Synopses & Reviews
“The book presses ever forward down a path of historical marvels and astonishing facts. The effect is like a master class that’s accessible to anyone, and
Agent Garbo often reads as though it were written in a single, perfect draft.”—
The Atlantic Before he remade himself as the master spy known as Garbo, Juan Pujol was nothing more than a Barcelona poultry farmer. But as Garbo, he turned in a masterpiece of deception that changed the course of World War II. Posing as the Nazis’ only reliable spy inside England, he created an imaginary million-man army, invented armadas out of thin air, and brought a vast network of fictional subagents to life. The scheme culminated on June 6, 1944, when Garbo convinced the Germans that the Allied forces approaching Normandy were just a feint—the real invasion would come at Calais. Because of his brilliant trickery, the Allies were able to land with much less opposition and eventually push on to Berlin.
As incredible as it sounds, everything in Agent Garbo is true, based on years of archival research and interviews with Pujol’s family. This pulse-pounding thriller set in the shadow world of espionage and deception reveals the shocking reality of spycraft that occurs just below the surface of history.
“Stephan Talty’s unsurpassed research brings forth one of the war’s greatest agents in a must-read book for those who think they know all the great World War II stories.” —Gregory Freeman, author of The Forgotten 500
Review
"The exciting, improbable adventures of a young Spanish spy who managed to become Britains most effective tool in deceiving Hitler.
A lively, rollicking good read."—Kirkus Reviews "Epic intelligence coups of WWII unreel in this colorful caper saga. Taltys Pujol is a captivating character with a talent for operatic confabulation, but Garbo is just the alluring lead in massive deceptions that the author likens to Hollywood productions, complete with rubber tanks, fake ships, and a Montgomery impersonator. The result is a rollicking story of wartime eccentrics and their labyrinthine mind games."
—Publishers Weekly, starred "Agent Garbo is the fascinating story of a man whose wit, cunning, and steely nerves made the Allied victory possible in World War II. Stephan Talty's unsurpassed research brings forth one of the war's greatest agents in a must-read book for those who think they know all the great World War II stories."
—Gregory Freeman, author of The Forgotten 500
Review
andldquo;A riveting and passionate account of one of historyandrsquo;s most fascinatingandmdash;and morally significantandmdash;secret operations. Neal Bascomb has utilized recently declassified documents to add vivid detail to this stirring episode in the struggle for justice for the victims of genocide.andrdquo;
andmdash;Michael Oren, author of Six Days of War: June 1967 and The Making of the Modern Middle East
andldquo;Thereandrsquo;s no greater satisfaction than seeing someone guilty of great evil being brought to justice, and few people in history have been guilty of more than Adolf Eichmann. Neal Bascomb tells the story of his capture with great verve and a novelistandrsquo;s eye for suspense.andrdquo;
andmdash;Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopoldandrsquo;s Ghost and Bury the Chains
andldquo;Admirably researched and relentlessly paced, Hunting Eichmann brings us closer to the manhunt for the Holocaustandrsquo;s architect than weandrsquo;ve ever come before. A strangely affecting nonfiction thriller.andrdquo;
andmdash;Stephan Talty, author of Empire of Blue Water
andldquo;Deeply researched... reads like a thriller.andrdquo; andmdash;Philadelphia Inquirer
andldquo;Chilling, authoritative and timely . . . An exhaustive, well-researched volume that supersedes prior accounts.andrdquo; andmdash;Washington Times
Synopsis
The little-known World War II espionage story of Spaniard Juan Pujol, who convinced Hitlers Abwehr that he had a ring of spies in Britain, only to pull off one of the greatest feats of any double agent: he fooled Hitler and disguised D-Day.
Synopsis
Were the D-Day landings saved from failure because of a lone secret agent?Agent Garbo tells the astonishing story of a self-made secret agent who matched wits with the best minds of the Third Reich — and won. Juan Pujol was a nobody, a Barcelona poultry farmer determined to oppose the Nazis. Using only his gift for daring falsehoods, Pujol became Germanys most valued agent — or double agent: it took four tries before the British believed he was really on the Allies side.
In the guise of Garbo, Pujol turned in a masterpiece of deception worthy of his big-screen namesake. He created an imaginary million-man army, invented armadas out of thin air, and brought a vast network of fictional subagents whirring to life. His unwitting German handlers believed every word, and banked on Garbos lies as their only source of espionage within Great Britain.
For his greatest performance, Pujol had to convince the German High Command that the D-Day invasion of Normandy was a feint and the real attack was aimed at Calais. The Nazis bought it, turning the tide of battle at the crucial moment.
Based on years of archival research and interviews with Pujols family, Agent Garbo is a true-life thriller set in the shadow world of espionage and deception.
Synopsis
The first complete narrative of the pursuit and capture of Adolf Eichmann, based on groundbreaking new information and interviews and featuring rare, neverpublished Mossad surveillance photographs When the Allies stormed Berlin in the last days of the Third Reich, the operational manager of the mass murder of Europeand#8217;s Jews shed his SS uniform and vanished.
Bringing Adolf Eichmann to justice would require a harrowing fifteen-year chase stretching from war-ravaged Europe to the shores of Argentina.
Alternating from a criminal on the run to his pursuers closing in on his trail,Hunting Eichmann follows the Nazi as he escapes two American POWcamps, hides in the mountains, slips out of Europe on the ratlines, and builds an anonymous life in Buenos Aires.Meanwhile, a persistent search for Eichmann gradually evolves into an international manhunt that includes a bulldogWest German prosecutor, a blind Argentinean Jew and his beautiful daughter, and a budding, ragtag spy agency called the Mossad, whose operatives have their own scores to settle. Presented in a pulse-pounding, hour-by-hour account, the capture of Eichmann and the efforts by Israeli agents to secret him out of Argentina and fly him to Israel to stand trial bring the narrative to a stunning conclusion.
Hunting Eichmann is a fully documented, finely nuanced history that offers the intrigue of a detective story and the thrill of great spy fiction.
Synopsis
Hunting Eichmann is the first complete narrative of a relentless and harrowing international manhunt. When the Allies stormed Berlin in the last days of the Third Reich, Adolf Eichmann shed his SS uniform and vanished. Following his escape from two American POW camps, his retreat into the mountains and out of Europe, and his path to an anonymous life in Buenos Aires, his pursuers are a bulldog West German prosecutor, a blind Argentinean Jew and his beautiful daughter, and a budding, ragtag spy agency called the Mossad, whose operatives have their own scores to settle (and whose rare surveillance photographs are published here for the first time). The capture of Eichmann and the efforts by Israeli agents to secret him out of Argentina to stand trial is the stunning conclusion to this thrilling historical account, told with the kind of pulse-pounding detail that rivals anything you'd find in great spy fiction.and#160;
About the Author
For Hunting Eichmann, Bascomb tracked down former Nazi soldiers and right-wing radicals in Buenos Aires, traveled to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to meet with legendary Mossad operatives, uncovered an old memoir by Eichmann on his escape from Germany, and interviewed members of the El Al flight crew involved in Eichmannand#8217;s transport to Israel, a story that has never been told. He also made numerous archival discoveries, most notably unearthing the passport that Eichmann used to escape Europe, a discovery that made international headlines.
Table of Contents
Cast of Characters vii
Introduction ix
PART I: THE MAKING OF A SPY
1. Tom Mix in Barcelona 3
2. The Training Ground 11
3. Araceli 22
4. The White City 35
5. The Game 43
6. The Snakepit 55
PART II: GARBOS RISE
7. A Fresh Riot of Ideas 65
8. The System 81
9. The Debut 91
10. The Blacks and the Santa Clauses 98
11. The Rehearsal 109
PART III: THE FAR SHORE
12. The Dry Run 123
13. An Intimate Deception 132
14. Haywire 141
15. The Interloper 153
16. The Ghost Army 167
17. The Backdrop 174
18. The Buildup 186
19. The Prisoner 197
20. The Hours 207
21. The Weapon 223
PART IV: BREAKOFF
22. The End 235
23. The Return 241
Appendix A: Organizations 253
Appendix B: The Garbo Network 255
Notes 257
Bibliography 281
Acknowledgments 285
Index 287