Agent Zigzag - Ben Macintyre

[JJNorton]

I am not a huge fan of Second World War books, principally because I was surrounded by them at home. I did however pick up a book - as described in the title above - called Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintye. It is a true story of a born and bred British agent who made a name for himself acting as a double agent for both the British and the Germans.

The author clearly has a great affinity for his material and has drawn on archives and resources that are both astounding and surprising bearing in mind the secret nature of the activities and their impact on the the war itself. We tend to think of double agents as men in dark suits and with collars drawn up skulking near abandoned warehouses or at remote railway stations. Not Eddie Chapman.

The story of Eddie Chapman, and his rise from poverty, a broken home in Northern England and ultimately his massive success in helping the British win the war is what really caught my attention. The book is well written, and can be read at a fast pace as some of us do, but also at a leisurely pace; taking in the changes in circumstances of Eddie Chapman, his rapid movements between countries, cities and towns but also his ability to at times outwit and out think his peers and employers.

The truly remarkable part of this highly enthralling and entertaining story, is the 'other' side of Eddie Chapman - crook, thief, small time gangster and the sheer opportunism of him as a person no matter what circumstances he found himself in. I found myself more and more engrossed in trying to understand how a small time thief could still retain a certain moral code, by being patriotic by defending Britain even though he underwent the most rigorous interrogation by the Gestapo, Abwehr( German Secret Service) and could have been broken as other secret service members were.

This story, both from a factual point of view and understanding the psychological make-up of Eddie Chapman, is an excellent example of the sheer heroism of one man in the face of unbelievable odds. One of his secret service 'masters' described him - 'of fear, he knows nothing, adventure to Chapman, is the breath of life.'
The tale has a surprising ending but leaves one feeling both glad and satisfied to have shared such a breathtaking tale of thieves, secrets, success, and ultimately one person's quest to find purpose in their life against overwhelming odds.