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Book Summary and Reviews of The Traitor of Arnhem by Robert Verkaik

The Traitor of Arnhem by Robert Verkaik

The Traitor of Arnhem

by Robert Verkaik

  • Critics' Consensus (8):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2025, 400 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Revealing the hidden role of the Cambridge Spies during this Allied defeat, The Traitor of Arnhem relates for the first time the startling betrayal that changed the course of World War II.

The end of World War II is in sight.

Following the overwhelming victory on D-Day, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin all seek to shape the future to their own ends by winning the race to Berlin.

The British launch Operation Market Garden, the greatest airborne operation the world has ever seen. It is a bold roll of the dice that, if successful, will end the war in weeks. But behind the scenes spies are working their craft, the Allies' plans are betrayed, the operation fails—and thousands of our soldiers die.

The Traitor of Arnhem tells the never-before-told story of this famed operation and of the spies working to cause the catastrophic defeat. One traitor is a terrifying giant of a man, a supposed hero of the resistance who sends hundreds of fellow freedom fighters to torture and death; the other is an aristocrat and an English gentleman, working from inside the heart of the Allied war effort in London. Both of them are working for the Russians.

Drawn from newly released archives and shedding fresh light on the spies responsible for its failure, The Traitor of Arnhem is the remarkable account of the battle that would transform the conclusion of the European campaign and set the stage for the Cold War.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"It's an explosive and paradigm-shifting account." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Unnerving findings about one of the great failed Allied operations of WWII. A disturbing reevaluation of an iconic World War II battle." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Verkaik uncovers an eighty-year-old cold case rife with disloyalties and tales of double and triple-crossing spies who often endangered all parties involved…Skillful integration of numerous first-person accounts make this book a compelling read." —Booklist

"Through meticulous research, journalistic passion, and a touch of serendipity, Verkaik uncovers an 80-year-old cold case rife with disloyalties and tales of double and triple-crossing spies who often endangered all parties involved. Ultimately, a series of betrayals thwarted the American and British quest to seize the bridges at Arnhem and doomed the Allied dream of reaching Berlin before the Russians. Verkaik's thorough research and skillful integration of numerous first-person accounts make this book a compelling read." —Booklist

"Original, thought-provoking and exceedingly well written. I have not read such a convincing portrayal of the German intelligence war in Holland. A worthwhile read." —Robert Kershaw, author of Landing on the Edge of Eternity and It Never Snows in September

"Serves as a powerful and timely reminder of how the failure to tackle Joseph Stalin's threat to the West at the end of World War II has forced the free world to face up to the aggression of Vladamir Putin today." —Bill Browder, author of Red Notice and Freezing Order

This information about The Traitor of Arnhem was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Robert Verkaik

Robert Verkaik is an author and award-winning journalist. He was the home affairs editor of the Independent and the security editor of the Mail on Sunday. Robert is the author of a number of history books published in Britain, but The Traitor of Arnhem is his first book to be published in America. He lives in Surrey, England.

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