“An appealing mix of accessibility and research. [Hutton] has illuminated a fascinating and often appalling side of the war at home.” — Wall Street Journal 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 … 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 World War II 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.
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Agent Jack by Robert Hutton is billed as the True Story of MI5’s Secret Nazi Hunter and it certainly lives up to that billing. I am not normally a reader of non-fiction but this title enthralled me and I found it deceptively easy to read. The style was narrative and very engaging-what a great story and true. It is so easy to get lost in the Holocaust that many of us forget the greater picture of World War II and England is a huge part of that as the next target on Hitler’s list. England suffered so much during World War I and then to turn around and face it all again…Also so sad is how many from the homeland were prepared to welcome Hitler with open arms, particularly as exemplified in this story of Agent Jack.
So many people are looking for a better life and often they choose the wrong path to just that. These were good people that were poorly informed, as pictured in this book. It’s hard to trust your own government sometimes and many people in England did not. Churchill was not a popular choice at first. Many people wanted something different and worked hard to get it, not really understanding what Nazism was. This was a terrific read. I recommend it to any one who is a reader of history or has a particular interest in World War II or loves undercover work.
I received a free ARC of Agent Jack from Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #agentjack
Agent Jack tells the true story of Eric Roberts, a seemingly forgettable bank clerk who worked undercover investigating Nazi sympathizers in England during World War II.
Impeccably researched using newly released records and family papers, this biography tells not only the story of Roberts’ (a.k.a., Jack King’s) life, but also the stories of his associates—both true Fascists and those who pretended to be. The three-page list of characters and their associations at the beginning of the book is daunting, but it’s surprisingly easy to keep everyone straight. And it’s disturbingly easy to like some of these German sympathizers. What is confusing, though, is the ways in which some of these individuals are double and even triple crossed.
Sadly, Roberts died in relative obscurity (and poverty) in Western Canada, his heroic actions unrecognized and unknown. Fascinating though the story is, it is non-fiction, so it may not appeal to all readers.
I have been an avid reader of anything to do with WWII and the Holocaust. There are very few things that could shock me about that era. Then I read Agent Jack and had my mind blown.
I don’t know why I was so surprised to read that there were Nazi sympathizers in England. I shouldn’t have been. Considering that Germany is a little over an hour (flying time) from England, it should have made sense. I will admit, it threw me off the book for a little bit. Once I was able to wrap my mind around that, I was able to get somewhat get into Agent Jack.
Agent Jack took me six days to read. Four of those six days were spent traveling. Ever travel with three kids? Then you understand why it took me so long to read. The other reason why it took me so long was that I had to force myself to read and finish the book. Which, if you have done it, isn’t a good thing. I also found it extremely dry. There was a lot of information to process.
There were parts of the book that I found interesting. It involved the MI5, which is England’s equivalent to the US’s CIA. I found it fascinating the politics that went into everything. I haven’t read a lot of books on the MI5, but what I have read caught my interest.
Agent Jack had a wide assortment of people as main characters. But the main guy, the bank clerk who was essential to everything, was fascinating. He kept tabs on 500 people without blowing his cover. Which, to me, is impressive. I can’t even keep tabs on three people without running into issues.
I liked that the author chose to portray the Nazi sympathizers in a way that explains why they felt that way. A lot of these sympathizers were refugees from WWI and harbored anger towards England. They would do anything to help Germany, which included betraying the country that took them in.
The author did a fantastic job of showing what happened to all the key players, good and bad, at the end of the book. I will say that I was inscensed over how Eric Roberts was treated. That poor man gave years and to get treated like that!! Shameful.
Eric Roberts…aka Agent Jack is a bank clerk. He becomes an agent for the British MI5. He actually infiltrates groups of communists and fascist. Then after WWII breaks out he becomes a Gestapo Agent…or does he. He is actually a double agent reporting everything to the MI5 agency.
Most of Agent Jack’s story was classified until 2014. I cannot imagine trying to research about this fascinating man and all his exploits. This book is so well researched and full of compelling information. However, I did get a little tired of some of the details. It is slow going in some areas. But, it is an interesting part of WWII which seems to have been overlooked. And Agent Jack is a true hero! Without his work and expertise, the war could have turned out very differently.