Operation Mincemeat

How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory

By: Ben Macintyre

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Ben Macintyre’s Agent Zigzag was hailed as “rollicking, spellbinding” (New York Times), “wildly improbable but entirely true” (Entertainment Weekly), and, quite simply, “the best book ever written” (Boston Globe). In his new book, Operation Mincemeat, he tells an extraordinary story that will delight his legions of fans.

In 1943, from a windowless basement office in London, two brilliant intelligence officers conceived a plan that was both simple and complicated - Operation Mincemeat. The purpose? To deceive the Nazis into thinking that Allied forces were planning to attack Southern Europe by way of Greece or Sardinia, rather than Sicily, as the Nazis had assumed, and the Allies ultimately chose. Charles Cholmondeley of MI5 and the British naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu could not have been more different. Cholmondeley was a dreamer seeking adventure. Montagu was an aristocratic, detail-oriented barrister. But together they were the perfect team and created an ingenious plan: Get a corpse, equip it with secret (but false and misleading) papers concerning the invasion, then drop it off the coast of Spain where German spies would, they hoped, take the bait. The idea was approved by British intelligence officials, including Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond). Winston Churchill believed it might ring true to the Axis and help bring victory to the Allies.

Filled with spies, double agents, rogues, fearless heroes, and one very important corpse, the story of Operation Mincemeat reads like an international thriller.

Unveiling never-before-released material, Ben Macintyre brings the listener right into the minds of intelligence officers, their moles, and spies, and the German Abwehr agents who suffered the “twin frailties of wishfulness and yesmanship”. He weaves together the eccentric personalities of Cholmondeley and Montagu and their near-impossible feats into a riveting adventure that not only saved thousands of lives but paved the way for a pivotal battle in Sicily and, ultimately, Allied success in the war.

©2001 Ewen Montagu (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"Students of the second world war have been familiar with Mincemeat for many years, but Macintyre offers a mass of new detail, and enchanting pen portraits of the British, Spanish and German participants. His book is a rollicking read for all those who enjoy a spy story so fanciful that Ian Fleming, himself an officer in Montagu's wartime department, would never have dared to invent it." ( The Sunday Times, London)

Great History

A great story about deception that had wide ranging effect s
from Sicily to Mussolini to the Battle of Kursk.

Amazing story brilliantly written.

This is an amazing story of true heroism. It is also a fascinating look into the intrigue weaved throughout the violence of conventional war. It's a book for anyone who likes history, espionage, mystery, or leadership. I also recommended it for kids 10ish and older to learn about people who aren't reality tv personalities or video games.

Performance was wonderful too!

Ben Macintyre is a hell of a story teller-Bravo!

Operation Mincemeat is the second audio book I’ve listened to by Ben MacIntyre and I’m hooked. Operation Mincemeat is an incredibly technical, detail oriented tale of spy craft execution at its best, yold in a conversational, casual way that will make you feel like you know the players personally by the end. Even the dead man at the core of the tale is lively, relatable and honored. Rogue Hero’s and the Prisoner in the Castle are both great references to look at as well since elements in all three stories relate.

One of the best spy stories

Sometime the truth is stranger than fiction. A fascinating story of wartime creativity and espionage.

Better than the movie

What a pleasure! For a non-fiction book, this kept me on the edge of my seat. I did not want to leave my car until I got to the end of a chapter. As it is said in the book, this whole operation was based on a fictional story... but it became a real tale of deception during the war. The characters were all interesting and I felt engrossed throughout my listening experience. I even wanted to listen to the 'afterword', which traced what happened to all the 'characters' in the story.

I obtained a copy of the movie 'The Man Who Never Was'. I have not watched more than a few select scenes from the movie BUT this audiobook was by far more in depth and interesting than the movie was or could ever be.

Fascinating History but story drags along at times

I enjoyed this book -- the story and the historical details were top-notch. The author spent time giving us a good feeling for many of the players, their background, what their motivations might have been, and the part they played in Operation Mincemeat. Unfortunately, the story telling seemed to drag on at times, especially the ending. After we heard the detailed account of the success of the mission, I expected that it would be wrapped up quickly, instead there were several more chapters telling about how the story came to be public, how the books about it were written, the movie was made, etc. This part of the story took too long.

A Great Reading Pleasure

I am drawn to historical fiction and non-fiction. This book feels like fiction, but is actually true! It is well narrated, intelligent and compelling. It is an amazing cat & mouse spy game between the British, Americans, Spanish and Germans. Although you know the ending from the start, it's a wonderful ride. I highly recommend it!

Mincemeat, delicious from start to finish

This is one of the most engaging and memorable books I have listened to. I am a World War II aficionado, and this superbly written and researched book was absorbing from cover to cover. The story itself is captivating, but Macintyre's style and flow made it irresistable. I listen to books only as I exercise, and my exercise sessions expanded in length and frequency as I became engrossed with this incredible episode in World War II.

Fascinating!

This story of a simple idea with far-reaching consequences is fascinating, especially when the plan goes into action and we are able to watch how events unfold with unexpected complexity. Be ready for a lot of background on the main players in the telling. But the provided background really helped me to identify with these people.

real life

this book brings out the real struggles of this event in ww2 and how it got started and all the phases to reach a winning conclusion.
Wonderful listen !