The War Magician

Based on an Extraordinary True Story

By: David Fisher

Narrated by: Alex Jennings

Based on an extraordinary true story and soon to be a major film produced by and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, The War Magician is the remarkable tale of the man who used the powers of illusion to fight the Nazis—and created the most remarkable feat of legerdemain since the Trojan Horse.

How an Illusionist Changed the Course of World War II

When England went to war against Hitler in 1939, it mobilized its entire military and industrial resources. But there was no place in that vast army for legendary stage magician Jasper Maskelyne, whose family was renowned for creating modern theatrical illusions. Maskelyne was determined to fight the Nazis using his only weapon: he intended to apply the techniques of popular magic to the battlefield. Initially ignored and ridiculed by the staid military leadership, he eventually cajoled his way into the Camouflage Section and was sent to the western desert, where he created a new type of warfare.

With his small group of artists, the Magic Gang, Maskelyne designed and developed ingenious weapons, then tricked the Desert Fox, General Rommel, and his fabled Afrika Korps into believing there were tanks and battleships where there were none, concealed the Suez Canal, and even successfully “moved” Alexandria harbor.

But it required all his skills to pull off perhaps the largest and most complex magic trick in history. As General Bernard Montgomery told Maskelyne on the eve of the Battle of El Alamein, “The entire war will turn on what happens here. What I am about to ask you to do is impossible. It can’t be done, but it must be done. I hope you’ve brought your magic wand with you.”

This is the fact-based story of the illusion that won the war in the desert.

©1983 David Fisher. Copyright renewed © 2004 by David Fisher. (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

Amazing story 

An incredible story of the use of creativity in the ugly concept of war. And the way it was read by an Englishman using different dialect, added a lot to the story. Highly recommended I will probably listen again. 

Exceptional Story Perfectly Narrated

This is one of the best Audible books I have ever listened to! Jasper Maskelyne's story is a "must read" for any student of World War II. Until listening to The War Magician, I was not aware that the art of illusion helped to win the war for the Allied armies. This story is rife with human drama, non stop intrigue, and laugh out loud British wit. This book was so good, I felt lost when it ended. Where are more books like this??

Amazing Story

Really enjoyed learning about this part of the war, some amazing characters & events - recommend this book

The war Magician is wonderful and Alex Jennings is top notch. I couldn’t wait to listen each day

The War Magician is well written and very exciting. Alex Jenning had me on the edge of my seat. Bravo!

The qualities of the protagonist—He was an admirable, fascinating man.

I liked it all—the characters, the telling of the historic events, and the fact that there was no sad ending.

strategic magic

A fascinating story about an aspect of World War II that I had never heard. A different type of bravery required.

Really Wanted This To Be Good

Oh how I was looking forward to reading this book after hearing the announcement of the movie! The day the book was released I purchased it and started listening. Weeks later…as in right now, I have still been unable to make myself sit and listen to more than 15 minutes of the story at a time. With much regret I returned the book and won’t be giving it another listen.

Boring story once you know the facts

I made the mistake of looking up the Wikipedia story as I was listening to this book. Once I found out that there is little evidence that Jasper and his collection of soldiers may have significantly overstated their role/significance in the desert war, the knowledge took the wind out of the sails of this story.