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Book Review of Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory

Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
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Helpful Score: 2


This is the story of a ruse designed and executed by British intelligence agents during WWII to deceive the Germans as to the whereabouts of the Allied invasion of Southern Europe. The book is filled with colorful, eccentric spies and counterspies and a preposterous (and successful) plot that involves a stolen corpse, forged papers, and chicanery of the first order -- one of those stories where truth is indeed stranger (and more compelling) than fiction. (Note: it's not as long as it looks -- the last 50+ pages are appendices and footnotes.) While at times the level of detail is a bit much, in general, this is well-told, and well-suited to anyone interested in WWII, espionage, spy thrillers, history, or just a rollicking good story!