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David Llewellyn #1

Ambush At Osirak

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We have a crisis... were the President's words to agent David Llewellyn, on his assignment as special envoy to Jerusalem.

His mission: to plug a security leak at the American Embassy. A standard operation-except for three very important, and shocking, complications... Israeli Forces are prepared to launch a devastating air strike on the Iraqi Nuclear Reactor at Osirak. The Iraqis are fully aware of the oncoming attack. And the Soviets have supplied them with the ultimate superweapon--the perfect means to wage a nuclear war.

362 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

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About the author

Herbert Crowder

8 books3 followers
A World War II veteran ( U.S. Army Air force navigator) and graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Herbert Crowder completed an engineering career spanning thirty years before beginning his writing career. His specialty was the design and development of advanced radars for missiles and military aircraft. At Hughes Aircraft Company, where he was employed for over twenty years, he held responsible positions in the management of radar projects ranging from the famed SR-71 "Blackbird" to the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet.

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for David Lucero.
Author 6 books208 followers
April 2, 2017
Exciting, realistic, suspenseful, and gritty describe this book by Herbert Crowder. I believe this is his 1st novel, but I could be wrong. In any case readers will enjoy this thrilling tale of power-hungry dictators on the verge of disrupting peace in the Middle East.

It's a time when Saddam Hussein is in power and wants nukes in his arsenal. With help from a Soviet egocentric officer, he is about to get them, along with reconstruction of the nuclear reactor that was bombed by Israel in 1980.

With help from an American diplomat and a beautiful reporter, things are about to get hot in the Middle East as the race is on to keep Saddam's Iraq from becoming a nuclear power. This book has vivid descriptions and attention to detail of the politics of its day. The action is good, with a good Israeli jet fighter-bomber scene. The political tension is tight, along with the suspense of its characters getting closer to spoiling Saddam's plans.

Even though you know what happens to Saddam in the future, readers will enjoy this thriller. I liked it so much I read his 2nd book!
Profile Image for Christian D.  D..
Author 1 book38 followers
November 18, 2013
The book is a bit dated (written in 1989, in-between the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988 and Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, i.e. before Saddam Hussein officially became our enemy), the plot is a tad far-fetched (it seems hard-to-believe that the 1980s-era CIA would hatch a plot to undermine a right-wing government in Israel with the intention of setting up a more Palestinian-friendly regime),

There are a few technical and factual glitches here and there:
1. The author incorrectly states that Saddam had been an army general;
2. Mr. Crowder introduces us to the then-newfangled F15E Strike Eagle, two years before its real-world capabilities were impressively demonstrated during the Persian Gulf War. However, he neglects to mention that it's a two-seater bird.

That said, the novel is engrossing and entertaining, with characters that hold your interest, and Crowder demonstrated a fairly good understanding of the cultural mindsets of the Middle East.
911 reviews2 followers
January 6, 2023
A little more plausible than most of these book, unless until the last chapters. Enjoyable enough.
62 reviews4 followers
May 18, 2014
For a military book I don't feel that this book lived up to the thrill that the author intended for the audience. It had its exciting moments but, there was also a lot of dullness to it as well.

There was also a lot of story lines going on at the same time and hard to keep straight what was what.not to give away the ending but, that did not turn out as what I expected. It was kind of a letdown in the way of a kind of left you wondering.

The one thing I didn't like about this book though was that talked about conflicts with other nations around the 1980s and being born in the 1980s it did give me a sense of the conflicts at that time and how they have continued to evolve throughout history.
I also thought this book would have more aviation involvement in it but, it did not.
I'm glad this was a freebie from an auction and not a book that I, had borrowed from the library or, bought for myself.
Profile Image for Artur Łęczycki.
290 reviews
June 6, 2015
Książka z serii zabili go i uciekł. Niestety straciła na czasie i mocno to widać. Pewnie to była sensacja w latach 90, ale teraz wzbudza uśmiech na twarzy. Do przeczytania i zapomnienia.
Profile Image for Malachi Antal.
Author 5 books3 followers
August 19, 2018
—Ambush at Osirak—

Fictive based upon reputed events on why Israelis denied Iraqis nuclear weapons, when Tel-Aviv already earlier cooperated with France, later aced out by de Gaulle, before ran to arms of Red China. Multiple assassination attempts upon de Gaulle’s life funded from Permindex a Switzerland-based international consortium Mossad-Rothschild front laundered money for intelligence agency assassins & Meyer Lansky. Unfortunately, said corporation financed riflemen assassination upon JFK in Dealey Plaza on 22 October 1963 in coup d’état sanctioned by CIA &, Mossad. On p. 13 quote, “The President’s voice hardened. “Leave the CIA to me.” ¶ “The male aide reappeared and David was ushered out of the office, the President’s parting words still echoing in his ears. Words that had a familiar ring. Another president, more than two decades earlier, had said virtually the same thing. John Fitzgerald Kennedy.”
Rogues gallery of villainy amongst heroes. They are in no reference to their affiliations: Roger Tewkesbury-Cream, a UK bloke M-I6 trained; Abernathy a meerschaum pipe smoking Cons Op spook working independently of CIA; Ahmal Zahadi the Iraqi intelligence spook; Daniella Zadik undercover Israeli; Iranian bird, cast of bloody characters. al-Turki Saudi princeling.
Purchased 3 August 2018 with eight other paperbacks for .50¢ apiece at earc thrift Edmond littler location.


Mention of SA-10 on p. 18 advanced Soviet rocketry perchance future mention of Vega-Es. Bunch on AWACS gifted by Yankees to Saudis by p. 45 & likely earlier. On p. 31 writer captures labyrinthine claustrophobia of Arab Quarter in Jerusalem & the quieter Armenian Quarter a breath of fresh air from donkey dung, the zoo of the tourists & pilgrims exploring markets. Mention of the Liberty deliberately attacked by the Israelis on LBJ’s orders to create false flag so Egypt could be blamed & possibly atomic bombed. Sacrificing pawns on the geopolitical chessboard of war. Gulf of Tonkin resolution suckered United States of America into Vietnam conflict the French already washed their hands of Indo-China.
Brastov has a chess gambit in mind & thinks like a grand master seven moves ahead in the main, “This is the kind of trap I propose, gentlemen. We do not settle for a few pawns. We go for the queen!” He looked from one fact to another, but only the defense minister’s showed signs of comprehension.” ¶ “Think, gentlemen. What is the most powerful piece the Israelis possess, the piece without which they have no attack and no defense, without which their position is hopeless?” p. 44 the trap artist being artful dodger. President Saddam Hussein is “a very suspicious man [,]” given token mention on p. 47. Prophetic mention of the writer quoted, “At least, Mr. Llewellyn, you’ll be spared that, now that your embassy is moving to Jerusalem.” p. 35 foretold the fait accompli delivered by the Trump presidency when all the New World Prez hacks promised to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Yet, however, the address on the book of the then fictive American Embassy in Jerusalem is on Rachel Imenu Street listed on p. 61, whereas the American Embassy in Jerusalem in 2018 is 14 David Flusser Street. Writer got within 3.1 clicks, that’s impressive. Clears up difference in-between the Dome of the Rock & the Mosque of Omar. Local colour in the Englishness of British Empire the pub Fink’s Bar with curious name listed on p. 65 best option to get drink before sundown on Saturday in Jerusalem a more religious city than secular Tel Aviv.
Terms like, ‘the lovely Irani?’ on p. 93 alternative to Iranian, Persian or, Farsi.
“Richy continued. “It’s kind of a modern wonder of the world — a high-rise city of more than a million [,]” in context “where there was little more than an overgrown baked-mud village a couple of decades ago.” Tail end read bit awkward, though that’s going in strong first instance on p. 94 practically to century mark. One those sentences readership likely peruse twice.
This insight is accurate for anyone ever visited ‘the kingdom’ say, “A lot of the cabbies are Arabs; it’s one of the few menial jobs Saudis are willing to perform. They hate hard physical labor, consider it demeaning. That kind of work is done by outsiders, mostly from neighboring Islamic countries. There’s been a huge influx. I’ll bet over half the population of Riyadh are foreigners.” p. 95 insight.
By chapter 6, these are longer chapters, certain Company agent termed it, “The real world was the largely invisible one he lived and moved in, a world of determined, dedicated men. Informed men, aware of the ever-increasing threat to the continued existence of any kind of world if the dominoes kept falling one on top of another until the final catastrophe was triggered. Motivated men, believing that they could push back on those dominoes, break the pattern, make them fall in a different direction.” p. 132 the cold war classic the domino theory of the spread of communism reformed inclusive of a nuclear holocaust. Writer has it spot-on why, “A region containing half the oil reserves of the planet, generating a billion dollars of new capital each day for the country whose flag flew over its derrick-dominated landscape. If you made a plot of value per unit area versus defenses per unit area for each spot on the globe, as CIA technicians had done, it hit you right in the eye. The Arabian Gulf region fell so far off the curve it wasn’t even on the chart. A plum so vulnerable, so lightly defended, that it literally cried out to any foreign power sufficiently strong and unscrupulous to come and pluck it.” p. 133 the Near Orient is at crossroads for whomever strong enough to pluck the golden apple.
By Rub’ al-Khali scene technical jargon for the AWACS radar, “The Nafud—the vast empty quarter of Northern Arabia. It more than lived up to its name.” ¶ “The insistent ding-ding-ding of his wrist alarm reminded him that it was time to turn on the TEWS—the tactical electronic warfare set. The TEWS was sensitive to any radar beam striking his aircraft and capable of indicating the direction form which the beam emanated.” p. 197. Writer delves into standard ordnance F-15 Israeli fighter-bomber might hold the advantages & disadvantages of Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles specifically, “The radar homing and warning set aboard the AWACS, the RHAWS, would eventually tell them which it was. Most likely the F-15 Eagle with its heavier complement of air-to-air weapons. Radar-guided Sparrow missiles and infrared, heat-seeking Sidewinders and the lethal M-61 Gatling gun, devastating from close in. What chance would the defenseless AWACS have against all the firepower?”
Intelligently-minded Israelis utilize the tried-and-true wizardry of flying low in mass formation to appear as one the polyglots spoke Arabic softens guard of Jordanians; Arabians or; Iraqis, before it’s a fait accompli. The interceptors (Iraqi piloted MiG’s are certain to intercept if the technological playing field on an equitable setting and, the rivals equally talented.)
Lieutenant Colonel Moshe Eitan goes into rivalry or career-wise evaluation betwixt dogfighters and trucks, “As a dyed-in-the-wool ground strike pilot charged with training other pilots for these missions, he was painfully aware of the difficulty of attracting good candidates into this less glamorous end of the business. His strike aircraft were disparagingly referred to as “trucks”, the air-to-ground missions as “air to mud.” Everyone wanted to be a dogfighter, swooping around the sky and taking potshots at MiGs. The air-to-mud role of dropping bombs on stationary targets seemed dull and lusterless by comparison. Yet he knew it to be the most telling of the air force missions.” p. 231.
Kudos to the writer for making the aerial raid dreadfully realistic on p. 238 read it for yourself on the Osirak raid. The new technology of the Mark 84 glide bomb is riveting with its “television picture materialized, fuzzy and ill [-] defined [,]” like snowstorm flurry imagery on early 1990s surveillance footage from p. 244-246.
Missile terminology on the SA-10 and the ABM, “It was an old Russian trick, the Soviet weapon developers long known as the “copycats” of the trade. Brastov smiled wryly. There would no doubt be more talk of this when the truth about the SA-10’s lineage came out. Let them talk…The incorporation of an ABM approach and an air-to-air technique into the design for a new SAM had been a stroke of genius. And the Soviets had added a secret ingredient of their own that was the final key to success. The warhead. The device that literally pulverized its target, so powerful that the missile did not even have to make contact with its quarry, a near miss sufficient to destroy it. For the warhead was a tactical nuclear device, its lethality equivalent to detonating ten tons of TNT in the target vicinity.” ¶ “The Russians had solved the problem of controlled nuclear explosions, the de-escalation of the explosive force released from a critical mass of fissionable material with a minimum of fallout. The blast from the SA-10 warhead was only a tiny fraction of the force from the earliest, most primitive atomic bomb that had ravaged Hiroshima. Yet it was totally awesome; it would strike terror into the heart of the enemy pilots when word of its vaporizing lethality got around, make them eternally wary of venturing into any airspace controlled by the Soviet Union.” p. 249.
Multikiloton thermonuclear bombs discussed hidden in Dimona by p. 273. Ben Gurion’s legacy of whacking JFK.
“Better stash the hardware,” he whispered into her ear. “Somewhere they’re not likely to look.” p. 273 on petite pocket-edition pistol kept by Daniella could’ve easily been hidden inside her pussy.
When flight of the intruder toward Dimona that Ben Gurion prevaricated it a textile plant earlier foolhardiness recalled, “but only twice when it was for real. On both of those occasions, the intruders had turned out to be commercial aircraft that had strayed from their assigned air lanes through faulty navigation; one a private plane, the other an El Al jetliner on the main run from Cairo to Tel Aviv. He recalled the stricken look on the face of the airliner’s captain at the sight of a fully armed F-15 flying close formation off his port wing tip.” p. 282 unlike Sakhalin Island commercial flight 007 blown to kingdom come held Democrat Party representative Larry McDonald amongst hundreds others.


Technical knowhow on the Grosser 770 armor-plated Mercedes built to Wehrmacht & Nazi specifications with bulletproofed windows p. 322-323 from the Stuttgart factory. Rogue agent utilizes Avtomat Kalashnikov assault rifle when he, “lowered the smoking AK-47 and glared through the fumes at the Englishman.” p. 323. Third book perused with will-o’-the-wisp mentioned in a different fashion on p. 327.
The fictive newspaper article on, “The brainchild of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, the Dimona reactor was purchased from France in 1957, in a secret undertaking by the Ben Gurion government. It has been consistently characterized by that government and all subsequent administrations as nothing more than an atomic physics research tool. However, the stringent security measures surrounding the Dimona installation have led some observes to speculate that the facility plays a key role in an undisclosed nuclear weapons development program.” p. 334.
Ah! finally, the 007 Sakhalin incident mentioned, “The Soviets are taking an unprecedented pasting from the press and news media around the world, almost universally condemned by public opinion and by virtually every government except the Arab countries and their own satellites. It’s the biggest propaganda coup in years, bigger by far than the Korean Airlines incident. It’s going to put them behind the eight ball at the reopening Geneva nuclear arms talks.” p. 342; yet, however, it’s more of a McDonald afterthought.
Scene with Sergei Sergivitch Brastov at Saddam Hussein International airport in Baghdad is well-written taut even with fictive Graz-Burya automatic pistol only exists in writer’s imagination as prototype or in Robert Ludlum’s The Matarese Circle, amongst others. End of the book even President Ronald Reagan describes The Hunt for Red October with, ‘The Perfect Yarn.’ from era presidency apparently gave book reviews.



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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews