ASSAULT ON THE LIBERTY. The True Story Of The Israeli Attack On An American Intelligence Ship. ~SIGNED COPY~

Ennes, James M, Jr.

ISBN 10: 0394505123 / ISBN 13: 9780394505121

Published by NY.c.1979.R.Hse., 1979

About this Item

blue & blue 1/2 cloth hardbound 8vo. dustwrapper in protective plastic. fine cond. nice clean copy. binding tight. covers clean. edges clean. dustwrapper not worn or torn or price clipped. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR, "James M. Ennes, Jr." on the top of the title page. Also SIGNED on the title page "Best Wishes, John Hrankowski, Liberty Survivor".a member of the crew. fifth edition. foreword by Admiral U.S.Navy (Ret.) Thomas H. Moorer. 299p.+author bio. glossy b&w photo. illustrations. b&w maps. appendices. index. world history.politics. foreign policy.diplomacy. american history. us naval history. espionage. history of israel. history of 1967 israeli 6 day war.LBJ orders coverup. robert mcnamara. walt rostow. mcgeorge bundy. clark clifford. napalm. torpedos. submarines. yitzhak rabin. moshe dayan. abba eban. nicholas katzenbach. dean rusk. ~In June 1967, jet aircraft and motor torpedo boats of Israel brutally assaulted an American naval vessel, the USS Liberty, in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea. The attack was preceded by more than six hours of intense low~level surveillance by Israeli photo~reconnaissance aircraft, which buzzed the intelligence ship thirteen times, sometimes flying as low as 200 feet directly overhead. The carefully orchestrated assault that followed was initiated by high~performance jet aircraft, was followed up by slower and more maneuverable jets carrying napalm, and was finally turned over to lethal torpedo boats, which blasted a forty~foot hole in the ship's side. The attack lasted more than two hours ~ killing 34 Americans and wounding 171 others ~and inflicted 821 rocket and machine~gun holes in the ship. And when the Liberty stubbornly remained afloat despite her damage, Israeli forces machine~gunned her life rafts and sent troop~carrying helicopters in to finish the job. At this point, with Sixth Fleet rescue aircraft finally en route, the government of Israel apologized and the attacking forces suddenly withdrew. Only then did the identity of the assailants become known. Details of the attack were hushed up in both countries. Israel claimed that her forces mistook the Liberty for an Egyptian ship, and our government quietly accepted that excuse despite evidence to the contrary. Then our government downplayed the intensity of the surveillance and the severity of the attack, and imposed a news blackout to keep the story under control. The official version is that the Liberty was reconnoitered only three times and then only from great distance. The American people were told that the air attack lasted only five minutes and that it was followed by a single torpedo and an immediate apology and offer of assistance. Now, after more than twelve years of research and dozens of interviews with government executives, military officers and Liberty survivors, a former ship's officer who was there reveals the inside story of the assault on the USS Liberty and of our government's attempt to keep the truth from public knowledge.

Seller Inventory # 508094

Bibliographic Details

• Title: ASSAULT ON THE LIBERTY. The True Story Of The Israeli Attack On An American Intelligence Ship. ~SIGNED COPY~
• Publisher: NY.c.1979.R.Hse.
• Publication Date: 1979
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394505123
• ISBN 13: 9780394505121
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

A surviving officer of the Liberty, after interviewing government and military officials and other Liberty survivors, presents a full, candid account of how Israel knowingly attacked and almost sank an American spy ship in 1967

Review

I've never read a more graphic depiction of war at sea...an insider's book by an honest participant. -- Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh

One of the finest accounts of combat at sea...the most important book you'll read this year. -- The Hartford Courant

The writing is first class. The relationships and conflicts of important shipboard personalities add suspense and human drama. -- Washington Post Book World