Vengeance  (English, Paperback, Jonas George)

A real-life incident about how a few Israeli men desire revenge for the slaughter of their fellow countrymen, but realize that the journey they are embarking on is not as simple as it may seem.

Summary Of The Book

Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team is a factual account of five Israelis who were chosen to be a part of the espionage team sent into "the cold" world of secrecy and intelligence gathering. The basis of the story lies in extreme secrecy and confidentiality. Their instructions were clear: to pursue and execute the PLO terrorists accountable for the carnage of eleven Israeli sports persons at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972.

Jonas locates Avner from a collection of nighttime discussions with his wife about a ruthless shootout, which took place on a Dutch boat. In what was to be a contemplative gaze at Avner becomes a captivating account about the methodologies involved in espionage and the people who use it. Throughout the account, Avner's "sixth sense" proves to be an indispensable tool in tracking and assassinating terrorists. He was the head of the group designated by Golda Meir to avenge the outrageous misdeed carried out in Munich. He and his youthful cohorts, disconnected from any kind of immediate communication with Israel, began to locate and obliterate the key figures of the PLO's Munich operation.

The headman of the team was the first man to emerge out of hiding and secrecy. He conveyed the history and account of the heroic undertaking that was silenced. It remained to be conjectured for a great number of years. He tells of how the victory of this the hazardous and very lengthy operation was acquired at a dreadful expense. Many of the idealistic agents were killed in the process.

The account of Avner as presented in the book has been under fire for countless years. It was presumed that it was not Jonas who cooked it up, but Avner. Avner was revealed to be Juval Aviv five years after the book was published. He is the founder of a commercial intelligence agency based in New York. Aviv wrote two books on individual safety, and lists himself as an erstwhile Israeli counterterrorism official on the covers of the books.

Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team was published in 1984 and was later adapted into films. Sword of Gideon made in 1986 was adapted to be a TV film. It was later on adapted into the feature film Munich (2005), directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright Tony Kushner.

About George Jonas

George Jonas, born in Budapest, Hungary (1935), emigrated to Canada after the 1956 uprising in Hungary.

Some of the books he’s written are The Scales of Justice: Volume II, A Passion Observed: A True Story of a Motorcycle Racer, The East Wind Blows West, The Happy Hungry Man, Reflections on Islam: Ideas, Opinions, Arguments, and Greenspan: The Case for the Defense.

Apart from fifteen publications and books, out of which three became international and national bestsellers, Jonas has contributed to The Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Telegraph, Wall Street Journal as well as other periodicals. He scooped the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime in 1978.