Bodyguard of Lies: The Extraordinary True Story Behind D-Day (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fascinating and awesomely detailed account of wartime deception. There is enough material here for twenty espionage novels."
--The New York Times Book Review

Product Description

On June 6, 1944-D-Day-six thousand Allied ships, the largest fleet in history, arrived off the French coast to begin the liberation of Europe. To their enormous relief, the Allies had obtained complete tactical surprise; the Nazi eagle slept. D-Day, which could have been one of history's bloodiest disasters, became instead one of its greatest victories. How this astonishing surprise was achieved is the subject of Bodyguard of Lies, one of the most exciting volumes ever written about the Second World War. Telling the most complete story of the biggest and most complicated intelligence operation in the history of war, Bodyguard of Lies presents a large and fascinating cast of heroes and rogues and sweeps through dozens of dramatic stories of plot and counterplot, stealth and treachery, lies and deceits. It provides the full story behind Churchill's agonizing decision not to warn the city of Coventry that it was about to be destroyed, and follows the deadly cat-and-mouse games between Allied agents in France and the Gestapo, the near fiasco of Montgomery's "double," who could not be kept sober, and the heroic but doomed efforts of the anti-Hitler German underground to eliminate the Fuehrer, including the role of the chief of the German intelligence service in passing secrets over to the British. These and many more explosive stories, of code-breakers and deceivers, of plots and ruses at the highest and lowest levels, make up the tapestry of this monumental book. (6 x 9, 960 pages, b&w photos)

Anthony Cave Brown was a British foreign correspondent for the Daily Mail (London) in Europe and the Near East, and was a contributor to the Guardian and the Sydney Morning Herald from Southeast Asia. He is also the author of several other well-received books on the history of espionage.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585746924
• ISBN-13: 978-1585746927
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #754,235 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth, in this case, is more than stranger than fiction, September 2, 2003

By	"douglasnegley" (Pittsburgh, Pa. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bodyguard of Lies (Hardcover)

"Bodyguard Of Lies" is one of the most compelling and important reads out there. Lovers of Clancy novels should put them away for a year and concentrate on some of the most real bizarre, yet important, machinations of espionage and counter-espionage ever created and implemented. What gives this phenomenal work its incredible allure is the knowledge that these creations of historical intelligence import occored only a little more than a half-decade ago. The book takes its title from Winston Churchill's remark regarding the crucial role of good intelligence, where he stated, "In war-time, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." Using for his research information that had only been de-classified the previous year (1975), Anthony Cave Brown takes us through the minefield that was "Ultra", the Allies means of reading the secret ciphers of the Third Reich. "Ultra" was of such devastating importance that the entire city of Coventry was sacrificed in order to keep secret the fact that the Allies had, early on in the war, broken the German "Enigma" ciphers. This top secret cipher would time and time again put vital information directly into the hands of the Allies. It is safe to say that "Ultra" may have been the difference between victory and defeat. Brown also details what can only be referred to as the most convoluted espionage and counter-espionage schemes that only the minds of men at war for the highest stakes ever perceived could conceive of. In one instance, a false 'cadaver' was planted in an apparant shipwreck, replete with false identity papers, false obituary, false love letters, fake funeral, and, more importantly, false maps and information intended to persuade the enemy that they had stumbled upon ACTUAL information, and act accordingly. Brown relates other tales - some quite unsavory on both sides - for instance, Allied baiting of French resistance in order to convince the enemy of the plausibility of invasion (or non-invasion, as the case warrented) at a given place or time. Agents were sometimes dropped into situations where their 'handlers' knew that cover had been blown or compromised...all done to keep a certain game afloat or a certain secret intact. Perhaps the most interesting revelations, for me, in the book came from the 'dangling' of certain German Generals and Intelligence officials who were not simply sympathetic to the Allies, but in many cases actually working against Hitler and taking incredible, traitorous risks to help defeat him (the Schwarze Kapelle, or, in English, the Black Orchestra). Abwehr head Wilhelm Canaris is studied in depth, and his behavior, not to mention his persona alone may be one of the deepest level secrets of the Second World War. Churchill is again quoted at the start of the section on 'Special Means', "In the high ranges of Secret Service work the actual facts in many cases were in every respect equal to the most fantastic inventions of romance and melodrama. Tangle within tangle, plot and counter-plot, ruse and treachery, cross and double-cross, true agent, false agent, double agent...were interwoven in many a texture so intricate as to be incredible and yet true. The Chief and the High Officers of the Secret Service revelled in these subterranean labyrinths, and pursued their task with cold and silent passion." This book will leave you relieved that men like Churchill, Sir Stewart Menzies, Alan Turing and the like were on the side of the Allies. The book may also leave some disturbed concerning what deep levels of intregue - double, triple, even quadruple-cross - can be invoked when men, and women, are convinced that they are fighting on the side of right against what they are sure is the side of wrong.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book commands respect, September 5, 2000

By	murrayjr (Griffin, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bodyguard of Lies (Paperback)

I had to stop by and read the reviews on "Bodyguard of Lies". Wow,of 8 reviews, 7 gave it 5 stars and 1 gave it 4. The 4 star review, submitted in 1996, griped that the book was "historically inaccurate" because it did not consult "recently released" material.

If that is the worst thing you can say about this book, then I'll take it. "Bodyguard..." was written in 1976 only a few years after the disclosure of ULTRA and other previously, highly classified secrets that did not come to light until decades after the war. In its humble defense, "Bodyguard of Lies" is not only the best book I have ever read on WWII or spies, but one of the best books I have ever read, period. I highly recommend this book to anyone with the slightest interest in not only WWII or espionage, but history and great writing; Brown is a writer and storyteller of the finest kind. Extremely well-documented and suspensefull, this book is far more gripping and compelling than anything Hollywood could ever come up with, and the best part is that the book is true, and "historically accurate". Read this book, then you too can write a rave review.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bodyguard of Lies, February 22, 2000

By	Paul Niesen (Springfield, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bodyguard of Lies (Paperback)

Thorough research and a gripping rendition of history combine for a very readable book that clearly explains the intricate web of the most complex intelligence and counter-intelligence operation in World War II. Anthony Cave Brown does a tremendous job with this book. Don't let the length of this book get to you -- you won't know where the pages went once you start reading! I am a history buff, but learned a great deal in this reading. Highly recommend!