Striking Back

The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel's Deadly Response

By: Aaron J. Klein

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

1972. The Munich Olympics. Palestinian members of the Black September group murder 11 Israeli athletes. Nine hundred million people watch the crisis unfold on television, witnessing a tragedy that inaugurates the modern age of terror.

Back in Israel, Prime Minister Golda Meir vows to track down those responsible and, in Menachem Begin's words, "run these criminals and murderers off the face of the earth". A secret Mossad unit is mobilized, a list of targets drawn up. Thus begins the Israeli response, a mission that unfolds not over months but over decades. The Mossad has never spoken about this operation. No one has known the real story. Until now.

In this riveting account, Aaron Klein peels back the layers of myth and misinformation about the "shadow war" against Black September and other terrorist groups.

©2005 Aaron J. Klein (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Non-Fiction, Unabridged, 2007

When oh when…

..will performers pronounce things correctly? I like this performer - have other audiobooks he’s read - but how is it he can pronounce Israeli names/words so well but can’t say “Renault”. It’s not ren-alt it’s ren-oh. His books are full of this stuff and it wrecks my experience. Like nails on a chalkboard. Hey Audible - hire “proof listeners” to catch this stuff. It’s happening more and more. Not sayin’…just sayin’.

Excellent Story!

A suburb treatment of the subject matter. Excellent story telling with surprisingly confidential information revealed.

One of the Best! Absolutely Fantastic!

They don't get much better than this book! WOW! What a book!

I was a little too young to remember the Munich Massacre, so after this book, I also rented a documentary of the event.

There is so much good stuff in here, it's hard to know where to start.

The details of the hostage taking and the unbelievable response of the German Special forces were not only fascinating, but very troubling as well.

The author maintains his neutrality well. He portrayal of the German Special Forces is balanced with the story of the operatives who killed the wrong person (and went to jail for it). Hard to believe that some of this stuff really happened.

The one story that sticks with me is the one that really got the Israelis in trouble in France, when they took out a terrorist (while being very careful not to kill his wife and child) in a rather unorthodox way - something I didn't realize was possible at that time.

Another highlight is the "Chocolate" story - how the Israelis got to one of the terrorists living in Iraq.

VERY GOOD BOOK! I've probably listed to over 100 audiobooks, and this is one of my favorites! Highly recommend!

Somewhat engaging review

For me, the most interesting thing about the book was the first quarter of it, which details the actual events leading up to and including the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics by the Palestinian terror organization Black September. The rest of the book is dedicated to describing various assassination plots by the Mossad (successful and unsuccessful) intended as both revenge and deterrent. (The difference between the actual assassinations and those depicted in Stephen Spielberg's film Munich is astounding.)
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Munich massacre is the severe incompetence of the German authorities during the hostage crisis and leading up to the massacre, and even in the years after the massacre. They refused to admit any wrongdoing whatsoever. The incompetence is described using numerous examples.
Stefan Rudnicki's gravelly, overly serious narration is certainly adequate enough, although sometimes it sounds as though he's got cotton balls in his mouth.
If you particularly enjoy police procedurals, this book has enough detail to keep you interested for a while.

taters4444

a must read for anyone interested in the workings of israeli intelligence. you won't be dissapointed. get it!