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95th out of 96 books
—
47 voters
By Way of Deception: The Making of a Mossad Officer
The #1 NY Times bestseller the Israeli foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, tried to ban. By Way of Deception is the true story of an officer in Israel's most secret agency:
Author's Forward
Prologue: Operation Sphinx
Recruitment
School Days
Freshmen
Sophomores
Rookies
The Belgian Table
Hairpiece
Hail & Farewell
Strella
Carlos
Exocet
Checkmate
Helping Arafat
Only in America
Operation M...more
Author's Forward
Prologue: Operation Sphinx
Recruitment
School Days
Freshmen
Sophomores
Rookies
The Belgian Table
Hairpiece
Hail & Farewell
Strella
Carlos
Exocet
Checkmate
Helping Arafat
Only in America
Operation M...more
Paperback, 372 pages
Published
January 1st 2002
by Wilshire Press Inc.
(first published January 1st 1990)
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Nov 23, 2012
Erik Graff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
political-social-science
In part this book is an autobiography of the author, for several years an officer in the Israeli Mossad, in part it is a history of that intelligence agency for the years of his participation in it, in part it is a critique of the Israeli governmental system which allows its primary intelligence arm to operate without civilian oversight and often contrary to the will of elected officials.
That Ostrovsky was a Mossad officer is not in question. The government of Israel attempted to have this book...more
That Ostrovsky was a Mossad officer is not in question. The government of Israel attempted to have this book...more
This is a troubling book. By Way of Deception, told to Claire Hoy by former Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky, chronicles not only Ostrovsky’s four years in training as an agent for Israel’s elite intelligence agency, but also a variety of related activities occurring both within Israel and throughout the world. Form the picture he paints, it seems that many international crises of the 1970s and 80s involved the Mossad to a much greater extent than anyone – even the Israeli government – was ever awa...more
I found this book under my car seat after taking a bunch of books from the "Can Man's" apartment to Pennies for Change. It had fallen out of a torn bag and hidden itself apparently just for me and the trip to Asheville I was just about to take. Written in 1990 it was the inside story of the goings on, the machinations, of the Israeli Mossad. The author was a Mossad "katsa" or recruiting officer of which at that time there were only about 35 in the world. The book is a fascinating glimpse of the...more
It's hard to avoid the suspicion that this book was at least partially written with the motive of revenge in mind. Victor Ostrovsky claims to have been a katsa (a case officer in the Mossad) who was run out of Israeli intelligence because he ran afoul of the wrong people, and it is very clear, at the least, that he still nurses a powerful grudge. Depending on who you ask, Ostrovsky is either dead on, or a self-aggrandizing jerk who wasn't all that important to the Mossad and made a bunch of stuf...more
The insider info on the Mossad was really interesting. He also tells about Jewish attitudes of themselves and Arabs which explains quite a bit in the wider conflict...
The details were amazing- For example, I couldn't believe we are supposed to be friends and in 1982 when our Marine barracks were bombed in Beiruit, they didn't give us a heads up, but went on full alert themselves.
There's tons more like that. Makes you wonder why we have such a friendly relationship and why we take their side in t...more
The details were amazing- For example, I couldn't believe we are supposed to be friends and in 1982 when our Marine barracks were bombed in Beiruit, they didn't give us a heads up, but went on full alert themselves.
There's tons more like that. Makes you wonder why we have such a friendly relationship and why we take their side in t...more
Dunia intelijen selalu menakjubkan. Hampir setiap kejadian di satu negara tidak luput dari 'perbuatan' intelijen asing atau lokal, yang kadang mampu mengendalikan pemerintahan demi menjaga kepentingan negara dengan cara apapun, bahkan dengan cara yang sangat kotor.
Buku ini ditulis berdasarkan kesaksian mantan agen Mossad (unit intelijen Israel; unit intelijen no.1 di dunia), yang sudah muak dengan cara kotor mossar menjalankan operasinya. Jadi semua yang ada di buku ini nyata. Walau secara manu...more
Buku ini ditulis berdasarkan kesaksian mantan agen Mossad (unit intelijen Israel; unit intelijen no.1 di dunia), yang sudah muak dengan cara kotor mossar menjalankan operasinya. Jadi semua yang ada di buku ini nyata. Walau secara manu...more
great read, i found the evolution of a recruit to case officer fascinating as well as the technical aspects and breakdown of an organization that has very little known about it to be educational. Although it would be sufficient to assume that after a book such as this is printed major internal changes must have taken place within such an organization. But as most conspirators state Mossad may have planted the entire thing, which there is always a chance of. Nevertheless I found the authors viewp...more
I started reading this book late last year and only just managed to finish it. Whenever I took this book with me in public, people seemed to feel the need to stop me and tell me their thoughts on the Mossad. It seems like everyone has a strong opinion one way or another and while I appreciated this, I just wanted to read my book in peace. Eventually I put it down and started taking more neutral books out and about with me. Nevertheless, I did like this book. There are certain revelations which,...more
Quite an interesting read. But the author's critique of the Mossad appears to be fueled by the hurt he still bears from his maltreatment by the agency. Also, in contrasting the Mossad and the CIA he appears to naively paint the CIA in a better light- every intelligence agency in the world is full of dark secrets. Because the primary job of every intelligence agency is to carry out the 'dirty' work no one else would do so that the rest of the population can live their 'normal' lives. One wonders...more
This book came out in 1990, and I've been sort of half-assedly planning on reading it ever since. Unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment. The main problem is that the author doesn't differentiate between his own experiences and things he's reporting from other sources; it becomes fairly obvious when you're reading it that most of the material is lifted -- whether from rumor, innuendo, scuttlebutt or legitimate reporting in other sources, I don't have the foggiest idea, because Ostrovsky's g...more
Nothing surprising here but still interesting. You can't know how much is simply complaints from a disgruntled person who was fired or how much was an accurate portrayal. Probably a combination, of course.
It took me much too long to realize the foibles and the internal politics of large organizations are very disappointing but it is the rarely different. The question is how counterproductive the condition is.
That is likely one of the main reasons most people working in them do not like their jo...more
It took me much too long to realize the foibles and the internal politics of large organizations are very disappointing but it is the rarely different. The question is how counterproductive the condition is.
That is likely one of the main reasons most people working in them do not like their jo...more
Aug 13, 2007
Dan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Jews, Isrealis, People interested in the Middle East
"By way of Deception you shall make war."
This is the allegedly true story of a former Mossad Agent. It is packed with very interesting information. There are inside accounts of how the Mossad goes about recruiting and getting intelligence. It shows a highly effective government agency and casts a lot of criticism on their actions and motivations. This book is very critical of the Mossad and Victor Ostrovsky is considered a criminal in Israel.
This book is very interesting, it was amusing to read....more
This is the allegedly true story of a former Mossad Agent. It is packed with very interesting information. There are inside accounts of how the Mossad goes about recruiting and getting intelligence. It shows a highly effective government agency and casts a lot of criticism on their actions and motivations. This book is very critical of the Mossad and Victor Ostrovsky is considered a criminal in Israel.
This book is very interesting, it was amusing to read....more
Easily the best and most readable of the non-fiction intelligence books I have read. It shows the excitment of spying, the drugery of psying, and the munipulation of governments and leader to get information, whether friendly or not. If you like spy novels, I suggest this because it is easily better than any generic spy-game book, plus it is surprising well written.
2.5 stars. Some parts of this book were really fascinating. I especially liked the recruiment/training section in the early part of the book together with the desciption of how the Mossad is organized. You could tell that these sections were certainly written by someone who knew what they were talking about.
While the "operational" sections were also interesting, I found my enjoyment was hindered by my inability to be certain of the accuracy of the accounts in this section. Even so, it was still...more
While the "operational" sections were also interesting, I found my enjoyment was hindered by my inability to be certain of the accuracy of the accounts in this section. Even so, it was still...more
This book goes step-by-step through the training of a Mossad Officer. The depth of training is stunning. Of course, the very existence of Israel is dependent on the success or failure of the Mossad, which is why they are the best intelligence operation in the world.
And the book is very well written. Great read.
And the book is very well written. Great read.
Interesting closer look at Mosad`s work.This is very first try to export information from that intelligence service.I figure out why Israel had wanted issue on the book.Ostrovski was seemed to insulted from Mosad to his work and for that he expose them.
first part - recruitment & training was great, albeit dated. The final section of the book is a recount of second & third-hand store of mossad operations, interesting but I ended up getting bored & not finishing.
Fantastic book ever read on Mossad and the Israeli intelligence apparatus. No book has mesmerised me so much as this one. Excellent flow of writing and narration on incidents. Must read for everyone
Starts like a Bond movie, loses a bit of momentum towards the end. An interesting insight into the right wing agenda of Mossad. Victor seems quite bitter, perhaps rightly so.
This is the true account of an ex-Mossad (Israeli intelligence) officer. It is an interesting book and gives many insights into the world of secret intelligence.
Oct 19, 2010
Ben
is currently reading it
Still making my way through it. A relatively easy read. Required reading if you're interested in spycraft and the world of international espionage.
In doing this inventory I came across this book. I do not even remember reading it so I am not so sure how memorable this might be.
real world espionage is same like hollywood movies ........
zionism is a threat to the world , read this book for confirmation
zionism is a threat to the world , read this book for confirmation
Very interesting insights into the Israeli Mossad and events they triggered that no one knew about.
Good techniques and general spy knowledge from another perspective outside the CIA.
Interesting practical guide to spying and spy technique.
Poorly written but an excellent source of information
Informative...
May 10, 2012
Nitin
marked it as to-read
This book is somehow testimony to the perception of why MOSSAD is so well respected & dreaded. Its ruthlessness & attention to detail is just admirable & inspirational..
Good Read
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| mossad | 2 | 10 | Apr 22, 2007 10:08am |
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eg
May 24, 2008 10:14am
Nov 23, 2012 10:11pm