Operation Thunderbolt: The Entebbe Raid – The Most Audacious Hostage Rescue Mission in History

Safety advice before reading this stunning book . . .Take a day off work. Then lock the doors, close the curtains, switch off the phone, tell friends and neighbours you’ve gone on holiday, stock up on food and water, sit comfortably, then begin.Because I promise you, you won’t be able to move from that seat until you have read this superb book from beginning to end in one go…It might be hard to imagine how a non-fiction history book could be as exciting and edge-of-the-seat as the likes of The Day of The Jackal or The Hunt for Red October, but this book is all that and more, probably because it is a true story.Saul David’s masterpiece of historical research and brilliant narrative writing fully deserves to become as much a benchmark for outstanding non-fiction history as Stalingrad by Antony Beevor. Indeed, Operation Thunderbolt elevates Saul David’s reputation to the levels of Beevor, Overy, Hastings and their ilk.Superbly researched, often down to the most intricate detail, the book is written in a breathtaking linear narrative with rapid-fire international scene changes as the crisis develops and races to its conclusion.The inevitable climax with the release of the hostages at Entebbe in a lightning commando raid, is then backed up by a superb series of loose-end tie-ups stretching on for many years after the event – something that is often missing in books that get you so involved that you hardly want them to end.Good novelists like to give their characters human flaws, yet the real-life people in this book are all the more compelling and the narrative more gripping precisely because of those all-too-human flaws. The barbaric behaviour of the murderous tyrant Idi Amin, especially in the aftermath of the raid, is particularly shocking.Like the author, I was a youngster (14 years old) in that hot summer of 1976, and still remember the truly electrifying feeling that this incredible rescue raid had upon myself and millions of other people around the world.For once, the good guys actually won.Saul David does full justice to the heroic actions of the Israeli commandos that day, with a masterful account of what really happened.Ironically, my last book revue on Amazon complained about how not to write a history book. Operation Thunderbolt, by complete contrast, is an absolute masterclass in how to write a good history book.Saul David - I’m looking forward to your next book already . . .

The author does not hide the role that this book would play in the movie 'Entebbe', and in some ways the events are presented as if in a novel or film script. The book, and the writing style both hold's one's attention, and there is considerable details given concerning the Israeli government and military decision making processes - in themselves fascinating, and one is left to wonder just how accurate the accounts are. The actual raid and the freeing of the hostages is rather lest detailed than the recounting of the planning and of the hostages period of captivity. It all seems a bit of a rush in the end. Clearly laid out, and captivating and seemingly well informed read- the author sets out the incident, its background, the pen portraits of many of those involved with considerable clarity, just a bot of a rsuh at the end.

Great book but never bought off Amazon

An interesting and very readable account of a very significant moment in time. It puts this mission and thinking behind it in context of the time and geopolitical situation.

An engrossing story of one of the most remarkable raids in history. Reads like a top-class fictional thriller - and it's all true.

Another brilliant narrative history from an author that has written some outstanding histories.I first came across his wonderful history of the Indian Mutiny some years back and since then look forward to his books as they come out.This book is no exception. It's very detailed -the hijacking and political machinations leading upto the planning and rescue of the hostages is very thoroughly covered.However this does not detract from the smooth flow of the narrative.The human aspect remains the main focus regardless of whether they are hostages ,politicians,terrorists or special forces soldiers.Without a doubt one of the best books (if not the best) on the subject of the Entebbe Raid.

A new, measured appraisal of the events surrounding the hijack of Air France Flight 139 and the remarkable IDF operation to free the hostages is long overdue but I'm not sure this is it. The author openly states that he hopes the book reads as a novel rather than a history and it certainly does - the screenwriter tasked with turning it into a movie will have a very easy job. It is obvious that Mr David has done a considerable amount of research - I had the pleasure of listening to him give an eloquent and very enthusiastic account of the book at last year's Chalke Valley History Festival. However, I am concerned when he admits to making up much of the dialogue that is such a central part of the book's appeal. The detailed conversations between all the key participants are such that one has the impression of almost being an eavesdropper as events unfold. Given that such detailed records can't possibly exist; that many of the people involved are long dead and that even for those still alive it suggests a level of recall that is unbelievable after the passage of 4 decades, I really began to question much of what I was reading. This is very readable popular "history" - but take it with a large pinch of salt.

An extraordinary storyWell researched and told

Bellissimo libro di una vicenda appassionante. Lo consiglio sicuramente! Sembra quasi impossibile credere che il Mossad abbia potuto concepire e portare a termine un'impresa del genere.Eppure!!!!

Exciting, moving and very well written. A great story brilliantly researched and told from all the angles. I really enjoyed this book.

This is a very exciting and detailed account of the Entebbe rescue of the passengers on an Air France plane flying from Israel to Paris that was hijacked by Arab and German extremists and flown to Uganda. Based on the records of the time and individual accounts by the hostages themselves, we watch the hesitations and decisions painfully assumed in Israel, France and Germany in regard to the demands of the terrorists to liberate their imprisoned comrades in various jails and then free the hostages. We also experience the day to day trauma of the hostages held in an abandoned building at the Entebbe airport. The final decision taken in Israel, as we know, was to attempt a risky military liberation in a far-away country where planes would have to refuel and the attack take place in an unfriendly territory. After the non-Israelis among the passengers were freed by the terrorists and only Israelis held as hostages, five planes flew out from Israel, one a hospital plane for possible wounded and four filled with soldiers, armaments, and vehicles. The resulting successful liberation is described in detail as well as the aftermath of the operation and its effect on the countries involved.

It was a very detailed coverage on the chronology of the rescue of those passengers of Flight 139 who were held at Entebbe Airport. At the same time it gave a detailed description of the impact on the hostages, their captors and those involved in the rescue.

Excellent book, I read it almost in a weekend. Very well researched, it reads like a thriller. Worth reading for anyone wishing to learn how we got to this stage in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict