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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
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Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 162027
Media: Paperback
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
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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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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Fascinating and well-written... December 18, 2005
David W. Nicholas (Montrose, CA USA)
135 out of 152 found this review helpful
This is one of those books that leaves you wondering, on several levels, about its contents. I don't think this is bad: actually, since it gets you thinking about the issues involved, I think it's a good thing. Vengeance purports to recount the efforts of a group of Israelis sent by the Mossad to Europe to kill various PLO figures who had aided, supported, planned, or otherwise enabled the 1972 Munich massacre of the Israeli Olympic team. The whole book apparently, at the time, raised a considerable controversy: many of the events in the story are uncorroborated, and of course this would lead to some readers being skeptical.
On the other hand, this book represents the sort of thing you'd expect would happen. We know the Israelis at least tried such operations: the killing of a Morrocan waiter in Lillehammer Norway was certainly an attempt to kill one of the PLO's top guys, and some of the supporting Mossad operatives were caught, tried, convicted, and sentenced to jail for their part in the plot. The whole thing sounds believable, down to the team having specialists for various aspects of operations in Europe, to their using small pistols because of the lack of loud noise (.22s with reduced powder for even less noise), the bombs that don't work exactly as planned, and the lack of exact information as to who was behind the retaliation once it began.
This book reads as a spy novel, and perhaps should be read at least partially as if it is one. After all, does anyone think that the writings of John Le Carre are completely fictional. He was, for a short time anyway, in the intelligence community, as were Graham Greene and Frederick Forsyth. You have to think that those authors include things from their own experience, and from the experiences of acquaintances, in their writings. This book, in an odd way, is similar. The author apparently writes the story with (as far as he knows) all of the main action recounted accurately, but he revised personal characteristics in order to conceal identities. As a result, the book is a history with novelistic elements, as opposed to a novel with historical elements.
I found the main premise of the book to be believable, however. While there's some doubt that Israel killed off as many people as this book says they did, in the fashion recounted here, the whole thing sounds plausible to me. The idea that they would have initial success and ultimately unravel is completely believable, and the premise that there were other teams, who eventually assasinated other PLO functionaries, is completely believeable. The anecdotes involving the main character negotiating with his bosses in a somewhat adversarial relationship sounds very convincing, while at the same time not being exactly what you'd expect in a professional intelligence agency. While unconfirmed, the whole story sounds credible, and that may be the best argument that it happened: at this point corroboration seems less likely, though I suppose that the Israelis could have a change of heart and come out and admit that what is recounted in the book actually happened. The end of the book makes it clear this is unlikely, though.
All in all, a good book, interesting, intelligently written, and confronting one of the great dillemmas of our time: what do you do when terrorists target innocent civilians and kill them? The author quotes Ghandhi as saying that an eye for an eye leads to a world of blind people. One might respond that no eye for an eye leads to a world of righteous blind people, and sighted victimizers. Very very interesting book.
 Good story but some loose ends December 23, 2005
Bernie Bernbaum (Tustin, CA USA)
46 out of 69 found this review helpful
The basic premise of Vengeance (revenge for the killing of the Israeli athletes) is believable but there's a few things that just don't add up. One thing is "Le Group" - Avner contacts them too easily, they have way too wide a reach (pan European), and too much information, to be believable as a private organization. Much more likely is that Avner was getting help and information from the government intelligence agencies and he hid it as "Le Group". This is supported by Avner's continued insistence that he was not afraid of Papa selling them out, even after the loss of team members.
The second is the killing of Carl, if Carl was really killed. We're supposed to believe that a professional hit woman is going to pick up and kill Carl when Avner can well identify her. Her approach is also unprofessional. According to the story, she was not selective in her target but was going to kill any team member who she could pick up. And the perfume - a professional would not call attention to herself like that. Just not believable. Just think of all the support and planning that went into the team's hits - a person who planned to kill one of the team would go through the same planning, would have significant support, and would abort if things were not exactly right.
If Carl really was killed, it's much more likely that Avner and the others would not be able to identify the killer, like the killers of Robert and Hans. My guess is that she was added to make the story a bit more interesting, rather than have three unsolved killings.
But in reality, perhaps none of them were killed and Avner made it all up in an attempt to protect them from reprisals.
But even if you're skeptical of the truth of the narrative it's a good story that carries you along. Just don't read it as absolute truth.
 Almost complete fiction December 22, 2005
SailorBob (Jerusalem Israel)
44 out of 74 found this review helpful
According to the left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Vengeance is "a book in which there is no truth." Research confirms this. Mr. Jonas relied largely on the information given him by Yuval Aviv, a man who posed as a Mossad agent, "even though he had never worked in the Mossad and certainly had not participated in operations to kill those involved in the athletes' murder." His only security experience was when he worked as a security guard for El Al in New York. Shaister.com tells us that "Zvi Zamir, who was head of Mossad during that period, has also stated on several occasions that he has never known Aviv and there there is no connection betwee! n what is related in Jonas' book and what really happened." Zamir also states that he was never contacted by Spielberg for the true facts in the case, and he is surprised that the director would "rely on this particular book" for his source material.
Dec. 21 marks the anniversary of the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie Scotland in 1988, which is related to the same Yuval Aviv and his fraudulent actions. The bombing, which claimed the lives of 243 passengers and 16 crew members. There were 37 students on board flying home from an overseas study program in London. One of those students was the only child of Susan and Dan Cohen, who have never ended their efforts to avenge their daughter's death. The Cohens are very disturbed about the fact that Yuval Aviv, the same Mossad imposter who tried to take advantage of them, is the man whose fraudulent information was the source for Steven Spielberg's new film, "Munich".
According to the Cohens, Aviv's "unscrupulous practice of telling tailor-made stories to the highest bidder" is illustrated by the fact that Aviv wrote a report exonerating Pan Am in the 103 matter which gained him much media attention. Aviv had previously contacted them "and offered information that would prove that Pan Am had been negligent in preventing the disaster," just the opposite of what he was saying on behalf of Pan Am....
In conclusion, if Jonas' source for what he writes in Vengeance is a fraud, then Veneance itself is a fraud.
Based on an article written by Helen Freedman
Executive Director
Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI
Author is honest January 3, 2006
M. A. Devlin (Santa Barbara, CA United States)
38 out of 39 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. It was well paced throughout. After reading quite a few "non-fiction" spy books, to me Vengeance has the ring of truth to it, reminding me more of the Falcon and the Snowman than Vise's The Bureau and the Mole.
I had the luxury of reading Vengeance when it first came out, and reread it after viewing the movie Munich, of which this book was the primary source.
Our "hero" Anver, was a Mossad agent who was asked to leave the agency by Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel, to lead a team of men. This team was to attempt to take the lives of 11 men who were responsible for the Black September terrorist group's act of killing Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.
The book follows the freelance team during their strong, early times, and their weak moments, both personal and professional. We meet not only the team, but also their sources, who are also personalized.
Although the author had to rely on a single source for some sections of the book, he is honest about this. When there are questions about his interpretation, he explains the different theories in the footnotes.
I bumped my review from 4 stars to 5 because of the "Notes on a Controversy" and footnotes that follow the main text in this volume. Questions raised about the author's perspective and sources are answered well in these two sections. I found Jonas to be honest about relying on his source. He also debates articles that attacked his book with his perspective without name calling.
The difference between excecution and murder is...? April 20, 2006
A. Ryan (Westminster, CA USA)
33 out of 42 found this review helpful
A list of 11 terrorists, funds, and a stirring speech from Golda Meir herself. There is no one else to help Israel...we are all alone among nations...we must exact our own justice in this world.
A deep desire to prove oneself. Love of country. Love of family.
Vengeance.
Could these things sustain you in a foreign land? Could they comfort you and guide you when fear of exposure, capture, or death gripped your gullet? When you finally had you're your enemy cornered and defenseless, would all this be enough to get you to pull the trigger?
Based on purportedly true events as told to the author George Jonas, Vengeance is the story of a counterterrorism team charged with avenging the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Although the leader Avner (the sole firsthand source for this information) no doubt related his tale in the first person, the whole is written as if in novel format.
What especially rang true to me when reading Vengeance was that Avner is such a believable protagonist. He's no James Bond or Dirk Pitt, in other words, no slickly trained professional assassin operating in a glamorous world of champagne and Ferraris. He was at the time an idealistic young man who, like his four other team members, was selected for his service record and personality profile; and perhaps a few other special traits that made him able to move about Europe inconspicuously. Avner and his team were given source of funds, instructions to not harm innocents, and their list of 11 Black September targets...and not much else. They were all operating on instincts and leads, alone for the most part with their mission, and Avner admits that much of their success was due to blind luck as anything else. This may disappoint some readers who enjoy reading about fantastic derring-do and hi-tech espionage, but I thought Avner's Everyman qualities made him much easier to relate to and his story much easier to trust. Strangely, the implications of what they did are more real - and chilling-- to me this way.
I loved Vengeance as much for the ethical and moral dilemmas it offers the reader as for the fascinating glimpse into how Israel conducted covert operations, at least at that time period. We are finally brought to examine our own beliefs as Avner wrestles with his. In the end, is there a significant moral difference between terrorism and counterterrorism (yes)? Does counterterrorism deter future terrorist activity, or like the mythical hydra, does terrorism grow more and deadlier heads as soon as the first ones are cut down (impossible to know for sure, but I believe it does)? Is this true justice?
I have a longstanding belief that if a book is good enough to base a movie on, then it will almost certainly prove better than the movie; therefore, shame on me if I didn't read Vengeance before seeing Steven Spielberg's latest. I did, and although I haven't seen the film Munich yet I am now salivating in anticipation of its release on Dvd. Okay, maybe not exactly drooling down the chin, but still, the book gave a lot to hope for. I can say confidently that you won't be sorry for reading this book, regardless of your conclusions.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle
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