Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad | 
 enlarge | Author: Gordon Thomas
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 163084
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3rd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 640
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0312361521
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.125694
EAN: 9780312361525
ASIN: 0312361521
Publication Date: January 23, 2007
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Product Description
Created in 1951 to ensure an embattled Israel’s future, the Mossad has been responsible for the most audacious and thrilling feats of espionage, counterterrorism, and assassination ever ventured. Gordon Thomas’s 1999 publication of Gideon’s Spies, resulting from closed-door interviews with Mossad agents, informants, and spymasters, and drawing from classified documents and top-secret sources, revealed previously untold truths about the Israeli intelligence agency. And now, in this fourth edition, Thomas updates his classic text and shows a Mossad as it has historically been: brilliant, ruthless, and flawed, but ultimately awesome.
Six all-new chapters and updated appendices and glossaries examine:
*The London bombings: the untold full story of Mossad’s involvement
*Mossad’s key role in the G8 Summit in Scotland
*How Mossad discovered that by June 2005 Al Qaeda had acquired fissionable material from Pakistan and former Soviet Union Islamic Republics
*Secret phone calls to Washington that led to Tony Blair changing his position over war with Iraq
*WMD and Libya, North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, China, and the House of Saud
*The mega spy in the Bush and Clinton administrations
*The PLO, Fatah, and Hamas
* The technology wars, and North Korea’s bird-flu war games and “ethnic bombs”
*The Chinese involvement in the Los Alamos fiasco
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
Scary September 18, 2008
I am not an expert on espionage nor espionage literature. The book rambles a little and the author repeats himself. Everything written appears to be supported by well documented research, but I did not independently verify any of it. It's a fun read, if not a little scary. Excellent in depth information on the Mossad.
 Caution: read with a heavy dose skepticism August 5, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was painfully difficult to finish simply because it was clear to me that the material provided was highly sensationalized, over-reaching, inaccurate, and just flat out incorrect. The book kept my attention for the first part where Mossad had been involved with assassinations in the Middle East- I believe there is truth to what the author reports here. However, as the book enters the 1980's, it is full of "hype" and sensationalism that one can smell a mile away, i.e., the trap door on the PROMIS software was created by the NSA not Mossad and was sold to foreign governments so that the US could spy on them. Secondly, Mossad has a long history of established contacts with CSIS- long before 1992- to say that the Israelis established with them in 1992 is definitely deceiving. Thirdly, the Israelis have sold arms to most countries especially China even after ignoring protests from the US government- thanks to its lobby in Washington, AIPAC. So the author saying that the Israelis gave up arms sales to foreign countries because of US protest is absolute nonsense! Fourthly, Israel is just as guilty for the conflict with the Palestinians- something the author does not take into consideration. Instead, he labels the Palestinians as terrorists, suicide bombers, and threats to Israel. Meanwhile, a lot more Palestinians are killed every year than Israelis- yet, the Israelis are mere victims in the view of the author. What about the innocent Palestinians? Finally, I have a hard time believing that Osama Bin Laden has close relationships with the Chinese given that they are now a secular consumerist society- something which Bin Laden is against. Yet, according to the book, he visited Beijing in 2005?! That is just too bizarre.
Though the Middle East is a complicated place, I do not think that everything is about the destruction of Israel. Other countries have hostile relationships with one another, i.e., Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Saudis view the increased power of the Iranians as a threat. Hence, the reason for their increased ambition for nuclear technology. It is definitely not about Israel. In fact, more occasions than not, the Saudis have invited friendly relations with the Israelis. The author creates an impression that every Middle East country is calling for the destruction of Israel- which is simply not true. As for the Iranian president saying "wiping Israel off the face of the world map" is debatable given that many sources on internet are saying that the interpretion was incorrect.
But the harshest criticism I have for this book is the alleged Mossad support for critics against the Iraq War. It has been reported that the alleged evidence against Sadam Hussein was indeed planted by Mossad- the very thing that the author writes to the contrary. To suggest that Mossad had no involvement for the drumbeat to war is , in my opinion, absurd. I guess the money that AIPAC pumped into the current administration had nothing to do with the US going into Iraq either and Col. Lawrence Wilkerson's statement to that fact. One has to be really naive to believe that Israel or Mossad did not support the push for war.
I have to say I am deeply disappointed in this book. I thought it would be more than it really is. In my opinion, this borders on the fictional spy thriller that cannot be taken seriously. If you are into mainstream press and propaganda, this is the book for you. But if you are one who believes in critical thought and factual information, look elsewhere because this book does not have it. Not recommended.
 A plot that's too good to be fiction March 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you like Ludlum, you'll love Gideon's Spies. This is "the" international espionage book. With a plot so intriguing and details so amazing, you have to keep reminding yourself that it's not fiction. A great read.
Great insight into the dark world of espionage January 27, 2008
Gives you a real good insight into the world of spies and intelligence communities around the world. The style of writing makes easy and fluent reading.
Gideon's Spies January 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a well written and entertaining view inside of what has always been seen as the supreme espionage agency in the world. This books confirms the dedication and professionalism of the people of Mossad as well as showing that the staff is human and susceptible to the errors of judgement and bad luck that affect all human endeavors.
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