By Way of Deception: The Making of a Mossad officer [Paperback]

Victor Ostrovsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0971759502 | ISBN-13: 978-0971759503

The # 1 New York Times best seller the Israeli foreign intelligence agency The Mossad tried to ban. The making of a Mossad officer is the true story of an officer in Israel's most secret agency. The first time the Mossad came calling, they wanted Victor Ostrovsky for their assassination unit, the kidon. He turned them down. The next time, he agreed to enter the grueling three-year training program to become a katsa, or intelligence case officer, for the legendary Israeli spy organization. By Way of Deception is the explosive chronicle of his experiences in the Mossad, and of two decades of their frightening and often ruthless covert activities around the world. Penetrating far deeper than the bestselling Every Spy a Prince, it is an insider's account of Mossad tactics and exploits. In chilling detail, Ostrovsky asserts that the Mossad refused to share critical knowledge of a planned suicide mission in Beirut, leading to the death of hundreds of U.S. Marines and French troops. He tells how they tracked Yasser Arafat by recruiting his driver and bodyguard; how they withheld information on the whereabouts of American hostages, paving the way for the Iran-Contra scandal; and how their intervention into secret UN negotiations led to the sudden resignation of ambassador Andrew Young and the downfall of his career. By Way of Deception describes the shocking scope and depth of the Mossad's influence, disclosing how Jewish communities in the U.S., Europe, and South America are armed and trained by the organization in secret ?self-defense? units, and how Mossad agents facilitate the drug trade in order to pay the enormous costs of its far-flung, clandestine operation. And it portrays a network that has grown dangerously out of control, as internal squabbles have led to the escape of terrorists and the pursuit of ?policies? completely at odds with the interests of the state of Israel. This document is possibly the most important and controversial book of its kind since Spycatcher.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Intelligence agencies should never try to ban books about themselves. Like Peter Wright's Spycatcher (Penguin USA, 1987), which was suppressed in Britain , this book on Israel's legendary spy organization by a former Mossad katsa or case officer has ended up on the New York Times best seller list. Among the controversial revelations that led Israel to seek a ban (which was quickly overturned in the United States and Canada) is Ostrovsky's charge that the Mossad refused to share knowledge of a planned suicide mission in Beirut, resulting in the deaths of 241 U.S. Marines in 1983. Another New York Times best seller, Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman's Every Spy a Prince ( LJ 7/90), provides more reliable details on Israel's spy network.
- Wilda Wil liams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Victor Ostrovsky was born in Canada and raised in Israel. At eighteen he became the youngest officer in the Israeli military at the time, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant commander in charge of naval weapons testing. He was a Mossad case officer from 1982-1986. Victor Currently lives in Scottsdale Arizona where he paints and has an art gallery in old town Scottsdale.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Wilshire Press Inc. (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971759502
• ISBN-13: 978-0971759503
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 78 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Half the Story January 21, 2005

By Blahblahblah

Format:Paperback

One thing you should know about this book is that in the sequel, The Other Side of Deception, Ostrovsky admits that some of the info in By Way of Deception was deliberately inaccurate and meant to serve as a message to the Mossad that they want to leave him alone or he will reveal the real info. The Other Side of Deception also reveals his true reasons for writing an expose, not so much idealism as it was self-preservation (if he weren't Machiavellian, do you think they would have made him a case worker?).

To address another reviewer's doubts: he was given protection by the Canadian government. And he acted quickly to make sure he had a lot of publicity so any sudden death would be carefully investigated with the Mossad being the obvious suspect.

67 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inner sanctum of the Mossad June 25, 2002

By Drake

Format:Paperback

This is a fantastic book if you are looking for an operational manual on intelligence training. Most of the book focuses on how the mossad pick and train their agents, along with the author's experience with the training methods. It also touches upon the politics and foreign relationships within the intelligence community.
The last part of the book details several missions of the Mossad from an insider's perspective. This gave real insight into details often missed when reading newspapers (often manipulated by the intelligence community).

Buy the book, you will not be disappointed. This is a must have for any intelligence library.

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, revealing, worrisome. July 8, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Ostrovsky's book is a must for people who want to understand the secret services. Initially, you are shocked by the revelations, recognizing that it may compromise Israeli national security and its agents. Then you are awed by the training, the logistics and coordination of information gathering. You then become worried, that such a complex and effective organization has no real accountability. Perhaps, the real worry is that Ostrovsky describes a mode of conduct whereby Mossad redefines right and wrong (redefining it in terms of "what's good for Israel and especially Mossad is good, the hell with the rest"), and acts on that basis. And finally, you reconcile your emotions with the knowledge that this couragous book can only force a re-evaluation of Mossad practices. Today's Israeli leaders cannot ignore the claims made by this book, and because of it, there is a little more accountability in the world. I enjoyed the book thoroughly.