Gordon Thomas (1) (1933–2017)
Author of Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad
For other authors named Gordon Thomas, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Gordon Thomas is a bestselling author of forty books published worldwide, including many on the international intelligence community. He lives in London. You can visit him online at www.gordonthomas-author.com.
Works by Gordon Thomas
The Day the Bubble Burst: A Social History of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (1979) 197 copies, 4 reviews
Secret Wars: One Hundred Years of British Intelligence Inside MI5 and MI6 (2008) 155 copies, 3 reviews
The Jesus Conspiracy: An Investigative Reporter's Look at an Extraordinary Life and Death (2000) 130 copies, 1 review
Associated Works
Reader's Digest Condensed Books 1977 v04: The Stone Bull / Enola Gay / Sadie Shapiro on Miami / The Scofield Diagnosis (1977) — Author — 39 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books 1973 v05: All Creatures Great and Small / The Salamander / A Thousand Summers / Shipwreck (1973) — Author — 11 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Thomas, Gordon
- Birthdate
- 1933-02-21
- Date of death
- 2017-03-03
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Cairo High School
Bedford Modern School
Huntingdon Grammar School, Huntingdon, UK - Occupations
- reporter (1951-53, The Hunts Post, Cambridge, England)
investigative reporter (1953-54, The People, London, England
Foreign Correspondent (1954- 59, Daily Express, London, England)
literary editor (1959-62, Today, London, England)
Producer (1963-69, BBC-TV, London
contributing foreign correspondent (1970-75, Sunday Express) (show all 9)
contributing foreign correspondent (1976-84, Toronto Globe and Mail)
contributing foreign correspondent (1984-86, Toronto Sunday Star)
contributing foreign correspondent (1986-90, The Press Association, London) - Organizations
- BBC
Screenwriters Guild, Institute of Journalists - Awards and honors
- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime (shortlist, 1973)
Mark Twain Society Award for Reporting Excellence (2x)
Citizens Commission for Human Rights Lifetime Achievement Award for Investigative Journalism - Agent
- Russell Galen (Scott Meredith Literary Agency)
Ronald B. Leif (Contemporary Artists Ltd.)
Steve Kenis (William Morris Agency) - Relationships
- Thomas, Dylan (cousin)
- Short biography
- Gordon Thomas is a political and investigative journalist and the author of 53 books, published in more than 30 countries and in dozens of languages. The total sales of his works exceed 45 million copies.
He has been a widely syndicated foreign correspondent and was a BBC writer/producer for three flagship BBC programs: Man Alive, Tomorrow’s World and Horizon. He contributes regularly to Facta, the respected monthly Japanese news magazine. Thomas was the lead expert for a 12-part series on international intelligence for Ian Punnett’s Coast to Coast, the most listened-to overnight radio broadcast in North America with 3 million weekly listeners. He has recently appeared on Euronews (available in 10 languages and 300 million households) and Russia Today.
He has received numerous awards for his reporting, including an International Television Award and two Mark Twain Society Awards. Shipwreck won the Edgar Allen Poe Award.
Four of Thomas’ books (Voyage of the Damned, Ruin from the Air, The Day the Bubble Burst, and The Day Their World Ended) have been made into feature films starring such A-listers as Paul Newman, Billy Crystal, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The Day Guernica Died is currently under option.
Thomas’ most recent bestseller is Gideon’s Spies: Mossad’s Secret Warriors. Published in 16 languages and 40 countries Gideon’s Spies is known throughout the world as the leading resource on Israeli intelligence. An updated edition will be published in 2012 by St. Martin’s Press. Gideon’s Spies was made into a major documentary for Channel Four in Britain, which Thomas wrote and narrated, called The Spy Machine. The Observer called The Spy Machine a “clear” picture of Israeli intelligence operations, and The Times called it “impressive,” and ”chilling.”
A member of the London Speaker’s Bureau and Macmillan Speakers, Thomas continues to grow his already-impressive platform, lecturing widely on the secret world of intelligence. He also regularly provides expert analysis on intelligence for US and European television and radio programs. He is currently working on The Pope’s Jews, which will be published by St. Martin’s Press in late 2012.
http://www.gordonthomas-author.com/Bi... - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Wales, UK
- Places of residence
- Ireland
England - Place of death
- Bath, Somerset, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- UK
Members
Discussions
Rehabilitating Pius XII in Catholic Tradition (February 2013)
Reviews
I came across this book purely by chance while researching a different book.
This is a shocking True Story of Hope, Betrayal and Nazi Terror.
German ocean Liner The St. Louis set sail from Hamburg to Cuba on May 13, 1939. The vessel was carrying 937 Jewish refugees seeking asylum from the Nazi death camps. The ship was under the command of a very capable and compassionate Captain called Gustav Schröder and the destination was Cuba where asylum was requested and granted for the passengers . show more However upon the ship's arrival in Cuba, the Cuban government, headed by President Federico Laredo Brú, refused entry to the foreign refugees even though these refugees had previously purchased costly legal visas, they were tuned away as unknown to them (before travelling) laws relating to tourist/refugee visas had recently changed and although numerous negotiations took place the ship was turned away.
I was so impressed by the courage of Captain Gustav Schroder while sailing a German Ship with a Nazi Flag flying high for all to see, how he protested against Germany and tried to treat his passengers with the respect that they deserved and how hard he tried to find homes for his 908 passengers. After they were denied entry into Cuba, Canada and the United States, the ship sailed back towards Europe and the refugees were eventually accepted in various European countries. It is estimated that only 300 of the original 937 passengers survived and these were the group that were settled in Great Britain but the rest which were settled in Belgium and France ended up being sent to concentration camps. There were some exceptions and these as accounted for in the book.
This book was such an eye opener and how let down these people must have felt by the whole world. The most disheartening part for me that this is happening in Europe all over again. Decisions which should be made rapidly at government levels between countries are being dragged out for months on end while refugees suffer as a result. Have we learned anything at all from past experiences? or do our governments just keep making the same selfish mistakes concerning the fates of displaced people who through no fault of their own find themselves displaced and with no country to call home.
This book was written in 1974 and it may as well have been written in 2016 for all that has changed.
The survivors of the St. Louis were eventually scattered throughout the world and when the book was written in 1974 the authors did wonderful research as numerous of the survivors were interviewed to give an accurate account of what happened on the St. Louis. Official archives, crew members and passengers interviews and others directly involved with the voyage of the St Louis accounts appear in this book and give an insightful account of this voyage.
I sourced a hard back copy of this book published in 1974 and loved the maps and the photos that was included which really added to understanding the voyage. show less
This is a shocking True Story of Hope, Betrayal and Nazi Terror.
German ocean Liner The St. Louis set sail from Hamburg to Cuba on May 13, 1939. The vessel was carrying 937 Jewish refugees seeking asylum from the Nazi death camps. The ship was under the command of a very capable and compassionate Captain called Gustav Schröder and the destination was Cuba where asylum was requested and granted for the passengers . show more However upon the ship's arrival in Cuba, the Cuban government, headed by President Federico Laredo Brú, refused entry to the foreign refugees even though these refugees had previously purchased costly legal visas, they were tuned away as unknown to them (before travelling) laws relating to tourist/refugee visas had recently changed and although numerous negotiations took place the ship was turned away.
I was so impressed by the courage of Captain Gustav Schroder while sailing a German Ship with a Nazi Flag flying high for all to see, how he protested against Germany and tried to treat his passengers with the respect that they deserved and how hard he tried to find homes for his 908 passengers. After they were denied entry into Cuba, Canada and the United States, the ship sailed back towards Europe and the refugees were eventually accepted in various European countries. It is estimated that only 300 of the original 937 passengers survived and these were the group that were settled in Great Britain but the rest which were settled in Belgium and France ended up being sent to concentration camps. There were some exceptions and these as accounted for in the book.
This book was such an eye opener and how let down these people must have felt by the whole world. The most disheartening part for me that this is happening in Europe all over again. Decisions which should be made rapidly at government levels between countries are being dragged out for months on end while refugees suffer as a result. Have we learned anything at all from past experiences? or do our governments just keep making the same selfish mistakes concerning the fates of displaced people who through no fault of their own find themselves displaced and with no country to call home.
This book was written in 1974 and it may as well have been written in 2016 for all that has changed.
The survivors of the St. Louis were eventually scattered throughout the world and when the book was written in 1974 the authors did wonderful research as numerous of the survivors were interviewed to give an accurate account of what happened on the St. Louis. Official archives, crew members and passengers interviews and others directly involved with the voyage of the St Louis accounts appear in this book and give an insightful account of this voyage.
I sourced a hard back copy of this book published in 1974 and loved the maps and the photos that was included which really added to understanding the voyage. show less
This is really one of the best WWII books I have ever read. In a very modern style, it tells the story from several points of view, cutting back and forth: Tibbet's crew and the 509th Composite Group, the submarine captain that will sink the Indianapolis after it delivers A-Bomb parts, Japanese soldiers and civilans in and around Hiroshima. This also goes into detail on things I only knew of briefly, such as the American POWs in Hiroshima and the (overblown) insanity developed later by an show more Enola Gay crewman. It really seems from this book Japan was definitely on the ropes at the time of the nuke attacks: A growing dove coalition, inability to mount an effective air defence, and the impending entry of Russia into the Pacific Theatre, along with growing awareness of the futility of the Japanese war effort. Also, in telling the engineering side of the story, nuclear bombs were definitely "in the air" and an unfortunate next step in military technology whether the United States developed them or not or needed them to either defeat Japan or send a message to Red Russia. show less
Rating: 2* of five
The Publisher Says: In a dramatically different tale of espionage and conspiracy in World War II, Shadow Warriors of World War II unveils the history of the courageous women who volunteered to work behind enemy lines. Sent into Nazi-occupied Europe by the United States’ Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE), these women helped establish a web of resistance groups across the continent. Their heroism, initiative, and show more resourcefulness contributed to the Allied breakout of the Normandy beachheads and even infiltrated Nazi Germany at the height of the war, into the very heart of Hitler’s citadel—Berlin.
Young and daring, the female agents accepted that they could be captured, tortured, or killed, but others were always readied to take their place. Women of enormous cunning and strength of will, the Shadow Warriors’ stories have remained largely untold until now.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: When this book came out in 2017, it was groundbreaking. Now it's one of a lot of other historical treatments of the long-buried story of women's heroism in the face of known hazards in WWII. It's a very rich field.
These men are not the ones to plow it. There's a lot less about the women than about the men who ordered them around, and the historical times...the subject of thousands of hours of reading and watching material...get more space than they need. I'm sad to say it was not a success, and was an unfootnoted one at that.
Chicago Review Press asks $26.99 for a hardcover, but used copies are less. I do not recommend it, even for free. show less
The Publisher Says: In a dramatically different tale of espionage and conspiracy in World War II, Shadow Warriors of World War II unveils the history of the courageous women who volunteered to work behind enemy lines. Sent into Nazi-occupied Europe by the United States’ Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE), these women helped establish a web of resistance groups across the continent. Their heroism, initiative, and show more resourcefulness contributed to the Allied breakout of the Normandy beachheads and even infiltrated Nazi Germany at the height of the war, into the very heart of Hitler’s citadel—Berlin.
Young and daring, the female agents accepted that they could be captured, tortured, or killed, but others were always readied to take their place. Women of enormous cunning and strength of will, the Shadow Warriors’ stories have remained largely untold until now.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: When this book came out in 2017, it was groundbreaking. Now it's one of a lot of other historical treatments of the long-buried story of women's heroism in the face of known hazards in WWII. It's a very rich field.
These men are not the ones to plow it. There's a lot less about the women than about the men who ordered them around, and the historical times...the subject of thousands of hours of reading and watching material...get more space than they need. I'm sad to say it was not a success, and was an unfootnoted one at that.
Chicago Review Press asks $26.99 for a hardcover, but used copies are less. I do not recommend it, even for free. show less
Excellent, well-written, sad, disturbing, thought-provoking. This is a book about the tragic journey of 937 Jews trying to escape Germany in 1939. The book is disturbing because I reflect on our country's refusal to act, and as I look about me, I see signs that such a terror as the Nazis posed is not restricted to Germany or to the 1930's and 40's. It is an expression of the darkness human nature is all too capable of - and the intolerance shown lately in this country toward anyone show more (commencement speakers, fast food restaurants and many others) who do not tow the Politically correct line makes me think such times are upon us again. The power exerted by these thought police is truly disturbing. Books like this remind us of history - if only we learn from it and do not allow the same mistakes to be made again. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 36
- Also by
- 6
- Members
- 3,767
- Popularity
- #6,728
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 64
- ISBNs
- 323
- Languages
- 18
- Favorited
- 1
