with evil while overcoming conflicts of interest in order to restore moral dignity and survive in a world of duplicity.

WWll Spy

The story of Zig Zag, Eddie Chapman spy master, double agent, man about town, small time hood, is well written and a consistent page turner. It's amazing how little technology was available in the 1940s and how important a good memory was.
That said, the story is amazing and the reader was excellent.

Amazing Story Well Told

Fascinating, fun and thrilling. Hard to believe Eddie Chapman was so accomplished - his story literally allows us to follow and see his character grow into and become a professional spy with all the spy-craft tools and gadgets of a real James Bond. This is an incredible and well written story by Ben McIntyre - the attention to detail is breathtaking. Of course, it would be hard to come away with this impression we’re it not for the superb narration of the story - job well done! As a result, I’ve bought the book and obtained the movie! There are also some documentaries available too. Can’t wait to explore some more!