Reviews

Opa(c)Ration Mincemeat: L'Histoire D'Espionnage Qui Changea Le Cours de La Seconde Guerre Mondiale by Ben Macintyre, Ben Macintyre

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appalachian_singer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring tense fast-paced

5.0

The man who coined the phrase, “truth is stranger than fiction” must have had this story of the “man who never was” in mind. Although this tale of espionage has been published in multiple newspapers, magazines, books, and even made into a 1956 film, the full facts like many wartime operations, were deliberately suppressed from the general public, as well as from those in wider intelligence circles, for many years. Ben McIntyre has given us not only an extremely detailed, but also a highly entertaining , play-by-play of one of the most successful maritime victories of WWII—the Allied invasion of Sicily. If the book cover wasn’t enough to lure me in (the book is full of fishing puns), the preface most certainly was. McIntyre writes, “The plan was born in the mind of a novelist and took shape through a most unlikely cast of characters: a brilliant, barrister, a family of undertakers, a forensic pathologist, a gold prospector, an inventor, a submarine captain, a transvestite English spy master, a rally driver, a pretty secretary, a credulous Nazi, and a grumpy admiral who loved flyfishing.” I would add to that list: a sardine spotter, a British-born communist who championed table tennis, a lepidopterist, a Nazi Intel officer intent on undermining Hitler, and a homeless Welshman. It is these major and minor players that flesh out the skeleton, which is the operation itself, and whose actions and reactions are the variables that determine whether it results in success or disaster. I found the story riveting from beginning to end, but especially loved the audiobook read by John Lee. Lee’s British accent definitely adds to the drama, but he also does well with the German, Russian, Spanish, and occasional American accents.

egould1's review against another edition

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3.0

Really interesting story and well told. I listened to the audio, which was a bit confusing when trying to keep track of all of the (many) characters involved with Operation Mincemeat.

singh_reads_kanwar2's review against another edition

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4.0

In 1943, from a windowless London basement office, two intelligence officers Charles Cholmondeley of MI5 & the British naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu come together with conceived plan that was both simple & complicated—Operation Mincemeat. Purpose of the whole operation is to deceive the Nazis into thinking the Britan and Allies were planning to attack Europe by way of Greece or Sardinia, rather than Sicily, as the Nazis had assumed.

Cholmondeley was a dreamer seeking adventure. Montagu was an aristocratic, detail-oriented barrister. A perfect team, they created an ingenious plan: equip a corpse, spies, double agents, rogues, heroes with multiple fake national security secret papers concerning the invasion, at the coast of Spain where German spies would hopefully take the bait. The idea was approved by British intelligence officials, Winston Churchill believed it might help bring victory to Britain.

Author weaves together the eccentric personalities of Cholmondeley & Montagu & their improbable feats into an adventure that saved thousands & paved the way for the conquest of Sicily

tim_james's review against another edition

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4.0

Really great read! I enjoyed the twists and turns Macintyre takes, deviating from the main story. Will have to read more of his.

aniabooks's review against another edition

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3.0

Well written, but the story itself failed to interest me greatly. I do love history books and WW2 especially, so I'm glad I read it, but couldn't help feeling that there are so many other, more interesting and inspiring stories left to tell.