Rating: 
Summary: WOW!!!
Review: This book will blow anyone away, who is interested in the Mossad. The stories that are listed within, could have come straight out of a James Bond novel. Which is also a little bit of a drawback. I would look at this book with a somewhat weary as for their historical accuracy. However, if you want a good bedtime book, this is not one of them. It will keep you up all night.
Rating: 
Summary: A collection of fantastic grandmother's tales
Review: At the end of the book, under "Notes on Sources," the author tells us that his guiding principle in dealing with an intelligence matters has always been: "check it, check it, check it." Well, I can testify that much, too much, of the even the PUBLIC information in this book was never checked, not even properly copyedited. There are too many errors in the Hebrew transcriptions of names (Yahalomim, not yahalomin), sites ( Glilot, not Gilot). Some of the dates, all are in the public domain, are erroneous (about Vanunu, for example). If there are that many erros, mistakes and other manifestations of sloppiness about matters of fact and language, all in the public domain, what can we say about the so many amazing claims in the book which cannnot be verified by evidence from the public domain (e.g., The Mossad was taping the phone sex between Lewinsky and clinton, the details of the relationship between Maxwell and the Mossad) None of these fantastic claims is substantiated by anything stronger than the author's word? But why should we accept his word? Then there are simply too many questionable citations some of them attributed to people who obviously never talked to the author (e.g., Abe Feinberg). And then there is the autohor's tendency to glorify the individuals who apparently did talk with him. The most obvious example is the character of Rafi Eitan, a bigger than life character in the book, whose mythical tales seem to leave the author virtually intoxicated. At the end, the book is no more than a collection of grandmother's tales (in yiddish, "bobbemayses").
Rating: 
Summary: flawed, sensationalistic, but a damn good read
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe not the definitive Mossad source, but excellent!
Review: I opened this book knowing absolutely nothing about Mossad. I was stuck in a foreign country and since this was one of the only English books in the store, I decided to take a chance although I'm not usually a fan of these types of books in general as it's an area I know little about. For that reason, along with the ease of reading and the interspersed references to more current events, I actually walked away from reading this book with not only an intense interest in exploring this subject further but also with the wish that I had followed my childhood dream of being an undercover agent of some sort. Silly, but true. This book reads partly as a factual account and partly as a crime novel, and I must say that myself and the four others I have lent this to have all been extremely impressed. Whether or not this book is 100% correct on the details, I don't know yet, but even if I discover inaccuracies in future readings of more textbook like accounts, I'll still be grateful that I was able to be introduced to a new subject matter without feeling as though the author were talking over my head.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe not the definitive Mossad source, but excellent!
Review: I opened this book knowing absolutely nothing about Mossad. I was stuck in a foreign country and since this was one of the only English books in the store, I decided to take a chance although I'm not usually a fan of these types of books in general as it's an area I know little about. For that reason, along with the ease of reading and the interspersed references to more current events, I actually walked away from reading this book with not only an intense interest in exploring this subject further but also with the wish that I had followed my childhood dream of being an undercover agent of some sort. Silly, but true. This book reads partly as a factual account and partly as a crime novel, and I must say that myself and the four others I have lent this to have all been extremely impressed. Whether or not this book is 100% correct on the details, I don't know yet, but even if I discover inaccuracies in future readings of more textbook like accounts, I'll still be grateful that I was able to be introduced to a new subject matter without feeling as though the author were talking over my head.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly scurolous
Review: THis interesting fast paced spy thriller tells the 'inside' story of Mossad, but with many glaring oversights. Fir instance the Lavon affir is not mentioned and neither is Elie Cohen, the Israeli spy who was Asads left hand man. Also their are several odd misfactuals. For instance we are told that one mossad agent grew 'curly' side locks to imitate an Orthodox Haredi in a few 'weeks'. This is pure nonsense, becuase Paellas, the sidelocks take years to grow. Nevertheless this is a wonderful book that reads like a 007 thriller, a must read for Mossad enthusiasts. Seth J. Frantzman
|
