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 Carré 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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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.

20 of 23 found the following review helpful:

A better way to deal with terrorism??Dec 10, 2001
By GHT
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.

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