• Operation Mincemeat

  • The True Spy Story that Changed the Course of World War II
  • By: Ben Macintyre
  • Narrated by: John Lee
  • Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (117 ratings)

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Operation Mincemeat  By  cover art

Operation Mincemeat

By: Ben Macintyre
Narrated by: John Lee
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Publisher's summary

Now a major film, starring Colin Firth, Matthew Mcfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Penelope Wilson, Johnny Flynn and Jason Isaacs.

A Richard and Judy Book Club selection.

A Sunday Times number one best seller.

April, 1943: A sardine fisherman spots the corpse of a British soldier floating in the sea off the coast of Spain and sets off a train of events that would change the course of the Second World War.

Operation Mincemeat was the most successful wartime deception ever attempted, and the strangest. It hoodwinked the Nazi espionage chiefs, sent German troops hurtling in the wrong direction and saved thousands of lives by deploying a secret agent who was different, in one crucial respect, from any spy before or since: he was dead. His mission: to convince the Germans that instead of attacking Sicily, the Allied armies planned to invade Greece.

This is the true story of the most extraordinary deception ever planned by Churchill’s spies: an outrageous lie that travelled from a Whitehall basement all the way to Hitler’s desk.

Cover artwork courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

©2010 Ben Macintyre (P)2010 Random House
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"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." (Max Hastings, Sunday Times)

"Brilliant and almost absurdly entertaining." (New Yorker)

"Astonishing.... Sheds riveting new light on this breath taking plan." (Daily Mail)

What listeners say about Operation Mincemeat

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

More than Mincemeat

John Lee always seems to read well. While this account is packed with interesting information, it was at times rambling, with some details repeated again and again. Perhaps it was Ben Macintyre's style of writing I found annoying. The task was no doubt difficult. There are still stories within stories, one mystery within another and many of these could be stand alone accounts. It may be this account reads better, as hard copy than having it read in audio format.
If you are interested in WW11, have read and loved 'Catch 22', then this will flesh out a little more of what was going on in the Mediterranean.
It is well worth a listen

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

History, journalism and war story all in one

MacIntyre has been criticised for rehashing a story previously told by others (both here and in Agent ZigZag) and while this is technically true I doubt anyone has written these most intriguing stories with as much style as MacIntyre. His writing flits from reportage to crime novel to historical document to romance in the space of a single page. The narrator, John Lee is superb, maintaining a good pace which enhances the tension of the story. Definitely worth buying, but you'll struggle to turn it off - make sure you have lots of vacation time.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very documented and accurate

This is not fiction. It is real history in any detail. I enjoyed any moment of it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Okay

Struggled a bit with this one. I have listened to a few books written by this author and have really enjoyed all of them except for this one. Not sure what it was, the story is interesting, performance great but for me it lacked the intrigue and mystery of many of Ben's other books.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just brilliant

Thus us a true story which is brilliantly told and so interesting. A great read

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

So good it has to be true!

Phenomenal story and the narrator is absolutely brilliant. A fascinating look back at an act that hugely impacted the war effort.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A breathtakingly exciting story very well narrated

I loved this audacious and implausible sounding story, while of course never doubting its credibility.

Historian Ben McIntyre built it up to be both exciting, factual and personal.

The narrator was very good.

Highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a great true story

reads like a cool spy novel. amazing lengths that these gents went to for pulling off one of the biggest deceptions in ww2. I will say the narrator has a horrible time speaking with a german or russian accent. he sounds like a bad version of count Dracula. other than that great non fiction

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent story

What made the experience of listening to Operation Mincemeat the most enjoyable?

I found this story enjoyable as it would make such a great spy movie.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Operation Mincemeat?

memorable, hmm, interesting question for this story for me I suppose to consider that a death can make a difference and save thousands of lives is well proven.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

enjoyable is all I can have

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Neither laugh or cry, but made a tad feeling that war could be fun. I do not mean this disrespectfully for the operation saved lives however, this was the nature of the spying game. I do not consider for one moment the British Agents did as the effort involved and risk would have been to the detriment of lives.

Any additional comments?

A good companion piece to Agent Zig Zag

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Too much mince and not enough meat

What did you like best about Operation Mincemeat? What did you like least?

The book gave an interesting insight into the thinking and motivation of the British Secret Service during war time.The author continually deviated from the story line by providing the most intricate decsriptions of the characters and of the locations where the action was happening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Difficult to pick one out.

How could the performance have been better?

By introducing more first person narrative.

Could you see Operation Mincemeat being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I think that Operation Mincemeat would probably make a good movie. It has an unusual plot with the potential for some quite animated drama. A certain amount of producer's licence would be required and the title would have to be ditched.

Any additional comments?

I liked this yarn, it had all the elements of a good spy story complete with double and even triple agents all being suckered by the crafty MI5. The only downside was the padding. This book could have been half as long if only half the characteres were given the full life story treatment and the others blended in as befitted the minor part they played.

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