Gideon's Spies : The Secret History of the Mossad (Updated Edition)
- Book Review,
by Gordon Thomas
Amazon.com
The Mossad was formed in 1951 to coordinate the intelligence-gathering efforts of the still-young nation of Israel. In the nearly half century since, it has become a force to be reckoned with, boasting an impressive track record of counterterrorist actions and assassinations. Gideon's Spies is loaded with anecdotes of their greatest exploits (and a few colossal blunders). Among the most interesting sections are the suggestions that Mossad agents killed media tycoon Robert Maxwell in 1991, that the agency's attempted recruitment of Henri Paul, the driver of Princess Diana's car that fateful night, may have caused sufficient emotional distress to be a contributing factor in the accident, and that Mossad operatives in America had tapes of the phone-sex conversations between President Bill Clinton and his lover Monica Lewinsky. There's also some extensive material on the links between the Israelis and the Vatican, including the Mossad's role in the investigation into the attempted 1981 assassination of Pope John Paul II and the agency's constant battles against the PLO. An interesting nonfiction read for fans of international spy thrillers.
From Publishers Weekly
The discipline of Israel's Mossad is legendary: members and former members fiercely guard the intelligence agency's methods and rarely talk to journalists. But many, apparently, did talk to Thomas, a former reporter for Britain's Daily Express, whose numerous books include Chaos Under Heaven, about China's democracy movement. Astute readers, however, will question whether these unnamed informants have given the straight scoop. The opening tale is a case in point. Thomas grabs attention with a riveting yarn about Ritz Hotel chauffeur Henri Paul, driver of the car in which he, Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed all died. Thomas portrays Paul as a slick operator who accepted bribes from photographers seeking to snap the various celebrities he was charged with protecting. According to Thomas, the Mossad threatened to reveal Paul's scam to Ritz authorities if Paul didn't agree to spy for Israel. Thomas breathlessly raises a series of questions before hammering his point: "Was [Paul] not only responsible for a terrible road accident but also the victim of a ruthless intelligence agency?" The story, while titillating, ultimately goes nowhere. The question-mark ending is a device on which Thomas relies all too often, giving readers the impression that his book is full of many more questions than answers. Thomas writes with the pulpy charm familiar to readers of English tabloids; however, his use of unnamed sources and his reliance on conjecture will leave readers intrigued but determined to reserve judgment. Foreign rights sold in Germany, Holland, Israel and the U.K. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The Mossad is one of Israels elite security agencies, responsible mainly for operations outside the countrys borders. Its reputation (somewhat tarnished in recent years) for efficiency and daring combined with more than a touch of ruthlessness still evokes fear in Israels perceived enemies. Thomas, a prolific author of fiction and nonfiction on espionage and international security, has pieced together a book based largely on interviews with people both inside and outside the Mossad, as well as from other international intelligence agencies. Each chapter examines a particular action, operation, or political crisis and offers an entertaining and heavily anecdotal account. While the book is neither as scholarly in approach as Ian Black and Benny Morriss Israels Secret Wars: A History of Israels Intelligence Service (LJ 6/1/91) nor as controversial as ex-Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky and Claire Hoys By Way of Deception (LJ 11/15/90), Thomas has a winner here. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries, especially those collecting in Israeli politics or international intelligence.Stephen W. Green, Auraria Lib., DenverCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
The elite super spies of the ultimate covert operations arm of the Israeli Government are brought to light in this newest exposé. For this abridged history of the Mossad, Gordon Thomas interviewed current and former members about their exploits and intrigue over the twenty-five-year history of this organization. Theodore Bikel, in a cultured Eastern European accent, reads the vignettes of secret adventures, exploits and disasters in a steady unemotional voice. The stories are not presented in chronological order, but Bikel keeps the slightly disorienting narrative going forward in his flawless, uninflected performance. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, was founded in 1951 by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, by combining five intelligence agencies and providing them with an initial budget of 20,000 Israeli pounds. Thomas, author of 37 books, reveals the details of such Mossad operations as the kidnapping of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960, the Jonathan Pollard affair, a case of trafficking in the deadly plutonium 239, the assassination of Abu Jihad and other Arab terrorists, the rescue of hostages being held by hijackers at Entebbe Airport in Uganda in 1976, Mossad's part in the investigation of the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and its role in the investigation of the attempt on Pope John Paul's life in St. Peter's Square in 1981. Thomas meticulously documents the shadowy world of spies and covert operations; espionage buffs will love every page. George Cohen
From Kirkus Reviews
Forget (largely) about the ``history'' part; this is an anecdote-rich, if sometimes factually questionable, series of tales about the extraordinary derring-do of Israel's vaunted elite foreign intelligence service. Prolific British journalist Thomas (Enslaved, 1991; Chaos Under Heaven: The Shocking Story Behind Chinas Search for Democracy, 1991; etc.), whose 38th book this is, spent over 100 hours interviewing Mossad heads and agents, as well as others whose lives have been affected by the agency, including Yasir Arafat (a frequent assassination target before the 1993 Oslo agreement). To his credit, he delves into the organizations more significant bungled operations, including the mid-1970s killing of an innocent Arab waiter in Norway who was thought to be one of the PLO perpetrators of the 1972 Munich massacre of Israel's Olympic team. Thomas also provides readers with a good sense of how the Mossad trains its operatives in the field and of how extensively Israeli agents have infiltrated even the most apparently inaccessible parts of the Arab world. (It was a Mossad case officer in the Iraqi desert who, days before the 1991 Gulf War began, discovered that Baghdad had far more SCUD missiles in advanced positions than the CIA knew.) For the most part, though, Thomas contributes to the mythologizing of the Mossad by portraying an endlessly resourceful, often ruthless service that seems straight out of a James Bond film. How many of his tales are true? As Thomas doesn't document, aside from a short list of primary interviewees and other sources, it's hard to say. Nor does he build credibility by getting certain basic facts wrong or by occasionally offering hyperventilating prose. In short, this fun read, while containing much juicy ready-for-film-adaptation material, should be approached with a skeptical eye by readers interested in serious history. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"This is an anecdote-rich . . . series of tales about the extraordinary derring-do of Israel's vaunted elite foreign intelligence service. {A} fun read . . . containing much juicy ready-for-film-adaptation material."--Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating look at a spy organization that has remained off-limits to most journalists. Some of the incredible episodes Gordon Thomas writes about seem like they belong in fiction, and yet this is a first-rate nonfiction account."--GQ
Review
"This is an anecdote-rich . . . series of tales about the extraordinary derring-do of Israel's vaunted elite foreign intelligence service. {A} fun read . . . containing much juicy ready-for-film-adaptation material."--Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating look at a spy organization that has remained off-limits to most journalists. Some of the incredible episodes Gordon Thomas writes about seem like they belong in fiction, and yet this is a first-rate nonfiction account."--GQ
Review
"This is an anecdote-rich . . . series of tales about the extraordinary derring-do of Israel's vaunted elite foreign intelligence service. {A} fun read . . . containing much juicy ready-for-film-adaptation material."--Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating look at a spy organization that has remained off-limits to most journalists. Some of the incredible episodes Gordon Thomas writes about seem like they belong in fiction, and yet this is a first-rate nonfiction account."--GQ
Book Description
Created in 1951 to ensure the future of an embattled Israel, the Mossad has been responsible for the most audacious and thrilling feats of espionage, counterterrorism, and assassination ever ventured. For the first time ever, resulting from closed-door interviews between the author and Mossad agents, informants, and spymasters, as well as classified documents and top-secret sources, the truth about the Mossad is about to be revealed. From the Mossad agent in the Clinton White House who enabled Israel to call the shots in the ongoing Middle East peace process to the nuclear secrets smuggled out of the U.S. and used to jump-start Israel's own atomic weapons program, Gideon's Spies reveals the Mossad as it truly is: brilliant, ruthless, flawed, but ultimately awesome.
Card catalog description
For the first time ever, drawing on closed-door interviews between the author, Gordon Thomas, and Mossad agents, informants, and spymasters, as well as classified documents and top-secret resources, the truth about Mossad is about to be revealed. In Gideon's Spies, you'll learn how Mossad undercut the CIA as the Vatican's prime intelligence source by discovering the identity of those behind the failed attempt on Pope John Paul's life in May 1981; how TWA Flight 800 was ruthlessly exploited by the Mossad, resulting in the FBI spending hundreds of fruitless man-hours seeking proof of a terrorist act that never happened; about the assassination of Yasser Arafat's chief aide; and most explosive of all, about Mossad's involvement in the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed.
From the Publisher
"This is an anecdote-rich ...series of tales about the extraordinary derring-do of Israels' vaunted elite foreign intelligence service. {a} fu read...containing much juicy ready-for-film adaption material."-Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Gordon Thomas is the author of thirty-seven books published worldwide, several of which have dealt with various aspects of the intelligence world.
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