By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer (Perfect Paperback)

by Victor Ostrovsky (Author)
Key Phrases: missile boat, Tel Aviv, United States, Black September (more...)

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.

Product Description
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.

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Product Details

• Perfect 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 (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #294,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Jonathan Schaper (London, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

This review is from: By Way of Deception : The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer (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.

48 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Drake "Drake" (Montreal, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews

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.