---
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title: "Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies"
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# Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies

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Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies [Macintyre, Ben] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies

Review: Great book for World War II enthusiasts - Double Cross, by Ben Macintyre, is an unusual World War II story. It is the true and incredible story of how five Allied double agent spies working for the British Security Service, better known as MI5, fooled the Nazis into thinking the D-Day invasion, the biggest amphibious invasion of all time, would take place in a location that it would not take place. This deception, made by the Double Cross agents, the MI5 double agent section, was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever to take place. This book was very strong in the detail and interest departments, but weak in the department of being able to appeal to a large audience and was confusing at times. Despite this, I found Double Cross to be very good because of its interesting topic and extensive details. This book was, overall, very well written because it was interesting. The abundant little facts and details draw in the reader. Ben Macintyre uses these facts to make the reader better understand who the spies were and how they were able to make D-Day a victory, despite the odds against them. The reader learns that these spies were not the typical James Bond or Mission Impossible type. They had basic intelligence receiving and transmitting training, very different motivations for participating in the war, and they came from all over the world. “For the D-Day spies were, without question, one of the oddest military units ever assembled. They included a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman, a Serbian seducer, and a deeply eccentric Spaniard with a diploma in chicken farming” (5). They did not know martial arts and were not licensed to kill. Their roles were to plant lies into Hitler and the rest of Nazi Germany’s brains to make them the most unprepared for the D-Day invasion. Ben Macintyre does a very good job of making this story interesting and unique. Though Double Cross was a very good book, it has a couple problems. The first of which is not too much of a problem and is quite obvious. This book is intended to be interesting to a select audience, which is okay if the reader is part of this group. The story is very interesting, but not exciting, meaning the author expects that the reader is interested in espionage stories and World War II stories, and the details chosen show that. They make the book interesting to people who like the topic. The book would seem very boring to a reader not interested in World War II history. If this type of reader were to read, Double Cross, I can predict that they will think this book drags on forever. It would also be more confusing to any reader not interested in the topic. These assumptions of the author and the book are reasonable because the book would not have been as good without it. People like me, who love World War II stories, would not find the book as interesting. The second minor problem is that Double Cross gets a little confusing at times. It was clear that this book was going to be a bit confusing because of the complexity of the story, which is okay because it is a true story and is told how it happened. Ben Macintyre, did however, do a very good job of making the story as clear as possible. The story follows five Allied Forces spies which causes confusion at the beginning. It was easy to mix up their names and code names at the start of the book, but was no longer a problem by the middle of the book. The story also has a few important things to remember and can cause confusion if the reader forgets them. The story is also confusing to the reader because it is partially what the story is about. The spies had to confuse and deceive the Germans. Readers who are not interested in the topic will find the book to be more confusing than readers who like it. This is because non interested readers will be more prone to forget key elements and will cause the book to not make sense. Readers who like the book will be able to deal with the confusing bits and find that everything makes sense by the end. To conclude on Double Cross, it was very detailed, had an engaging topic, and will only appeal to those with an interest in the Second World War. Double Cross, in my opinion, was a fascinating book. I loved the extensive detail about this historical series of events. It feels like Ben Macintyre picked apart everything that happened and explained it. It shows how much work he must have put into writing this book to make it the best and most historically accurate as possible. I expected to learn about how the Allies were able to make the Normandy invasion a very possible success before it even happened. My expectation were very much met in this book and I am happy to have read it because of the historical significance of it. I however, would like to reiterate that anyone who does not find interest in espionage and World War II should stay away from this book.
Review: How accurate is this? - This is a new account of the famous Double Cross system under which German spies in England were immediately turned to work for the Allies. Contrary to the author's assertion that this story has never been told, I have a whole shelf of books which all include this material. DOUBLE CROSS however adds a level of personal detail I have never heard. Not surprisingly the overall narrative matches well with previous accounts of this operation, but the lives and conversations of many individual participants are covered. As I read this I kept wondering where he got all this minutia. I'm betting he made most of it up, or extrapolated small tidbits into whole chapters. I did enjoy the book, and will tentatively allow that it may all be accurate, but if I'm ever on Jeopardy I won't base my answers on this book.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN  | 0307888770 |
| Best Sellers Rank | #102,330 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #76 in European Politics Books #137 in Political Intelligence #224 in World War II History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (5,386) |
| Dimensions  | 5.18 x 0.92 x 7.99 inches |
| Edition  | Reprint |
| ISBN-10  | 9780307888778 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0307888778 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 399 pages |
| Publication date  | May 14, 2013 |
| Publisher  | Crown |

## Images

![Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/9108q0C7SML.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book for World War II enthusiasts
*by J***N on April 29, 2016*

Double Cross, by Ben Macintyre, is an unusual World War II story. It is the true and incredible story of how five Allied double agent spies working for the British Security Service, better known as MI5, fooled the Nazis into thinking the D-Day invasion, the biggest amphibious invasion of all time, would take place in a location that it would not take place. This deception, made by the Double Cross agents, the MI5 double agent section, was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever to take place. This book was very strong in the detail and interest departments, but weak in the department of being able to appeal to a large audience and was confusing at times. Despite this, I found Double Cross to be very good because of its interesting topic and extensive details. This book was, overall, very well written because it was interesting. The abundant little facts and details draw in the reader. Ben Macintyre uses these facts to make the reader better understand who the spies were and how they were able to make D-Day a victory, despite the odds against them. The reader learns that these spies were not the typical James Bond or Mission Impossible type. They had basic intelligence receiving and transmitting training, very different motivations for participating in the war, and they came from all over the world. “For the D-Day spies were, without question, one of the oddest military units ever assembled. They included a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman, a Serbian seducer, and a deeply eccentric Spaniard with a diploma in chicken farming” (5). They did not know martial arts and were not licensed to kill. Their roles were to plant lies into Hitler and the rest of Nazi Germany’s brains to make them the most unprepared for the D-Day invasion. Ben Macintyre does a very good job of making this story interesting and unique. Though Double Cross was a very good book, it has a couple problems. The first of which is not too much of a problem and is quite obvious. This book is intended to be interesting to a select audience, which is okay if the reader is part of this group. The story is very interesting, but not exciting, meaning the author expects that the reader is interested in espionage stories and World War II stories, and the details chosen show that. They make the book interesting to people who like the topic. The book would seem very boring to a reader not interested in World War II history. If this type of reader were to read, Double Cross, I can predict that they will think this book drags on forever. It would also be more confusing to any reader not interested in the topic. These assumptions of the author and the book are reasonable because the book would not have been as good without it. People like me, who love World War II stories, would not find the book as interesting. The second minor problem is that Double Cross gets a little confusing at times. It was clear that this book was going to be a bit confusing because of the complexity of the story, which is okay because it is a true story and is told how it happened. Ben Macintyre, did however, do a very good job of making the story as clear as possible. The story follows five Allied Forces spies which causes confusion at the beginning. It was easy to mix up their names and code names at the start of the book, but was no longer a problem by the middle of the book. The story also has a few important things to remember and can cause confusion if the reader forgets them. The story is also confusing to the reader because it is partially what the story is about. The spies had to confuse and deceive the Germans. Readers who are not interested in the topic will find the book to be more confusing than readers who like it. This is because non interested readers will be more prone to forget key elements and will cause the book to not make sense. Readers who like the book will be able to deal with the confusing bits and find that everything makes sense by the end. To conclude on Double Cross, it was very detailed, had an engaging topic, and will only appeal to those with an interest in the Second World War. Double Cross, in my opinion, was a fascinating book. I loved the extensive detail about this historical series of events. It feels like Ben Macintyre picked apart everything that happened and explained it. It shows how much work he must have put into writing this book to make it the best and most historically accurate as possible. I expected to learn about how the Allies were able to make the Normandy invasion a very possible success before it even happened. My expectation were very much met in this book and I am happy to have read it because of the historical significance of it. I however, would like to reiterate that anyone who does not find interest in espionage and World War II should stay away from this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ How accurate is this?
*by D***Y on February 8, 2014*

This is a new account of the famous Double Cross system under which German spies in England were immediately turned to work for the Allies. Contrary to the author's assertion that this story has never been told, I have a whole shelf of books which all include this material. DOUBLE CROSS however adds a level of personal detail I have never heard. Not surprisingly the overall narrative matches well with previous accounts of this operation, but the lives and conversations of many individual participants are covered. As I read this I kept wondering where he got all this minutia. I'm betting he made most of it up, or extrapolated small tidbits into whole chapters. I did enjoy the book, and will tentatively allow that it may all be accurate, but if I'm ever on Jeopardy I won't base my answers on this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very interesting WW2 book on spies
*by T***K on January 20, 2026*

I found this nonfiction story of the D Day spies and double/triple spies very interesting. It was hard to put down. I found it a little difficult to follow the names and code names of each spy if I put the book down for a few days. I highly recommend it. It's especially interesting to see how terrible the Nazis were at developing their own spies and losing their spies as some became double agents for the Allies. And then the Nazis stupidly believed the crap the double spies were feeding them, which ended up saving lives for the Allies. Brazo for the British spy chiefs.

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