NOW WITH NEW MATERIAL – the first book to analyse government documents released in January 2025.

‘Sensational’ Daily Express

‘A bombshell book’ Daily Mail

‘A breath-taking review of WWII’s greatest betrayal and the moment that changed history forever’ Sunday Post

‘Mr. Verkaik relates the complex stories of Lindemans and Blunt with the economy and verve of a spy novelist’ The Wall Street Journal

‘Original, thought-provoking and exceedingly well written.’

Robert Kershaw, author of It Never Snows in September

‘Each chapter of Verkaik’s book leaves you yearning to learn more’ New York Journal of Books

The end of the Second World War is in sight. Following D-Day, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin all seek to shape the global future to their own ends and win 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, which, if successful, will end the war in weeks. But behind the scenes, spies are working, and plans are betrayed, the operation fails and thousands of Allied soldiers die.

The Traitor of Arnhem tells a never-before-told story of this iconic operation, and of the very different figures working in secret to cause the catastrophic defeat: one Dutch resistance fighter, one English gentleman, both working for the Russians. Drawn from unseen records and shedding fresh light on the operation and the spies responsible for its failure, this is an incredible account of the battle that would go on to shape the twentieth century.

‘Amazing … a remarkable answer to the vexed question: why were the Nazis unexpectedly lying in wait?’

Jewish Chronicle

‘A powerful and timely reminder of how the failure to tackle Stalin’s threat to the West at the end of World War 2 has forced the world to face up to the aggression of Vladimir Putin today.’

Bill Browder, author of Red Notice

Author Biography

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. He is the author of Defiant: The Untold Story of the Battle of Britain, Posh Boys and Jihadi John: Making of a Terrorist, as well as the Sunday Times Bestseller The Traitor of Colditz. He is a non-practising barrister and lives in Surrey.