The Man Who Never Was
MONTAGU, Ewen
With a Foreword by Lord Ismay.
THE ORIGINAL EDITION IN FULL THEMED MOROCCO
Published: Evans Brothers, [1953]
Stock code: 47593
Price: £596.00
8vo., First Edition, with 31 plates on 24 and endpaper maps, neat contemporary signature on half-title; handsomely bound in navy full crushed morocco, sides with gilt framed border, back with raised bands, second and and fourth compartments ruled and lettered in gilt, all other compartments tooled in gilt with anchor motif, gilt top, hand-made endpapers, ribbon marker, dustwrapper panels and fold-ins mounted on new and separate leaves at front, custom-made lined slip-case, an elegant copy ideal as a gift or for presentation.
Arguably the most famous strategic deception of WWII, Operation MINCEMEAT remained a closely guarded secret until the publication of Duff Cooper's novel Operation Heartbreak in 1950. A sharp-eyed journalist, Ian Colvin, was intrigued by the plot and linked it to a footnote in a book by General Westphal, formerly Kesselring's Chief of Staff. The result of his researches was The Unknown Courier (1953), a piece of investigative journalism so close to the truth that the authorities had little choice but to allow Montagu (MINCEMEAT's organiser), to relate the story (almost) in full. SCARCE IN THIS CONDITION. Enser, p.399; Law 0825.