Gideon's Spies, Third Edition: The Secret History of the Mossad |
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Gideon's Spies, Third Edition: The Secret History of the Mossad
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by Gordon Thomas
Sales Rank: 56686
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List Price: $17.95
$12.21
At Amazon
on 6-21-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 640 pages
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin; Third Edition edition January 23, 2007
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0312361521
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312361525
Book Dimensions:
9 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
Weighs: 1.5 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
Among the world's most respected and feared intelligence services, the Israeli Mossad encompasses shadowy networks of katsas (case officers) often operating undercover, from Washington to Tehran to Beijing. The third update of this well-received book adds expanded sections on postinvasion Iraq, the black market in nuclear material, and other topics, tying up several loose ends from the earlier editions. Large portions remain unchanged, however, giving the book an uneven quality, as some chapters were written in 1994, some in 1999, some in 2004 and some last summer. Thomas's engrossing stories about assassinations, target surveillance and other skullduggery keep the pages turning, but the serious student of the Middle East may be put off by some purple prose, for example, about Saddam in incarceration: "His shaggy salt-and-pepper beard is trimmed once a week, enhancing his sharp, penetrating eyes. But he will have an opportunity to state his case—more than he had ever allowed those he murdered." Skeptics will wonder what ulterior motives inspired Thomas's many tight-lipped sources to open up to him and will question their information, particularly regarding the more incredible conspiracy theories he writes about. Overall, however, Thomas provides a rare and valuable glimpse at the inner workings of a very secretive organization. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
The Mossad, founded in 1951, is Israel's secret intelligence agency. To prepare this revised and updated edition of a book first published in 1995, Thomas spent more than two years interviewing more than 100 people either directly employed by or working indirectly for Israeli and other intelligence services. Thomas posits that perhaps the personal motives that drove some interviewees to break their silence include a need to secure their own place in history or a desire to justify their actions. The same can be said for those who agreed to be indentified. Thomas believes that the paramount reason for them to talk was "a real and genuine fear that an organization they had served with pride was increasingly endangered from within and that the only way to save it was to reveal what it had achieved in the past and what it is doing today." The author of forty books has written a meticulous account of this spy organization, and any library that did not purchase the first edition of this important title should consider this enhanced version. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader Reviews
Books about the history and activities of espionage organizations (both gathering intelligence and covert operation) are by nature subject to be taken with a grain of salt, since the nature of the business is secrecy. Gordon Thomas does a good job unveiling that secrecy through his various sources, some named, some not, some within the Mossad organization itself, and many from without. He explicitly names these sources on an "acknowledgment page," citing his sources within Israel and Elsewhere. One can only judge the credibility of the information by comparing it to other accounts of the same operations, and asking oneself if it is believable based upon consistency with factual events. Thomas pulls no punches in portraying the Mossad as arguably the most effective intelligence service in the world. He reveals their various tactics including psychological warfare, their legendary human intelligence capabilities, their worldwide presence (Thomas claims the Mossad has a mole in the White House, which the FBI has been searching for for years), and their covert assassination teams (known as kidons), and their ruthlessness in getting the job done in the defense of the State Thomas excels at this, especially with this new, updated 2007 edition that covers the role Mossad plays and continues to play in the Iraq War, and probably an upcoming pre-emptive war with Israel's arch foe, Iran. He reveals tidbits of information, such as the unconfirmed "fact" that Israel possesses three nuclear missile armed submarines, currently in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Iran, completing its triad of nuclear umbrella cover. This, as an example, is something that Israel would probably never really officially confirm or deny. But it passes the "does it make sense?" test with flying colors. Israel's land based nuclear facilities at Dimona (in the Negev Desert) is probably the worst kept military "secret" in the world." Nuclear payloads can be delivered by missile, aircraft, or seaborne vessels. Bombing Iran by air would not be practical due to the long ranges involved, so it does indeed make sense that it would need a third, seaborne leg of its nuclear capabilities. Other accounts conflict to varying degrees with other sources. Since covert agents routinely use aliases, this is not unexpected; however, Thomas identifies the famous "man who captured Eichman" as the long term Israeli spymaster Rafi Eitan. Others, including Peter (Zvi) Malkin wrote a book on the subject some years ago, in which he takes credit for making the first physical contact with Eichman on that audacious mission in 1960. There are several useful resources included in the book, including a comprehensive index, a list of the Directors-General of Mossad, along with their years of service from 1951 through the present, a general glossary, and an additional brief glossary of Arabic terms, and of course a bibliography and acknowledgment of sources and credits. My only criticism is that the time line of events recounted is not linear, sometimes making it difficult to follow. But the more you know about Israeli history, the easier it is to overcome this. Also, the sheer length of the book (587 pages, not including addenda), makes for a long, but fascinating read. The newly released 2007 version of this came out just in time - a lot has happened since the original version. This book should appeal to anyone interested in Israeli defense, politics, and especially espionage. Highly recommended for serious students of Israel..
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Gideon's Spies, Third Edition: The Secret History of the Mossad
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