Rating: 
Summary: The Olympic Massacre is avenged.
Review: As some of the previous readers have stated, this is a great read on counter terrorism. Those Palestinians who had a role in the Olympic murders are dealt with by a professional hit squad sent out from Israel. Jonas makes the reader know who he is supporting, Avner and his four buddies assigned to track down eleven people who had a hand in the Munich murders.
I don't know if you can believe everything in this book. Jonas in his introduction and footnotes, states that some things were just not reported in the newspapers. When Avner and his buddies kill three Arabs in a church in Switzerland, and there are no news accounts, I wonder if this ever took place. Same with his buddies who were killed and the Athens KGB man, this might be fiction. Without knowing who Avner really is, this might be part true or even a novel.
All in all a great read on how Israel dealt with terrorism in the seventies. Israel put the fear of God in those who put fear in others. Just retribution.
Rating:
Summary: The Olympic Massacre is avenged.
Review: As some of the previous readers have stated, this is a great read on counter terrorism. Those Palestinians who had a role in the Olympic murders are dealt with by a professional hit squad sent out from Israel. Jonas makes the reader know who he is supporting, Avner and his four buddies assigned to track down eleven people who had a hand in the Munich murders.
I don't know if you can believe everything in this book. Jonas in his introduction and footnotes, states that some things were just not reported in the newspapers. When Avner and his buddies kill three Arabs in a church in Switzerland, and there are no news accounts, I wonder if this ever took place. Same with his buddies who were killed and the Athens KGB man, this might be fiction. Without knowing who Avner really is, this might be part true or even a novel.
All in all a great read on how Israel dealt with terrorism in the seventies. Israel put the fear of God in those who put fear in others. Just retribution.
Rating:
Summary: A great story... and even more
Review: I liked this book. I do not want to sound morbid, but I almost wanted to cheer each time they were successful. After the 9/11 attacks, every American will want our government to form the same type of team to hunt down the terrorists and their leaders. This book moves fast and gives a very interesting view into the Mossad. There are a lot of details, but in no way do they slow the story down. This book is truly exciting. The James Bond tools they use are another fascinating part of the story. You should buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Buy This Book Now
Review: I liked this book. I do not want to sound morbid, but I almost wanted to cheer each time they were successful. After the 9/11 attacks, every American will want our government to form the same type of team to hunt down the terrorists and their leaders. This book moves fast and gives a very interesting view into the Mossad. There are a lot of details, but in no way do they slow the story down. This book is truly exciting. The James Bond tools they use are another fascinating part of the story. You should buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating account of a counter-terrorist mission
Review: I'm sure that none of us will be surprised to learn that there are indeed counter-terrorists. And that, yes, they can actually be trained to kill people when necessary. That they do not use their twenty-two caliber pistols just to scare people, but to fire two shots, with no pause between them, at a human target.
But why?
Jonas tells us why. Because after the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972, no other nations were prepared to help bring eleven of the surviving murderers to justice. Jonas also tells us what sorts of people become counter-terrorists. They must be loyal and courageous. But not goons, not psychopaths, and not super-sophisticated James Bond types. Not too imaginative: that produces too much doubt. Not too daring: that causes incaution. Not too fanatical: that makes one unstable. And the author reminds us that whether one's cause is good or bad, terrorism is not the way to pursue it and counter-terrorism is a proper and moral response.
Jonas also addresses the issue of whether counter-terrorism actually produces peace. Usually it does not, just as police pursuit of criminals rarely stops all crime. On the other hand, I think we can all see the problems with letting murderers roam the world untouched, boasting of their crimes, openly recruiting people to the cause of murdering innocent civilians, and being treated as heroes by the media and other admirers.
In this exciting tale, we find out what happens when one tries to avenge the spectacular murders of some innocent civilians. We see that some targets are basically "soft." One can discover their whereabouts without much trouble and simply kill them. But a few are "hard," and are very professional at staying alive. It is very difficult for a small team to kill even one such person. And indeed, this team found it next to impossible. On top of that, if one begins by killing one or more soft targets, the terrorists will fight back, with assassins going after the counter-terrorists.
I recommend this book. I think it has a moral, namely that rather than use small counter-terrorism squads, we'd all be better off if there were some international cooperation in apprehending terrorists and bringing them to justice.
Rating:
Summary: Too bad it's out of print
Review: It really is a shame that this book is no longer in print. Jonas provides readers with a wild ride through the fear, depression, grit and glory of a spy/assassin driven by the sole mission to avenge terrorism by killing the individual perpetrators. Of particular interest to me was the weapons training recieved by the Israeli team who went after their targets. Using only .22 pistols, and occasionally no more than homemade slap-fire zipguns, they systematically tracked down and executed hardened terrorists. The level of training, focus and determination portrayed is something you have to read to believe. It also gives me hope that there is a response to terrorism beyond the 'bomb it and pave it' strategy. Knowing that terrorists will be hunted down, no matter where they go, and killed in a grimy alley or a deserted tenement instead of in a blaze of glory may be a more effective approach to take. I also appreciated the insight into the psyche of a trained assassin who wrestles with the mission he has been given, and watches as others around him begin to crack up from the strain. His account of how the lives of his fellow team members ended is a sobering picture of the biblical axiom that those who live by the sword die by it also. If you can get your hands on this book, I would highly recommend it. It is a great story, comparable to any spy thriller and action novel you have picked up, but with the added bonus that it is true.
Rating:
Summary: The only source on the aftermath of the Munich massacre
Review: Jonas delivers a great read. The book is detailed and engagning!
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Summary: A better way to deal with terrorism??
Review: Jonas's book is an engaging account of a special unit formed under the unofficial auspices of the Mossad to track and kill the people they determined were responsible for the Munich massacre of Israeli athletes in 1972. This book is an especially important read after 11 September. That this 5-man unit was able to eliminate 8 terrorist leaders with no "collateral damage" in a little over two years is something I hope our security agencies will take to heart.
Rating:
Summary: A great story... and even more
Review: This book is not only about a historical event, but about international counterterrorism in general. In addition to being exciting, it is also educational, giving insight into how undercover counterterrorist operations (in this case, "hits") are carried out.
Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Book!
Review: This was a book that I enjoyed very much. After the slaughter of the Isreali olympic team in the 1972 olympic games the government decided not to let the killings go unanswered. Prime Minister Golda Meir and the Mossad assembled a team of Isreali operatives. This team was posted in various parts of the world where the terrorists were located. The book details how this team was able to dispatch the guilty terrorists one by one. In locations worldwide the terrorists were located and then dispatched. There was a very good movie called the "Sword of Gideon" that was based on this book. This book was a good historical read as well as being action packed. Read this book,you will not be dissapointed.
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