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- Reality of Salvage Work
- Fascinating and captivating all the way through
- inspirational
- One of the best marine Archology books I've read
- An incredible story of perseverance and daring!
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Goldfinder: The True Story of $100 Million in Lost Russian Gold And One Man's Lifelong Quest to Recover It
Keith Jessop , and
Neil Hanson
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
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Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea
ASIN: 0471441465 |
Amazon.com
As a young boy, Keith Jessop dreamed of leaving the Yorkshire, England, mill town of Keighley behind to sail the seas in search of treasure. Four decades later, he found his chest of gold: 431 gold bars, to be exact, from the HMS Edinburgh, 800 feet down in the Arctic Sea. Jessop tells his rags-to-riches story in Goldfinder.
From his first snorkel dives as a Royal Marine commando and his first scuba dive--when he could very easily have died--Jessop was hooked. He began collecting equipment and spending every nonworking moment either in the water or heading to and from it. He quit his job--much to the consternation of his long-suffering wife, Mildred--and began working as a salvage diver going after nonferrous metal fittings from shipwrecks. Working his first wreck, the SS. Pollux II, "brought back memories of my childhood fantasies to me, but this was the real thing, almost as good as diving on a galleon full of pieces of eight." Later, he and his partners recovered over 200 tons of copper from the Johanna Thorden, earning themselves the nickname "The Copper Kings" in the process. Between wrecks Jessop turned to saturation diving (where divers stay in a pressurized environment for days on end) on offshore oil platforms.
Time not spent in the water was spent doing research, using both alcohol ("the research often involved nothing more than buying the local lobstermen a pint. They'd point out sites where they'd lost lobster pots, a good indicator of something unusual on the sea-bed") and archives. His research revealed plenty of surprises--such as the day he was left alone in a room with what turned out to be the cargo manifest of the Lusitania. Despite the claims of the British government, the document indicated that the Lusitania was indeed carrying a large cargo of armaments. "I was unsure if I was being leaked a story the official wished to see published or being tested on my ability to keep a secret.... I've kept my silence until now."
Having gained decades of experience, Jessop assembled the team to go after the Edinburgh, which was sunk in 1942 while carrying 10 tons of Soviet gold. Miles of red tape later, on September 16, 1981, his dreams came true. "I cradled the bar in my hands, holding it as tenderly as a baby--a very heavy one." Recovering the gold was just the beginning, however, and Jessop recounts his later troubles in (sometimes tedious) detail. Co-written by Neil Hanson (whose book The Custom of the Sea was a 2000 Amazon.com Editor's Choice), Goldfinder makes great reading for divers and dreamers alike. --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
"[An] energetic rags to riches saga. . . . enjoyable."
-Publishers Weekly
Born a penniless Yorkshire lad seemingly destined for the mills, Keith Jessop instead became a salvage diver, becoming the world's most successful treasure finder through unyielding determination, extraordinary physical prowess, and keen intelligence. Now, with Neil Hanson, the critically acclaimed author of The Custom of the Sea, Jessop tells his marvelous rags-to-riches story and the tremendous saga at its center: his lifelong quest for the warship HMS Edinburgh, sunk in the Arctic Sea with ten tons of Russian gold.
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY: "The gold on that wreck is further away than the surface of the moon. It took the American astronauts two and a quarter days to travel back from the moon; it'll take seven days in decompression to bring you back just eight hundred feet from the floor of the ocean."
SHARE THE DANGER: "We won't even be able to go back for the gold if you don't take maximum care as you work. It's stored in the bomb room, the most secure part of the ship. . . . If the gold is still there, it'll be surrounded by unexploded shells, bombs, and ammunition."
DISCOVER THE STAKES: "Like everyone else on the ship, they were working on standard terms of business for treasure divers: `No Cure, No Pay.' They stood to gain tens of thousands of pounds each if we found the gold; if we didn't, they wouldn't get a penny."
Customer Reviews:
Reality of Salvage Work.......2005-12-12
A good read, I was glued to the page turner till 1am last night. This book displays the real world of salvage work, the burocracy you have to work against, the pitfalls, the ways wrecks are found, the research needed and where to find it.
As for the main story of the Edinburg, it is a classic example of a man too focused to worry about the non-research details. His lack of tax planning, failure to background check his partners, and his gruff demeanor set the story up for a sad ending.
Its a real world study of the salvage industry and a great read, but its real life. Don't expect a Dirk Pitt ending with him getting the girl, the gold and the respect of his peers.
Fascinating and captivating all the way through.......2003-12-05
I'm always fascinated with stories of shipwrecks and lost treasure and this book definitely quenches my thirst for both. An amazing story of Keith Jessop's plight in recovering ten tons of Russion gold that went down in the belly of the HMS Edinburg during WWII in the cold Arctic Sea. I especially liked the early part of the book where Keith spends some time giving you the background on how he got started in underwater salvage. I especially enjoyed his insight into some of the legal issues involved in running a salvage operation. Keith takes you through every step of his long journey in planning for and putting together a team of experts to execute and oversee the actual recovery of the gold. The book is full of suspense, as you don't know what will happen next, which inevitably keeps you glued to each turning page. At some times Keith goes into a lot of detail, but this was necessary for the reader to get an appreciation for the levels of frustration he most likely experienced while dealing with the bureaucracy. He also pays tribute to the lost sailors aboard the HMS Edinburg through his heartfelt synopsis of the events that led up to its tragic demise and how his team of professionals handled their uncovered remains. If you like stories of sunken treasure, no matter how big or small, this book has got you covered. You won't be dissapointed. Keith's way of depicting the events was so clear and vivid that at times I swear I could smell salt in the air.
inspirational.......2002-10-08
an amazing book, Keith Jessops passion of diving and particuliarly wreck salvage, leave indelible memories.
the books balance is great, enough early details to establish his character, the book really picks up pace with the various wreck salvages leading up to the edinburgh, the background and research is well documented, as are the details of setting up expeditions for locating and then salvaging the wrecks.
One of the best marine Archology books I've read.......2001-11-12
I wish I found the Gold.
Clive Cussler was right,this was a great Marine Archology book.
It was intresting,how the diver started his carere.I found the History of the Edinburgh very intresteding.One of the best marine Archology books I ever read.
An incredible story of perseverance and daring!.......2001-09-21
Keith Jessop's achievement in successfully salvaging the treasure of the HMS Edinburgh parallels that of Tommy Thompson, who found and salvaged the gold from the 1857 wreck of the SS Central America. Jessop's book GOLDFINDER compares favorably to Gary Kinder's book SHIP OF GOLD; both books tell the full story of how the vessels (Edinburgh and Central America, respectively) came to grief, and both excel in their descriptions of the background and personal details of the men who would ultimately bring their treasures to the surface.
Jessop's accomplishment is particularly remarkable in that his expedition did not utilize ROVs, but instead relied upon surface-supplied divers who descended more than 800 feet to the bottom of the frigid Barents Sea to penetrate the armored bomb room of the sunken Edinburgh, retrieving her cargo of gold bars while enduring the danger and privations of saturation diving.
Fast-moving and charmingly told, the author brings his unique sense of humor and adventurous spirit to life on every page, resulting in a book that is engaging and fascinating. If you enjoy a grand adventure, and especially if you find interest in tales of shipwreck, diving and marine salvage, don't miss GOLDFINDER!
Book Description
This is Walter Hagen's own story of the two decades when he ruled the golfing world as king. Hagen not only won a major tournament every year for twenty years-a record never even approached by any other golfer-but his personality dominated the game during that period. Before he came along, professional golfers held the status of hired hands. The Haig was the man who crashed the front door of the clubhouses, and he brought along with him the entire fraternity of golf professionals.
Customer Reviews:
The Walter Hagen Story.......2007-10-01
There is nothing more enjoyable than the history of the players of Golf and what a player Walter Hagen was!
Book Description
Character without conflict makes Jack Nicholson a dull boy. These two screenwriting essentials are inextricably linked, and in Character & Conflict, Mark Axelrod reveals how to integrate them in a new and refreshing way.
Starting with general principles, Character & Conflict takes you step by step through every aspect of generating compelling characters and gripping conflicts. Alluding to the work of Joseph Campbell and others, Axelrod offers extensive insight into:
- how a character's arc must progress
- how conflict shapes and is shaped by character
- how archetypes facilitate character creation and growth
- how rites of passage and other plot devices help conflict arise.
Unlike in other screenwriting texts, whose authors tend to offer brief examples to support their assertions, Axelrod bores deeply into the scripts of such feature films as Amelie, Good Will Hunting, and Driven, revealing how to craft-and how not to craft-rounded characters as well as the crises that bring them together or set them at odds.
With exercises that sharpen the skills of both beginning and advanced writers, examples that pull back the curtains on the writing process, plus Axelrod's theories and experience-honed advice, reading Character & Conflict is like taking an advanced seminar in screenwriting, without ever having to leave your writing desk.
Customer Reviews:
Recap, regurgitate, review.......2006-06-24
Sorry but I have to agree with the first reviewer (but not quite as harshly). This tiny book is mostly verbatim regurgitation from other classic screenwriting texts and Mr. Axelrod's previous book. Joseph Campbell, Lagos Egri, Aristotle and Paul Lucey are just a few on whose writings he relies.
I give this two stars instead of one because the some of the chapter exercises are useful but there's no new information presented here. Instead of this, I'd recommend Karl Iglesias's Writing for Emotional Impact (or the classics mentioned above).
Haste makes waste so Read the Book.......2005-12-23
Had to comment on Mr. Armbruster's twisting of the text. One would think the book is a series of bromides and cliches. Actually, Mr. Armbruster is disingenuous. That particular "cliche" came on the second page of the introduction. Took up about a half of a page and was meant as a kind of "starter" for the person reading. After all, I didn't write the book for Buck Henry or Ernest Lehman. Perhaps, a page was all Mr. Armbruster could read without passing judgment. The fact that he avoids discussing any of the other 125 pages, especially in relation to the notions of character and conflict in GOOD WILL HUNTING,AMELIE and DRIVEN attests to his own superficiality in approaching a text. Having forgotten more about screenwriting that Mr. Armbruster knows, all I can say is if one is going to criticize a text, then at least read it.
Disappointment.......2004-09-16
I was looking forward to reading this book. Huge disappointment. For example, definition of premise: a story-line that is based upon an argument (Dramatica states the same argument). Okay, so a story is really just the proving or disproving of some homily, platitude, or proverb, such as "haste makes waste." This is such an unsophisticated reason for writing a story that it's almost silly. Find the right proverb and you have the correct foundation for a blockbuster! Nuts. The book is mis-titled. It's more of a how-to screenwriting book, than, as the title implies, an examination or analysis of character and conflict. Caveat emptor.
Average customer rating:
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Rhapsodie, Op. 43 (Belwin Edition)
Manufacturer: Alfred Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0769214967 |
Customer Reviews:
Short and sweet........2007-03-28
The book is very brief. The fist example basic, but the other examples are moderate to very good especially the queen examples (first 80 pages). I only paid $2 plus $3.49 S&H. If you dislike notation and like explanation, this is the book for you. It uses paragraph style of writing explaining every little move, thus very few examples, but covers the title "queens and rooks" well. I'm uscf 1600 and think this is a good book for anyone 1700 or below. Its very reader friendly so even beginners should be able to follow along. I however would not pay more than $7 for this book total only because of its size not because of its content. Its 138 pages and can be read through very quickly. Based on the price I paid I would have given it 5 stars, the games on queens and pawns,, and,,, two rooks vs queen with pawns on the board was worth the $5.50 total I paid. which are covered in pages 80-138, other than the rooks and pawns pages, the other 80 pages are probably something you would find in a more complete endgame chess book. Such as, another endgame book I bought "improve your endgame play" Glenn Flear is more bang for the buck which has just as many or more queens and pawns endings and rooks and pawns endings, but with much less text explaining and doesn't have two rooks & pawns vs queen & pawns section. Rooks and Queens are common to be the last pieces on the board, so this book should quickly cover and improve your game. I'm sure there are better books out there, but not at this price. I'm guessing a good read for 1200-1600 USCF, and even lower rated due to its easy read.
Like Alburt stuff; good, but you know there's better........2002-03-13
Cardoza is the "McDonalds" of chess publishing. And like McDonald's there is something appealing about it, even when you know there is much better food out there. This book is like a Lev Alburt book in that it is a "page turner"; that is, you will go through one example and realize you ave finished 10 pages. This is a good feeling if you are sometimes frustrated by spending a week on one page of Dvoretsky. And Robertie is concerned about giving you useful practical advice. This is a good book, because the topic fits the bill: for endings, most of us want to remember a few vivid examples to get the idea. This book accomplishes its goal pretty nicely.
Very Good Book!!!.......1999-08-08
This Book has helped me get better at chess in so many ways! I cant beleive it. BUY THIS BOOK!!! its worth it.
Book Description
Today's workforce is experiencing job burnout in epidemic proportions. Workers at all levels, both white- and blue-collar, feel stressed out, insecure, misunderstood, undervalued, and alienated at their workplace. This original and important book debunks the common myth that when workers suffer job burnout they are solely responsible for their fatigue, anger, and don't give a damn attitude. The book clearly shows where the accountability often belongs. . . .squarely on the shoulders of the organization.
Customer Reviews:
A useful framework to address burnout........2006-11-06
"The Truth about Burnout" was written a decade ago, but its analysis and recommendations may be more valid today than they were when the book was published. The first couple of chapters are a bit tedious, but the book takes off once the authors start digging into causes of burnout and laying out ways to overcome burnout.
The authors describe the causes of burnout in terms of six mismatches between people and their jobs: "work overload, lack of control, insufficient reward, breakdown in community, absence of fairness, and conflicting values." These six mismatches provide a framework for developing interventions to address burnout and build employee engagement.
For me, the most encouraging feature of the book is the authors' suggestion that the intervention can be bottom up as well as top down. The authors provide roadmaps for both kinds of intervention.
One of the Best Books on a Pervasive Problem.......2006-02-21
Christina Maslach is well-known in psychology as the person who has championed the problem of burnout over more than two decades. For quite a time she was something of a lone voice.
Burnout is a prolonged response to chronic physical, emotional and interpersonal stressors at work, leading to exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy. In a memorable term the authors describe it as erosion of the soul.
Burnout has to be seen in the larger organizational context of people's relationship with their work: it's usually the job and the organization rather than the individual, although there are clearly differences in individuals' resilience to burnout.
There are many symptoms of burnout, including trouble sleeping, constantly worrying, feeling unappreciated or "used" at work and feeling less effective or competent. Many people find that they easily becoming angry or irritated and altogether too many start drinking or abusing other substances.
Burnout is immensly costly, not just for individuals, but also for organizations. I agree with another reviewer who lamented the paucity of data on just how costly burnout is to a company's bottom line. But judging by the number of corporations now asking epxerts to go in and help them deal with the burnout problem, I think that the message is getting through.
This is an excellent overview of the problem nearly ten years ago. If anything, the situation is becoming worse, and Maslach, and now an expanding band of other psychologists has continued to do empirical research on the problem, and have been coming up with ever more sophisticated solutions.
But even with the passage of time, this book remains highly recommended.
VERY VALIDATING.......2005-10-04
tretise on what most of us already know about bureauracracies. I've not finished reading the "what to do about it." yet, but already know my first questions when contemplating a new job will be "How many people were fired or quit in the past 6-9 months?"
A Good Read!.......2004-03-02
Christina Maslach and Michael P. Leiter's groundbreaking book debunks myths about burnout and holds organizations accountable for this epidemic, which has swept the work world. The authors detail how organizations can treat and prevent burnout, and take a critical look at its deep-rooted causes, including lack of engagement and conflict between employees' values and their jobs. Conversationally and with great impact, the authors support their points and suggestions. We recommend this book to executives, managers and employees. Now go home and get some rest.
A REAL CURE FOR A MODERN DAY PYCHOLOGICAL EPEDEMIC.......2003-06-02
In the Truth About Burnout Drs. Maslach and Leiter propose the first real cure for burnout and the key to releasing peak potential in the workforce.
Much of the past advice on the topic of burnout focuses on how to help people cope with burnout. These techniques are useful and come in handy, but unfortunately they do not position or fortify people to reach higher levels of performance. Simply treating the symptoms of burnout is like giving someone a medicine that provides temporary relief from external signs that they have a cold. After the medication wears off, they still have a virus raging through their body that's slowing them down. Likewise the "virus" that causes burnout is disengagement with work and no matter what temporary relief solution we provide to ease the pain, in the form of workshops on how to cope and "employee assistance programs" at the end of the day the "virus of disengagement" is still alive and well and impairing performance.
This book is for anyone manager or individual contributor who has decided to stop coping and "sugar-coating" and instead seek a real and practical solution to burnout. I highly recommend it.
Joe Santana,
Co-author Manage IT
Book Description
Winner of the 2006 Zia Award from the New Mexico Press Women With a strong, distinctive voice, Roberta Price recalls the years she spent in the Huerfano ("Orphan") Valley when it was a petrie dish of countercultural experiments. Documenting her story with photos as well as words, and placing it in the larger context of the times, she describes her participation in the antiwar movement, the advent of the women's movement, and her encounters with such icons as Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, Abbie Hoffman, Stewart Brand, Allen Ginsburg, and Baba Ram Dass.
Customer Reviews:
Rare Gem.......2007-10-10
This book is a rare gem. For those of us who experienced the hippie generation firsthand it is both nostalgic and cathartic. For younger folks who wonder what the heck we were thinking back then, the answer is in this book. One of the things I loved most is that it has no particular agenda; it is simply an honest and objective chronicle of what life was like for the author in an early seventies commune. The writing is captivating; it reads like a novel.
A Different Perspective.......2007-08-03
I was born in the town of Walsenburg in Huerfano County, Colorado. So when I heard Ms. Price being interviewed on Colorado Public Radio, I knew I had to read her book. And I'm so glad I did. I was too young to fully understand what was happening in the counterculture but reading about Libre has helped fill that gap. But moreover, I loved reading about my birthplace from such a different and interesting perspective. I knew the Huerfano only through the eyes of a child. Now when I return and drive those quiet roads as I recently did, I have a much broader understanding and a much deeper appreciation of why so many of us love it.
Wonderful.......2007-07-16
I have a good friend who was immersed in the counterculture in the 1970s. I've been reading a variety of books about the movement as a way of understanding him better (I have also read "Sleeping Where I Fall" by Peter Coyote and "Wild Child").
Rather than presenting a rose-colored, nostalgic view of that time, this book provides a clear-eyed view of Ms. Price's reasons for joining Libre and an excellent description of the many personal and practical issues of communal living.
In contrast to "Sleeping Where I Fall," I thought this book did an excellent job of presenting a woman's viewpoint of the counterculture movement.
The ending is inevitable but oh, so bittersweet.
Bravo!
In a child's eyes.......2006-11-17
I saw this book one afternoon while visiting my mom in Denver. I picked it up and read straight through it. I lived in Libre, in a dome as a child with my sister, mom and dad. The book was such a different perspective of life at Libre than I remembered. I remembered the hardships of Libre. I remembered the Nature, the other children, things that children pay attention to. Now I am a mom and realize that my perspective on life is vastly different than that of my childen. Roberta has given me a different experience of Libre, not better or worse, just different from when I was a child. As a child it was home. It held no political, cultural, or social significance to me. After reading the book, I can now appreciate Libre more.
Great Book about the Back-to-the-land movement.......2006-06-26
This is one of the best books I've read about the back to the land movement of the late 60's and early 70's. It is both insightful and enjoyable. Well worth reading. Her experiences and writing style really bring the period to life.
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Hastings to Culloden Battles of Britain
Peter Young , and
John Adair
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing+ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0905778243 |
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All the major campaigns and battles to have taken place on British soil since the Norman Conquest, written by two of Britain's foremost military historians.
Customer Reviews:
Critical Reading for those who care about the US in 2004.......2004-05-31
For a thinking person, the revelations in this book should spawn probing questions about the Mossad's part in geopolitics from pre-9-11 to 2004. Ostrovsky outlines how the Mossad, unlike any other secret intelligence service in the world, uses the vast Diaspora as "assets" to do their bidding. It is organized so that the Diaspora (over 50,000 strong) become temporary Mossad agents on an as-needed basis.
This structure accomplishes two things:
(1) By playing on the 'help the homeland' aspect of requesting help for Israel from the Diaspora through whatever the 'asset's' position or job skill can produce, it naturally compartmentalizes the significance of a job, and reduces costs. The Mossad has only 1200 agents worldwide, but calls on the considerable PR skills of the B'nai B'rith, JDL, and ADL to advance its aims on an as-needed basis. Ostrovsky shows in event after event how this is by design.
(2) The Mossad can get away with meddling in the politics of foreign countries by labeling as "anti-semitic" any objection to its methods; or similarly, by labeling as "anti-semitic" any objections if its gets caught. Again, Ostrovsky shows in example after example how this is by design.
The recent 2004 scandal in New Zealand is a case in point. This involved Mossad agents caught stealing New Zealand passports from paraplegics. Or the more disturbing US-based AP reports from Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida in the last five weeks in which Israeli agents were caught near nuclear sub and fuel stations, or trying to enter federal installations. The only reporter willing to follow up these stories is Daniel Hopsicker, a respected journalist, of online MadCowProd News. When you realize that these agents caused an entire Navy Sub station with nuclear missles to close down (May 20, 2004) because sniffing dogs discovered bomb material in their moving trucks, it makes Ostrovsky's detailed warning about what the Mossad is doing in the US all the more alarming.
I think the information I found the most distressing was how the Mossad uses US national print and broadcast media and reporters as assets. This a propaganda machine that at this time can only lead to more US sons and daughters coming home from Iraq in body bags. I say this because Ostrovsky is adamant in this book, published in 1993 or 1994, that it has been the Mossad's express policy for years to get the US into war with Iraq.
EXCELLENT BOOK.......2004-05-28
This is an excellent book, probably one of the best ones I have ever read. In my opinion it says the real story about israeli intelligence, how they think, how they act, and how dirty they play with everybody, even with people who have helped them. You MUST read this book.
Would Anyone Care to Hunt Dragons?.......2004-04-24
Without becoming one, that is.
Alongside the author's previous "By Way of Deception." This book, also a best seller, contains a depressing and chilling expose of The Mossad, Israel's intelligence service.
Unlike any other 'true espionage account' you might have hitherto read it is, as the saying goes, impossible to put down. Absolutely riveting. Though by the end the question is not 'Who are the good guys?' It's more like ' Who in The Middle East is NOT completely insane ? '
Ostrovsky was a former colonel in the Israeli armed forces before he joined Mossad. No one contends that he was a field officer, well connected and in the know. He was fired after a fracas in Cyprus, in which he contends he was forced to take the fall for his incompetent superiors. This would never have happenned in the Israeli Defense Forces, not without a proper hearing. However The Mossad, as he never tires of telling us, is a law unto itself.
According to the author it has become a 'rival state' comprised of good ole boys answerable only to the Prime Minister--at least in theory. In fact, it answers to no one.
Dissatisfied intelligence officers who have been, rightly or wrongly, given the boot writing scathing memoirs is not news.
However if, say, a CIA operative turned 'liberal' upon termination of employment alleged ONE TENTH of what Ostrovsky alleges, the scandal that would follow dwarf Watergate and Iran/Contra combined.
Among a few:
* The Mossad regards anyone in Israel who believes in peace with the Palestinians, or withdrawal from the occupied territories as little better than a traitor. It has sold arms and provided information to fundamentalist extremist Muslim groups via third parties in order to undermine the stability of Arab States and the credibility of their leaders with The West. Anything to keep the conflict burning.
* The Mossad planned to assasinate president George Bush Sr at the Madrid peace talks in 1991, due to his policy of pressuring Israel to the negotiaing table by freezing their loan guarantees.
A special Kidon (bayonet, i.e; hit men) unit took three Palestinian extremists from Beirut and set them up. The Mossad was to kill the 'perpretators' in the ensuing confusion after they had shot the president. Due to inside info Ostrovsky obtained, he was able to blow the whistle and the plan was cancelled--as were the three Palestinians, at the Nes Ziyyona facitlity, an ABC (atomic, bacteriological, chemical) warfare lab where the author contends top epidemiogical scientists routinely use enemies as human guinea pigs.
* The Mossad, did indeed murder their billionare operative Robert Maxwell, let Jonathan Pollard hang out to dry, and (ready?) assasinated Israeli general Yekutiel Adam a.k.a. "Kuti" because he had been appointed its head and they didn't want an 'outsider' taking over.
Now if all this---and much more---sound like the ravings of a lunatic, he's an extremely meticulous and detailed one.
Still, one wonders if the Mossad is a loose cannon, why Ostrovsky chose to trust anyone in it, after fleeing Israel.
He tells us that after getting sacked he got news that he was about to be made a liason to South Lebanon (as good as a death sentence) and a certain Ephraim---a higher ranking officer saved him by helping him escape to the U.S.
Whereupon Ephraim called in the favor qnd talked him into 'reforming' the organization by doing everything possible to undermmine it, thus bringing 'liberals' like Ephraim to power.
If we're not through the looking glass yet, here we go: The undermining consisted in Victor volunteering his services as an ex-Mossad agent to The British, The KGB, The Jordanians (!) and The Egyptians, among others.
The KGB didn't bite because they had a mole inside--however their refusal confirmed Ephraim's suspicions--he uncovered the mole and became a hero. The Brits were more accomodating, but cheap. The Jordanians--well, you've got to read that chapter, suffice it to say that according to Victor he had to fly to Jordan, whereupon things got very James Bondian and even more surreal. The Egyptians threw him in a cell.
In the end, Ephraim does take over but then he tries to assasinate Victor, to tie up loose ends.
Compelling, well documented, and absolutely nuts.
Background to Dangers.......2003-09-22
This book is a factual account of events as they occurred before the publication of his first book (Chapter 28). The Prologue gives his family history, and why he joined the Mossad. Chapter 1 tells how a NATO sleeper cell was used to create atrocities that could be blamed on Communists, and destabilize the left leaning Belgian government (pp,4-5). Chapter 2 tells how they worked with an American company that had desired technology (p.10). Chapter 4 explains how the Jordanian peace initiative was stopped. In Chapter 6 Victor was kicked out of the Mossad, and immediately recruited into a secret organization. Chapter 8 tells how a new head of the Mossad was stopped from taking office. Chapter 9 tells of his secret mission to the KGB to offer himself as a spy (Chapter 13). This would expose a suspected mole.
Chapter 15 explains how Libya was blamed for a discotheque bombing in 1986. The US retaliation kept Libya "out of the picture". Victor then learns how turmoil was created between Kuwait and Iraq. Chapter 17 describes the safe house system in London. Victor traveled to Jordan to advise them on detecting moles. Chapter 21 tells of "humanitarian assistance" to blacks in Soweto, using a Baltimore hospital for cover. Were they testing medications and diseases? Victor explains the Pollard affair, why Pollard knew too much. Pollard's information was traded to the Soviets to release Jews; Pollard was used and then flushed! Chapter 22 tells of his visit to Egypt, and their interest in Robert Maxwell. Maxwell bought media to influence public opinion, and to provide a cover for assets in other countries; page 204 tells how this worked.
Chapter 23 tells how background information was obtained from strangers (p.208). The Vanunu affair is explained (p.209). In Chapter 25 Victor decides to write his book on the Mossad. Operation Hannibal sold military supplies to Iran. Page 228 tells how Kurt Waldheim was branded as a Nazi! Page 231 explains how a politician was smeared and defeated. When this politician tried to clear himself, he was lured to Geneva and given a heart attack (pp.234-5). In Chapter 26 Victor travels to Paris to tell the French secret service about the Mossad's links with fascist elements (p.242). They later asked Victor to investigate the leading advocate of privatization in the US (p.244). This member of the Libertarian Party sought to destabilize a French South Pacific island.
Chapter 27 tells about the propaganda campaign against Saddam Hussein (p.247). Iraq targeted Iranian cities using information from American satellites. Pages 250-1 tell how a reporter (who knew too much) was lured into a fatal mission. Then there is the planted story of Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction". Page 259 tells of the safest sanctuary around - an airport! Chapter 30 tells of President George Bush's visit to the Madrid peace talks, and the failed assassination attempt. Chapter 31 explains Robert Maxwell's partnership with the Mossad, and why he had to be silenced. It was not that he knew too much, but that he began to talk too much under pressure of bankruptcy. Chapter 31 ends the book with his tour of Europe to promote his first novel. A problem occurred in Belgium; Victor knew of the corruption of the Belgian police force. Victor then realized that his connection in the Mossad was no longer reliable (p.290).
A REALITY CHECK FOR "TRUE BELIEVERS".......2003-08-28
Ostrovsky is not just another short term intel employee who was bounced, bitter, and then became a book author. For anybody who has served in intelligence, it rings true. It's a dirty business, whether HQ is in Virginia or Tel Aviv. It has to be. The few detractors in the amazon reviews of Ostrovsky's book just plain don't know. Having written an espionage expose myself, and having been eviscerated by some readers who barely can read, I'm not surprised by the negative reviews, but by how few there are. Read The Other Side of Deception, not just for an inside view of the Mossad, but for a parallel to what's going on now in America and it's intelligence services.
Book Description
To the doomsayers who maintain that natural resources are being depleted and the environment is getting worse, Terry Anderson and his fellow contributors offer a bold retort: it's getting better all the time. They present a powerful argument that, through such established institutions as property rights, the rules of law, and limited government, economic growth and environmental quality will both flourish. You Have to Admit It's Getting Better shows how, by focusing our energies on developing and protecting the institutions of freedom, rather than on regulating human use of natural resources through political processes, we can in fact have our environmental cake and eat it, too. The book offers a number of often-surprising revelations that debunk many commonly held beliefs about the future of our environment. It shows, for example, how liberalization of international trade is more likely to improve environmental quality than reduce it. It also explains how the prosperity and improved human well-being that we enjoy today are not leaving future generations worse off, but leaving them with more capital and larger stocks of natural resources. Throughout the book, the authors repeatedly show that economic growth is not the antithesis of environmental quality: rather, the two go hand in hand if the incentives are right.
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