Operation Mincemeat: How A Dead Man And A Bizarre Plan Fooled The Nazis And Assured An Allied Victory (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
If you have read many of my reviews, you know that one of my primary complaints about a majority of non-fiction books is that they are long magazine articles that the author has padded into a "book" by saying the same thing over and over again. This book is a refreshing change. The author fills the book with much related information, backgrounds of players, analysis, and just well-=written stories. He sticks to the point, too. A model of how a non-fiction book on a single episode should be done and a fun read. Reading Operation Mincemeat has just convinced me that there are 1. Many more spy novels out there that I have yet to read (example: Ian Fleming) and 2. My obsession with World War II is completely justified because it was so convoluted, intriguing, and shrouded in secrecy (many of these secrets remain today). As the title suggests, this book focused on a singular operation which in itself was just a piece of a much bigger operation entitled Operation Husky (attached to another called Operation Barclay + others that were mere decoys). If nothing else, once you've finished reading this book you come away with an appreciation for the skills and ingenuity of those involved in fighting a war which for the majority of its duration seemed absolutely impossible to win. The taking of Sicily, however, proved to be a turning point in the war and Ewen Montagu and his team had a hand in the victory because they pulled off what many still believe to be the greatest feat of deception ever. If you've ever read The Man Who Never Was or seen the film version of it then you're aware of this story...except it's not the entire story because Montagu was censored by the British government (you'll see why when you read Operation Mincemeat). Sufficed to say, if you've ever fancied yourself a spy then you should read this to find out just exactly what that means. Hint: It's a lot more bureaucracy than James Bond has led you to believe.
What do You think about Operation Mincemeat: How A Dead Man And A Bizarre Plan Fooled The Nazis And Assured An Allied Victory (2010)?
Gave up at page 98. It has promise and maybe I'll try it again later when I have more time.
—nilesh
Interesting read. If you are a fan of Ian Fleming, I'd suggest this book!
—widowmaker
Glyndwr Michael deserves Knighthood, Baron Von Roenne deserves Sainthood.
—jheng
