A review by appalachian_singer
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory by Ben Macintyre

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.