The Spy with 29 Names by James Webster: book review

The Spy with 29 Names: The Story of the Second World War’s Most Audacious Double Agent (2014) is the true tale of the Spanish spy Juan Pujol Garcia.

Juan Pujol Garcia (1912-1988) from Barcelona, who pretended to work for the Germans while working for the British to shape the outcome of D-Day in 1944, is regarded as the greatest double agent in history. Working for four years as a spy – known as Garbo by the British and Alaric by the Germans – he maintained a complex group of fictional informants, almost all of them with code names. Germany awarded him the Iron Cross and Britain gave him the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

The difference between Pujol and other double agents is that the others were enemy agents who ‘turned’ to become double agents, whereas Pujol did everything he could to become a double agent – he approached the embassies. He is a likeable person – witty and intelligent, with a mind that was always one step ahead of everyone else.

Webster’s writing is amazing. To pull the complex threads together in a coherent, page-turning account of history is remarkable. Keeping up with the spies, who they are, where they are, and what information they are contributing, is a test of concentration. I didn’t want to miss a sentence in case I lost track of what was happening.

Not only does Webster provide a comprehensive account of Pujol, but also of his wife, and those who worked within his inner circle – such as people in Bletchley Park and MI5 in England, and the intricacies of the strategic war effort.

Pujol had everyone fooled and he did it in a low-profile, understated way, fading into obscurity after the war - until writer and historian Nigel West began to search for him in the 1980s. Webster goes further than others in the past who have written about Pujol. Webster looks at both the English and the German war intelligence, with Spain in between.

It’s fascinating. This is an espionage story better than anyone can make up.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog