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Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team | 
 enlarge | Author: George Jonas
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $0.32
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 288899
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 0743291646
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.125694
EAN: 9780743291644
ASIN: 0743291646
Publication Date: November 29, 2005
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Condition: Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
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Product Description
Vengeance is a true story that reads like a novel. It is the account of five ordinary Israelis, selected to vanish into "the cold" of espionage secrecy -- their mission to hunt down and kill the PLO terrorists responsible for the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. This is the account of that secret mission, as related by the leader of the group -- the first Mossad agent to come out of "deep cover" and tell the story of a heroic endeavor that was shrouded in silence and speculation for years. He reveals the long and dangerous operation whose success was bought at a terrible cost to the idealistic volunteer agents themselves. "Avner" was the leader of that team, handpicked by Golda Meir to avenge the monstrous crime of Munich. He and his young companions, cut off from any direct contact with Israel, set out systematically to find and kill the central figures of the PLO's Munich operation, tracking them down wherever they lived. The mechanics, the horror, the day-by-day suspense of what they did surpass by far anything John le Carre or Robert Ludlum could imagine, as they themselves were tracked in turn (and some killed) by PLO assassins, changing identities constantly, moving from country to country, devoting their young lives to the brutal task of vengeance. Vengeance is a profoundly human document, a real-life espionage classic that plunges the reader into the shadow world of terrorism and political murder. But it goes far beyond that, to explore firsthand the feelings of disgust and doubt that gradually came to torment each member of the Israeli team, and that in the end inexorably changed their view of the mission -- and themselves. Vengeance opens a window onto a secret world, a book that at the same time inspires and horrifies. For its subject is an act of revenge that goes to the very heart of the ancient biblical questions of good and evil.
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| Customer Reviews:
An Incredible Thrill-Ride December 1, 2008
While the credibility of the sources behind the book remains in question 25 years after its original publication, Vengeance remains a thrilling narrative that addresses one of the great conspiracies of the late 20th century. "Avner" and his team are recruited by Israel's Mossad to avenge the deaths of the athletes who were massacred at the Munich Olympics. They are given a list of targets and an unlimited source of funds to track down and kill members of the PLO and to send a message to other terrorists that Israel (though not condoning or admitting responsibility for the assassinations) will not sit quietly and let their countrymen be slaughtered.
One of the aspects I found most intriguing was Avner's training as a Mossad agent prior to his covert mission. The few chapters that cover the skills he acquires to become a stellar agent (weaponry, observation, memorization) were like something out of James Bond training school. But it was the overall suspense of the mission that grabbed me and had me sitting on the edge of my seat while Avner's team honed in on their objectives and even found themselves to be targets. Of course there were the moral implications of such an operation (eye for an eye). While killing a handful of international terrorists won't stop terrorism, will it slow it down by any degree?
When the mission suddenly draws to a close and control slips out of Avner's hands, there is an uncertainty as to who the victims really are. It is hard to fathom the lengths a fledgling nation would go to uphold justice and to defend its need for autonomy in the face of hatred even if it means abandoning their own.
Overall, though, it was a great book, reading like an action-packed novel if you take it at face value and put a limited trust in Jonas's sources. Avner's eye for detail and recollections to Jonas are remarkable and the writing is straightforward and exciting.
Error in review counter November 28, 2008
This is an excellent, thrilling book that shines a disturbing light on the middle-east-conflict. Who are the evil and are there good ones at all?
Highly highly recommended, as well as watching the film-version "Munich".
Btw, how is it, that the review counter only counts 1 review, when there are many more. Should we become paranoic now? Amazon, please correct the review counter.
 Beware - this book is a hoax by a known fabricator! September 17, 2008
This book has repeatedly been determined to be a hoax by a known, prolific fabricator named Yuval (or Juval) Aviv. An investigation by the British newspaper The Guardian determined: "Aviv never served in Mossad, or any Israeli intelligence organisation. He had failed basic training as an Israeli Defence Force commando, and his nearest approximation to spy work was as a lowly gate guard for the airline El Al in New York in the early 70s. The tale he had woven was apparently nothing more than a Walter Mitty fabrication."
This a competently done hoax, but a hoax nonetheless. For the real story, read "STRIKING BACK."
Vengeance holds a special place in my childhood memory May 25, 2008
When I was thirteen years old (circa 1985), I saw a book on the shelves of the famous "A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books," located in the Larkspur Landing Shopping Center, Larkspur, CA. It was the picture of the Israeli Uzi on the cover that caught my attention. Like many 13 year old boys, I was fascinated by sub-machine guns and automatic pistols. I bought the book because of the cover, but I was in no way ready for the tale I was about to be told. It was the tale of the Israeli Mossad avenging the deaths of the athletes that had been murdered at the Olympic games in Munich (circa 1972). The book read like a Ludlum novel, only this story was true! Contrary to the cover, all the assignations were carried out with .22 caliber ordnance (the choice of Mossad assassins), and not by the 9mm Uzi. This book opened my eyes to a historical tragedy that happened while I was still in diapers -- a tragedy not mentioned in American High School textbooks. And it gave me a fine respect for the prowess and professional nature of Israeli Intelligence (HaMossad leModi'in v'leTafkidim Meyuhadim).
 The dark side of war February 25, 2008
"Vengence" is an insider's account of the formation and actions of a counter-terrorism team. Unlike the fictional Bourne series emphasis on hand to hand fighting skills, the bulk of the subject's work involved obtaining information, being smart with it, and executing the target. Who can you trust and how much of what they are saying is true was always the key question which would make the difference between being killed and making the kill. A very tense and disquieting story which reads fairly well for a non-fictional account, I recommend it to anyone interested in gaining insight into the dark side of war.
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