Customer Reviews

Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I thought this book was great in most ways. The Mossad is presented as an agency that will do anything to save Israel, to the point of assassination and framing their own agents. I have one major quibble though: his organization of the case histories/biographies/modern Israeli history was so annoying I wanted to tear my hair out by the end of the book. For example, a priest at Robert Maxwell's funeral leads to a shadowy meeting in the Vatican which goes to a flashback to Golda Meir meeting Paul VI to a flashback of James Jesus Angleton & Pius XII. A flashback to a flashback to a flashback?!?! And he starts the book with the Princess Diana tragedy, hinting more than a little it wasn't just a car crash. Apparently a Mossad agent was attempting to enlish Henri Paul around the time of her death. But after she dies, the Mossad is barely mentioned for 30 pages except that they probably know something about it. I know he's an English journalist and the Diana death makes juicy copy, but why don't we start a book on the history of the Mossad with SOMETHING ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE MOSSAD?!?! So, I give Gideon's Spies 5 stars on content but a half a star on organization.

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..

If only half of what Thomas divulges in this book is true, it's a blockbuster. And I would speculate that perhaps half has the ring of truth- but which half? Probably just the well-documented parts used to give a veneer of truth to the fabricated bits. Amid all the stories of the deceptions and intelligence games played by the world's secret services, it's tempting to suspect that Thomas is being played as much as any of the other dupes he tells of. Did Khomeni order the assassination of John Paul? Did the Mossad kill Robert Maxwell? Who knows?

The tales Thomas tells are often very critical of the Mossad, yet running through the book is the implication that the Mossad is the only competant intelligence organization on the planet, and that all other intelligence organizations are staffed with bumbling fools.

The book seesm to give the impression is that Thomas' principle source of information is one or more retired or discharged Mossad officers who have both a pride in the organization as well as an axe or two to grind, but the reader begins to doubt that at least halfway through the book. Many of the stories just don't add up. Some, like the story of Gerald Bull, are absolutely at odds with versions told by well-established sources and thoroughly documented. The Bull story in particular reads like a sloppy farbication by someone who hasn't done a lot of research.

Most of it is completely unverifiable, and a great deal of it strikes me as completely fabricated. And maybe, just maybe, the book is a piece of disinformation itself, designed to mislead and confuse. Who knows? File it on your bookshelves somewhere midway between Le Carre and Fleming.

I love reading spy novels. This book fits right into that genre--however it is not intended to be a novel. I have always found it difficult to swallow any title that states that it's the "Secret History..." of anything. If it was so secret how on earth did a hack British reporter (reknown worldwide for their sensationalistic style) get the inside scoop on it?

This book reminds me a lot of "The Puzzle Palace" a "secret history" about NSA. Compared to the CIA or MI6, both NSA and MOSSAD have virtually nothing of substance in the way of reference books. Most of the facts are based upon specualtion, innuendo and heresay. The authors in both books is probably gathering TONS of information from every source. But, since he can't publish all of it, he must filter it to create a story. But how? He is not an agent. He has never worked in the intelligence field and does not really have the background to choose what is fact or fiction--in the intell world it si sometimes blurred. So the auther instead falls back on what he DOES know. Which is writing stories.

This book IS an incredably good story. As good as any Tom Clancy novel, and it even jumps around (Clancy-style) a lot just as it is getting intriguing. But, since this book is intended as a resource of non-fiction, what does the author give the reader to gain credibility? Answer: A 5 page "Note on Sources" which only elaborates on a few people he interviewed, but never cross-referencing with the stories within the chapters. There is an index, but so what? In some places Mr. Thomas also insinuates that he attended several of the events as a reporter, but never says who he talked to, about what subject. No doubt he had is tape-recorder running, but one never knows whether something was on or off the record. I would also think that since he makes reference to some books and newspapers, that he would document those, but alas!

As I was reading this book, I could almost hear Geraldo Rivera in my head narrating it. (note to publisher: get Geraldo to narrate the audio book. You'll sell millions.) Both the author and Geraldo share an emphasis of the sensational and exaggeration. They never worry about sources, because they are journalists by habit and not historians. They have no need to be accountable, just in making sure they get credit for the story. Unfortunately, since this book is so compelling (which is why I at least gave it 3 stars), but lacks so much in the way of documentation, it could have been THE subject matter on Israeli intelligence. Instead it will be a popular read for a short time and wind up in the bargain bin in a few months.

Initially captivating and hard to put down, it then deteriorates after the first one or two hundreds pages.
Disappointing to realize that ALL the book has appeared in one form or another in the news.
There are numerous errors and plenty of wild guesses as well. Repetitive bloviating especially in the last third.
Most annoying is the obsession with Princess Diana's death. What has that tragic event anything to do with the famous "Institute" ? Why so many pages about it ? In order to appeal to the British readers ?

If you are not familiar with Israel in general or with the mythical Mossad and its prolific activities specifically - then YES - absolutely, you must read it and you'll most probably like it. But if you do know about Israel and a bit of the history, politics, wars, and espionage that is an integral part of the Israelis' lives - then you can skip it.

I can only second the opinions of a couple of the other reviewers. This book is an utter waste of time. It merely serves to confuse a subject already shrouded in mystery.

The book lacks footnotes. It is poorly organized. The disjointed storied are arranged neither chronologically nor thematically.

If you are looking to learn more about Israel's intelligence community, a far better place to start would be "Every Spy A Prince".

When you write a book about any intelligence agency ( Mossad, CIA, British MI6), you will need information from people near the top. This book makes some interesting accusations such as it was Iran who blew up Pan Am 103, not the two Lybians on trial. The author also claims that the Mossad killed Robert Maxwell. Here is the problem. Much of the source material was provided by an alleged Israeli Mossad agent named Ari Ben-Menashe. First of all the Mossad said he was never an agent. Second this Ben-Menashe is also the same man who said that George Bush and Ronald Reagan made the "October Surprise " deal with Iran. A congressional investigation into this matter said that Ari Ben-Menashe had no credibilty was was known to be a liar. Another source for the book is Victor Ostrovsky. He is famous as being the former Mossad agent who wrote the book "By Way of Deception". He is angry at the Mossad and thus his credibilty must be questioned. Gordon Thomas did not leave any footnotes to check up on any of his accusations. Here is the thing though. Israel is surrounded by enemies. They need 24 hour intelligence gathering. The CIA has overthrown governments, financed mass murderering dictators and killed at freewill, yet people after reading this book would assume that the Mossad is the worse thing on the planet. This book is alright, but accusations need to be checked on and the author leaves us NO footnotes to do that.

I purchased Thomas' book with high hopes that it would be a reasoned, intelligent review of the history of Mossad, one of the world's most effective intelligence services, along the lines of Israel's Secret War's.

Sadly, such was not the case. Thomas is a conspiracy theorist who relies on innuendo and rumor to justify mindless theories and meaningless concepts, all in lieu of research and facts to tell what is an incredible story on its own. From little things, like referring to the Echelon surveillance system operated by the National Security Agency as monitoring every conversation between every individual virtually anywhere in the world (Echelon monitors electronic conversations, not every possible conversation) to secondhand references to the late William Casey, the then-director of the CIA, as suggesting that Mossad supplied arms to Hezbollah in the early 1980's when Israel invaded Lebanon, Thomas studiously avoids anything approaching professionalism or reasoned analysis.

Mossad is a rich topic for investigation, and there are excellent treatments on the subject. Thomas, unfortunately, is an unprofessional, sloppy and pathetic writer whose book demeans its subject.

The book survives on its fascinating anecdotes. Unfortunately, it leaves the reader with the inescapable impression that the stories are incomplete and too simplistic, and that the events are presented for purposes of sensationalism more than accuracy. One has no idea to what extent the stories are true, but more importantly, the author doesn't make a serious attempt to inspire the reader's confidence.

First of all, any reviewer or potential reader of this book who expects to find pure, untainted historical truth in a popularized account of classified intelligence work like "Gideon's Spies" is suffering from a laughable case of naivete. Obviously, no layman author is going to have much verifiable inside dirt on the "katsas" and their intelligence coups, especially an amateur such as Thomas who has no particular expertise in Israeli affairs and is better known as a journeyman author on a wide range of non-fiction subjects. So, if you're looking for some kind of exhaustively researched bible of Mossad history, then I'm afraid this is the wrong book for you. Thomas is more interested in luring the casual reader's interest with shocking allegations, like the Princess Diana/Mossad connection, than he is in providing some kind of chronological encyclopedia of the Mossad's deeds, as several of the other reviewers have made us aware in just a bit too much detail. Well, sorry guys, we're all very impressed with your stinging criticisms about the proper date of the Entebbe rescue and the book's lack of footnotes, but they ring a little hollow considering that "Gideon's Spies" is a blatant piece of entertainment non-fiction and nothing more. I'm sure that Thomas himself would be the first to admit this. I've read other books on the Mossad, such as "Inside Stories" by Eisenberg, and I have to say that Thomas' book is just as well-researched as any of the others, if a bit meandering at times, and is quite excellent if you're in the market for a casual and entertaining look at the world's most fearsome spy agency.