ISBN:
1250221765
Title: Agent Jack Pdf The True Story of MI5's Secret Nazi Hunter
Author: Robert Hutton
Published Date: 2019-11-12
Page: 336
"Capably bringing to light a forgotten World War II story, British political correspondent Hutton ... has done an impressive job assembling transcripts, letters, interviews, and declassified documents into a delicious spy story. A delightful account of World War II espionage." ―Kirkus starred review "This entertaining, detailed narrative presents a chilling portrait of England under siege."―Publishers Weekly "Robert Hutton has written a well-researched, highly readable account of Roberts's strange undercover life." ―Ben Macintyre, The Times"Eye-opening from start to finish. Pacy, original and frequently chilling, Hutton offers a fascinating new take on the story of the Home Front."―Henry Hemming, author of M: Maxwell Knight, MI5's Greatest Spymaster"Robert Hutton's deeply researched, often astounding book describes how a loose network of homegrown fascists plotted to undermine wartime Britain, and explains the ingenious way MI5 attempted to neutralise them ... Hutton includes transcripts of eavesdropped conversations with these fanatics that would make your hair stand on end." ―Anthony Quinn, GuardianRobert Hutton has been Bloomberg’s UK Political Correspondent since 2004. Before that he was a reporter on the Daily Mirror, and before that he built robots and taught computers to play Bridge at Edinburgh University. He’s married with two sons, and lives in South East London.Hutton's previous books include Would They Lie to You? and Romps, Tots and Boffins: The Strange Language of News.
The never-before-told story of Eric Roberts, who infiltrated a network of Nazi sympathizers in Great Britain in order to protect the country from the grips of fascism
June 1940: Europe has fallen to Adolf Hitler’s army, and Britain is his next target. Winston Churchill exhorts the country to resist the Nazis, and the nation seems to rally behind him. But in secret, some British citizens are plotting to hasten an invasion. Agent Jack tells the incredible true story of Eric Roberts, a seemingly inconsequential bank clerk who, in the guise of “Jack King”, helped uncover and neutralize the invisible threat of fascism on British shores. Gifted with an extraordinary ability to make people trust him, Eric Roberts penetrated the Communist Party and the British Union of Fascists before playing his greatest role for MI5: Hitler's man in London. Pretending to be an agent of the Gestapo, Roberts single-handedly built a network of hundreds of British Nazi sympathizers―factory workers, office clerks, shopkeepers ―who shared their secrets with him. It was work so secret and so sensitive that it was kept out of the reports MI5 sent to Winston Churchill.
In a gripping real-world thriller, Robert Hutton tells the fascinating story of an operation whose existence has only recently come to light with the opening of MI5’s WWII files. Drawing on these newly declassified documents and private family archives, Agent Jack shatters the comforting notion that Britain could never have succumbed to fascism and, consequently, that the world could never have fallen to Hitler. Agent Jack is the story of one man who loved his country so much that he risked everything to stand against a rising tide of hate.
Very interesting and well-researched piece of relatively unknown history This story is absolutely fascinating! Most of the events and history of this whole story were redacted or classified for decades (until 2014), and the amount of research that must have gone into writing this story from beginning to end is incredible! For that alone I recommend reading this book.Agent Jack is the story of Eric Roberts, a bank clerk with the ability to make people like and trust him, who becomes an MI5 agent. Before WW2 he infiltrates groups of Communists and then Fascists, but after WW2 breaks out he becomes Jack King, the agent who manages to bring down a huge network of Nazi sympathizers and spies in Britain (sometimes named the 5th Column during the Nazi invasion of Europe). He poses as a secret Gestapo agent, and builds his “network” of people who are pushing for Hitler to win the war. This is the way MI5 were able to bring the 5th Column down from the inside without the general public having any knowledge of it.Despite the fact that this book is very well written and researched, and that the whole story really is fascinating (and true), I found myself often getting bogged down in the details, and after putting the book down I often had to prod myself to go back to it and finish it. Every time a new person enters the scene we are given their entire background which tends to bring the flow of the narrative to a halt. Sometimes it wasn’t too much of an issue, at other times I felt like I had forgotten where we were in the timeline and had to go back and check. I do appreciate a good explanation and detail when it matters (Rothschild’s background is very important for example), but sometimes it was a bit overkill, especially with people who weren’t really that involved.All in all though this is a very interesting piece of history that I think should be read - that there were so many Nazi sympathizers in Britain during WW2 is something that is generally overlooked, and Agent Jack provides some great information on how something could have gone differently along the way and changed the entire outcome of the war.3.5 stars overall.A Hidden Story of WWII Espionage During WWII a number of individuals in Great Britain sympathized with the Nazis and were eager to supply secret information to them. This is the story of Eric Roberts, a bank clerk, who as Jack King formed these traitors into a network that supplied him with information that he passed to MI5.Roberts was known a something of a daredevil, but was very personable and able to attract people to him. He had done some spy work for MI5 before the war and wanted to get back into the game. He got his chance and was able to infiltrate Fascist and Nazi groups. He became a leader, Hitler’s man in Britain, and was able pass on information that the traitors were trying to send to Germany. Information on Bletchley Park, a secret radar named Windows, and other to secret plans that would have severely hampered Britain’s war effort were among those Jack intercepted.The book is exceptionally well researched. The author did an excellent job of digging deep into the past and bringing to life episodes that were classified until 2014. Sometimes the book reads like a thriller. At other times it gets bogged down in a tremendous amount of detail. Even minor characters are introduced with their full histories. If you love history, you enjoy these excursions. However, it does interfere with the flow of the narrative.I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.Fascinating history that reads like a thriller One of the major battles of WWII that started before the declaration of war and continued to the end of hostilities and beyond was fought by those in Intelligence. Robert Hutton presents the story of Eric Roberts, an operative of MI5 who infiltrated the British Union of Fascists and later posed as a Gestapo agent operating on British soil. He was responsible for recruiting British citizens who supported Germany and offered their assistance in paving the way for Germany’s invasion of England. Using the alias of Jack King, he built a network and offered his services as a conduit to pass on information, diverting it to MI5 instead.Roberts was a bank clerk prior to the war who had an ability to relate to people. Before the rise of the British Union he had done similar work, infiltrating communist groups and relished the opportunity to once again work with MI5. Despite his experience and abilities, he was looked down on by many of his colleagues, gentlemen who came from wealthy backgrounds and had attended the top schools. Nonetheless he was considered the ideal agent for this undertaking.Hutton explains a number of the operations, both successes and failures, run by MI5. At times it reads like a thriller, but is a tribute to the unsung heroes who worked in the shadows to protect their country. While historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, Agent Jack: the True Story of MI5’s Secret Nazi Hunter provides all of the suspense of a novel while exposing the reader to the actual history of England at war. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.
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