Zigzag: The Incredible Wartime Exploits of Double Agent Eddie Chapman | 
 enlarge | Author: Nicholas Booth
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $26.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 82027
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 408
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 1559708603
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.548641092
EAN: 9781559708609
ASIN: 1559708603
Publication Date: September 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Book is in good condition, minor shelf wear, NO DJ, THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING BIG APPLE BOOKS!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Fresh,absorbing page-turner: Nerves of steel, pinch of Sargeant Schultz May 30, 2008
The book is a great read and that's hard to find. The big thing about Eddie Chapman's story is it shows one of the millions or billions of instances in which a potentially solid fate sours when confronted with downturns, constrained opportunity, hormones, etc. Today,
such a de-railed character ends up with our growing population behind walls and barbed wire at Marion, Sing-Sing, or Leavenworth. Chapman's cleverness and sheer luck of circumstance let him turn his lemon of a livelihood into lemonade (a kind of career-skill, eh?). The portrayal of his Nazi handlers and their treatment of him has a twinge of Hogan's Heroes. Pick up the book. I am anxious read further to get others' take on the Eddie Chapman story....
Being easy to read is not a knock in war stories like this. May 21, 2008
I just wanted to say that I read this after trying to read "Agent Zigzag" and finding it rather impenetrable, for what it's worth, this one seemed much better written.
It's funny, too.
Incredible biography! March 28, 2008
A fascinating read that had me turning pages deep into the night. And, the most amazing thing is that it's a true story! Good reading for anyone with a Walter Mitty complex or who just enjoys a good yarn.
 Top story, shame about the writing February 2, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Perhaps my one-sentence summary is a tad harsh. But this book could really use a good editor. The general style is fine - nothing wrong with colloquial turns-of-phrase dominating such books, to my mind. And it does, in places, flow well and the overall style does at times complement the story itself.
But Booth's prose is peppered with errors and slips. His sentences often read as if they have been written quickly and only reviewed in a cursory manner. Booth often falls into the trap of replacing colloquial with cliche, can be repetitive - whether with word shadows or with events - and occasionally uses phrases whose meaning is the exact opposite of what he's trying to convey. For example, when asserting that one of Chapman's British interrogators was perhaps warming to him slightly, he writes "He soon became aware that his tormentor was unbending slightly." Forgive me if I'm wrong here, but "unbending" is another word for inflexible or stubborn, no?
And for what it's worth his use of, and translation from, German is at times atrocious - though that probably marks me out for the pedant I am!
Beyond that, the only big flaw is that Booth is too willing to give Chapman and his wife the benefit of the doubt - when a wife who has been continuously cheated on says it wasn't the man's fault that women came after him, that's not grounds for dismissing Chapman's reputation as a Lothario. It's more like someone trying to deceive herself.
BUT, it is a cracking story, and Booth has researched the subject well - though I tend to agree that Chapman's actual effectiveness is somewhat overblown. So despite the flaws, I still enjoyed it - I like the subject matter, and the structure Booth puts into the story works well. The writing, though, drops it to a two star from three or even possibly four stars.
Informative and addicting December 13, 2007
This biography was entertaining and informative.
Anyone desiring to know more about the secret war of deception waged against Nazi Germany will find this book worthy of their time.
Eddie's his good luck, audacity, and courage will also appeal to readers whose primary interest is in just learning more about this guy.
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