Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad [Hardcover]

Gordon Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999

Mossad. The word has a hundred different meanings: To some, Mossad is the precise--and at times lethal--instrument of Israel's will, a fiercely dedicated group of men and women who masterminded the abduction of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann and stole a MiG jet out from under the nose of the Iraqis. To others, Mossad is a fearsome intelligence organization, loyal only to those who can control it, a shadowy, ruthless cabal of spies who have managed to plant an agent in the Clinton White House and smuggle enough weapons-grade plutonium out of the United States to jump-start their own nuclear arms program. But no one has ever gotten close enough to Mossad to know the truth.

Until now.

Created in 1951 to ensure the future of an embattled Israel, the Mossad is an elite intelligence arm whose handful of agents have been responsible for the most audacious and thrilling feats of espionage, counterterrorism, and assassination ever ventured. 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 Yassar Arafat's chief aide; and most explosive of all, about Mossad's involvement in the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed.

Woven together in a narrative that rivals the very best thrillers, Gideon's Spies reveals the Mossad as it truly is: brilliant, ruthless, flawed, but ultimately, awesome.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 354 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312199821
• ISBN-13: 978-0312199821
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gordon Thomas is a political and investigative journalist and the author of 53 books, published in more than 30 countries and in dozens of languages. The total sales of his works exceed 45 million copies.

Thomas' most recent bestseller is Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors. Published in 16 languages and 40 countries Gideon's Spies is known throughout the world as the leading resource on Israeli intelligence. An updated edition will be published in 2012 by St. Martin's Press. Gideon's Spies was made into a major documentary for Channel Four in Britain, which Thomas wrote and narrated, called The Spy Machine. The Observer called The Spy Machine a "clear" picture of Israeli intelligence operations, and The Times called it "impressive," and "chilling."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly Written, Factually Incorrect, Time Waster, January 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad (Hardcover)

Of the all the books I have read on the Israeli intelligence services this one is by far the worst. Where to begin, lets start with the writing, its bad. The author has a tendency to start making a point and then meandering off for two pages before returning to his original point, its hard to believe this guy writes for a living. Lets turn to content, how do you write a CREDIBLE non-fiction book without footnotes? None of the events described in this book are sourced, except for the author's vague assurances that they were based on his extensive interviews. Give me a break! Any first year college student would get an F if he/she submitted a paper sourced like this book is. The book's cause is not helped by the fact that known fabricators such as Arie Ben-Menashe are quoted at length. The fables Ben-Menashe spins are presented as fact in this book, for sure that spells trouble. The most egregious error in this book, though, comes about when the author describes the 1972 take-over of the Israeli embassy in Bangkok. The reader is treated to an account where Israeli leaders agonize over their options thinking back to the Raid on Entebbe as one possible solution that is ultimately disregarded. Of course the raid on Entebbe took place in 1976 FOUR YEARS IN THE FUTURE. The Israelis are good, but time travel, please. What this means is the events the author described were made-up, FICTIONAlIZED, as is much of the rest of this book. In short this book is JUNK, there is no way for the serious reader to discern what is factual from what is fiction. Much better books on the topic have been written, Every Spy a Prince by Raaviv and Melmen and Israel's Secret Wars by Black to name two. If you must read Gideon's Spies go to the library, dont waste your money on this dog!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mossad mouthpiece... but great fun, October 4, 2000

By 

Joe Howard (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad (Hardcover)

This book is great fun, bursting with supposed revelations about things we thought we'd already heard the definitive revelations about. Most of them come from former Mossad men who make all sorts of claims - that the Mossad killed Yitzhak Rabin, that Israel benefitted more than one might expect from Kennedy's assassination, that Princess Di's driver was about to become a Mossad informer. Some of Israel's most famous spy exploits, like Entebbe, the Eichmann kidnapping and the theft of a Mig from Iraq, are given a new slant suggesting that all previous accounts are incomplete and misleading. But I do wonder... considering the book talks a lot about the Mossad's misinformation department, which spends its time planting stories to mislead the public about Mossad activities, and considering that the author talked to a lot of Mossad people... aren't these new stories merely the Mossad's current version of reality, designed to obscure an even more bizarre series of truths? I hope so, it makes it all so much more fun. A great read for some insight about how the spy trade works, but take the precise details with a pillar of salt.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars But is it accurate?, July 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad (Hardcover)

Mr. Gordon makes many shocking claims in this book. The Mossad supposedly knew that a truck bomb was going to be used against the marines in Lebanon, but didn't tell them. The Israeli Prime Minister (Shamir) supposedly gave Pollard's spy material to the Russians because he hated America. The Mossad supposedly didn't lift a finger to save William Buckley, who was tortured and killed in Lebanon. The famous Mr. Maxwell, who looted his employee's pension funds, supposedly gave those funds to the Mossad. I admit, I don't want to believe this stuff, but if the evidence was better, I would swallow hard and believe it. Its not enough to rely on an occassional disaffected spy like Ostrovsky. Lots of allegations in this book could be true, but on the other hand, they could be false.