Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal

I found this book as I so loved John Lee's reading. Lee, does a superb job. His tone is rich, full of a multitude of vocal inflections that carries the imagination deeply into this historical adventure. And like a great actor - he never shines so brightly on the material that his 'acting' takes precedence over the reading.
This is a true story about a very large character. Everything in this account comes full circle - and in a very poignant way. Without giving anything away I am going to mention one person. Cary Grant. You will not believe how he fits into this well told story.
real name:scott stambler

Eddie Chapman is a real live spy in this amazing non-fiction story that "reads" like a novel. He is a larger than life gentleman criminal who discovers that he is a loyal British subject who was born to be a double agent. Wonderfully narrated by John Lee (one of the best in my opinion), Eddie cons the Germans who are only too happy to send him back to England to spy for them and he then wastes no time convincing the Brits that he can be an effective double. You can't make this stuff up but the amazing thing is that its all true, and the contributions Eddie Chapman made to the allied war effort are extraordinary. We root for Eddie the whole time and he clearly has nine lives. This is great movie material--I just hope Tom Cruise doesn't get the role.

“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.

This being a true story of Nazi Espionage, it intrigued me because of my interest in WWII, Holocaust, and Nazi Germany. What I got was a huge glimpse of what International spying is about and especially interesting when it takes place during a war and a double agent to boot! Over half way through I thought about the James Bond stories, but this was even more astonishing in many ways. I found it simply amazing that someone could pull off being a spy, let alone a double spy -- what he had to remember and never be tripped up. It takes a unique personality. I kept thinking throughout the book, I can't believe I'm reading a spy story. In fact, there was a mention of Ian Fleming towards the end of the book -- I think he wrote or directed one of the movies related to Zig Zag's life. I recommend.

As if writing a great work of fiction, Ben MacIntyre pens a riveting thriller around the real-life adventures of British double agent Eddie Chapman during World War II. From the first page to the last, through the double crosses and the love affairs, John Lee's narration pulls you into the story and grips you to the last word.

Great reader and very well written. Seems fictional but it's true....and well constructed...sociopath as hero...An amazing story about a con man who is better than an insurance salesman and an architect combined.

Just when you think you've heard everything there is to hear about WWII, along comes a book like Zigzag. Entertaining, substantive, great narrator -- would have loved to meet Eddie Chapman.

I have already listened to this audio book twice.

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.

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.

When I always want to research a topic afterward, I know I just listened/read a good book.

If you keep reminding yourself this was a true story, it will continue to amaze you.

The narrator does a good job and the story is definitely worth the listen!

Recommended!

The main character indeed led a remarkable life, but for the reader, there are long periods where nothing happens. There's also some interesting period information about the spy/counter spy game going on between England and Germany but not enough to sustain interest throughout the book.