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  • Double Cross

  • The True Story of the D-Day Spies
  • Written by: Ben Macintyre
  • Narrated by: John Lee
  • Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (30 ratings)

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Double Cross

Written by: Ben Macintyre
Narrated by: John Lee
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Publisher's Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “superb [and] intensely readable” (The Washington Post) untold story of one of the greatest deceptions of World War II and the extraordinary spies who achieved it—from the bestselling author of Prisoners of the Castle

“Not since Ian Fleming and John le Carré has a spy writer so captivated readers.”—The Hollywood Reporter

On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and suffered an astonishingly low rate of casualties. A stunning military achievement, it was also a masterpiece of trickery. Operation Fortitude, which protected and enabled the invasion, and the Double Cross system, which specialized in turning German spies into double agents, tricked the Nazis into believing that the Allied attacks would come in Calais and Norway rather than Normandy. It was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever carried out, ensuring Allied victory at the most pivotal moment in the war.

This epic event has never before been told from the perspective of the key individuals in the Double Cross system, until now. These include its director (a brilliant, urbane intelligence officer), a colorful assortment of MI5 handlers (as well as their counterparts in Nazi intelligence), and the five spies who formed Double Cross’s nucleus: a dashing Serbian playboy, a Polish fighter-pilot, a bisexual Peruvian party girl, a deeply eccentric Spaniard, and a volatile Frenchwoman. Together they made up one of the oddest and most brilliant military units ever assembled.

With the same depth of research, eye for the absurd, and masterful storytelling that have made Ben Macintyre an international bestseller, Double Cross is a captivating narrative of the spies who wove a web so intricate it ensnared Hitler’s army and carried thousands of D-Day troops across the Channel in safety.

©2012 Random House Audio (P)2012 Agentstvo Publishing

What the critics say

2013, Edgar Award, Short-listed

"Ben Macintyre and I work in the same period, and I should be reading him because he is such a scrupulous and insightful writer - a master historian. But, with Double Cross and his other excellent works, I always wind up reading him for pleasure. Double Cross may be his best yet, falling somewhere between top-class entertainment and pure addiction." (Alan Furst, author of A Mission to Paris)

"Ben Macintyre's spellbinding account features an improbable cast of characters who pulled off a counter-intelligence feat that was breathtaking in its audacity. Their deceptions within deceptions - known as the Double Cross - were critical to the success of the D-Day invasion, and continued to mislead the Germans long after Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. A truly bravura performance, as is Macintyre's fast-paced tale." (Andrew Nagorski, author of Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power)

What listeners say about Double Cross

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An amazing story

This book tells an amazing true, almost unbelievable, story about the disinformation service that two men set up and got away with it for the duration of World War 2. This is one of those times where the truth is stranger than fiction. At times the antics are laughable but they are also testimant to the depth these two gentlemen had the Germans convinced.

John Lee is an engaging reader. He makes what could have been a dry topic, a difficult listen to put on pause.

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GREAT book

What a fantastic book. The many threads of deception that were at work to distract the Nazis from the D-Day landings was quite remarkable. It was so much more complex that I might have imagined. Great context for understanding WWII. Exceptionally well researched. Good narration. Highly recommended.

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Great historical account of most important spies.

Beautifully written book of most historically important contributors to the most important event of modern times.

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Ben at his very best

Ben at his very best. Always very well researched and Ben is an ace storyteller.

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