90 Minutes at Entebbe

by William Stevenson

Book Overview

The incredible story of an Israeli mission that rescued 103 hostages from a hijacked jetliner. On June 27, 1976, Air France Flight 139 was hijacked by terrorists and flown to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. In the following agonizing days, Israeli passengers were singled out and held hostage. A week later on July 4, one hundred Israeli commandos raced 2,500 miles from Israel to Entebbe, landed in the middle of the night, and in a heart-stopping mission...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553104829
• ISBN13: 9780553104820
• Release Date: January 1976
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A great look at just how difficult Israels lot in life really is.

As a story this was better than average and indeed since it is a true story it adds all the more to the story. But there is a eye opener in this story too: The plight of the unfairly villified. The story of this highjacking is reasonalby well related. Some better oganizing of the events as they were told was possible, but considering it was a work of research, the events were related well enough. But the thing that became so clear was just how alone and unfairly villified the Jewish people are. The logic behind some of thier enemies actions and words are just worlds apart from rational thought and it is so strange how twisted some people can allow thier opinions to be when it comes to irrational racisim. I hear the logic of Isreals reasoning for thier actions being used by people all around the world in defence of their similar actions, but when it comes to allowing Israel the freedom to do likewise, it seems the whole world looks for reasons to negate the same actions they themselves would do in the same situation. This was also an intreaging look behind the mind of the nefarious Idi Amin. This is also an alarming book when viewed in todays world, filled with more and more terrorism, and the mindset behind it and the sheer population of the peoples of this mindset. This book, in this light, far and away justifies Israels actions in this case and in similar cases and they serve as examples to the world. This is a must read in understanding the plight of the terrorized and how to deal with it. And a great story to boot.

Short but good read

As America began celebrating 200 years of independence on 4th July 1976, an Israeli rescue team escaped from Uganda with more than 100 hostages that were held by Idi Amin and a group of international terrorists. This book tells the story of the Air France airliner that was hijacked in Athens and ended up in Entebbe, Uganda. Operation Thunderbolt marked a turning point in the free world's response to terrorist blackmail. The rescue of the hostages was a massive victory over the ruthless cunning and blackmail of the terrorists. The narrative, partly based on notes taken by passengers, takes the reader from Athens to Benghazi airport in Libya and from there to Uganda. It also narrates what was happening in Israel during those days and provides information on the Palestinian terrorist group the PFLP plus profiles of its leaders. Stevenson relates how the Israelis debated about negotiations but immediately started preparing for a rescue mission. A particularly chilling moment occurred when Jewish/Israeli hostages were separated from the other passengers who were released soon after, except the brave French pilot who refused. Then it was all systems go and the aircraft from Israel had a smooth flight. The Operation at Entebbe airport was over in 90 minutes with minimum loss of life. The 2nd Appendix contains a record of the UN Security Council Debate on the matter, with an eloquent speech by Chaim Herzog, then Israeli ambassador to the UN. The book concludes with 3 transcripts of telephone conversations between Colonel Baruch Bar-Levi and the dictator Amin. The first Appendix is a personal note in which Stevenson discusses terrorism at length, observing with foresight that it would only be a matter of time before the threat against Israel would confront every democracy on the same scale. He also considers the dismal state of international morality in the form of the United Nations at that time. Since then, things have taken a turn for the worse. The history of the anti-Israel and anti-Western forces at work in the UN is well documented in books like Tower of Babble by Dore Gold, Nations United: How the United Nations Undermines Israel and the West by Alex Grobman and The UN Gang: A Memoir of Incompetence, Corruption, Espionage, Anti-Semitism and Islamic Extremism at the UN Secretariat by Pedro Sanjuan. In 1976, Stevenson warned against the scourge that would lead to atrocities like 9/11, Bali, Madrid and London. Despite the lengthening shadows foreseen here, the book left me with a sense of hope. The last diary entry of one of the hostages reads like this: "The Lord's redemption comes like the twinkling of an eye." When the shooting began, a soldier speaking Hebrew appeared before her. She explained afterwards: "I felt goose pimples. I would not die, but live to tell the deeds of the Lord." As the cult of Israel-hatred continues to spread, God is gathering his people from the four corners of the globe. Other magnificent books of hope and courage

Incredible heroism in history's most memorable rescue.

This is the incredible story of one of the most heroic rescues of modern times, an incident that has become a virtual legend without equal in the archives of anti-terrorist operations.There can be few readers who are not already familiar with the spectacular rescue by Israeli forces at Entebbe Airport, Uganda during July 1976. A rescue that has been committed to both film, documentary and the written page.This captivating book by William Stevenson records in minute detail the hour by hour events throughout the period of this critical event, beginning with the actual in-flight hijacking of Air France Flight 139 en route from Athens to Paris, carrying over 262 passengers and crew.A hijacking endorsed and supported by the then President of the Republic of Uganda, Idi Amin. Possibly the first time that any modern nation and it's leader actually became the protector and spokesman for terrorists and political blackmailers. The writer taking time to document the `behind the scenes' sponsorship and relationship between the hijackers, Uganda, Libya and Palestinian terrorist groups towards this methodically planned and carefully executed act of air piracy by Palestinian terrorists.The book continues at a rapid pace and is difficult to put down. It may appear dated but it's relevancy to our day is unquestionable.From the outset, the book shows in alarming clarity the political climate of the time in that no country other than Israel was prepared to do little other than negotiate with the terrorists. What is meant by this is that no other country was prepared to take on the responsibility of a rescue mission of any description. (One is left to ponder how much the heroic actions of the Israeli armed forces during this incident have had on the change in Worldwide perception of dealing with hijackings and terrorist attacks of this nature which had previously served to bully and hold to ransom democracies across the globe.)The book illustrates that with the sudden early release of some 47 passengers, coinciding with the separation of the Israeli/Jewish hostages from the others, the obvious agenda of the terrorist mission became only too apparent. Israel and Israelis were the target.This excellent book reconstructs the critical events throughout this incident, including the terrorists' demands, ultimatums and deadlines towards the bartering of the innocent passengers for convicted terrorists being held in custody. The individual make-up of the terrorist group is also examined, as are the political and military reactions of those on the Israeli side, together with the military preparations for the rescue mission.This is a rivetting read of how, just hours before the deadline for the execution of the hostages expired, Israeli commandos travelled silently over 2,500 miles from Israel to Entebbe, landed in darkness at the airport, fought with Ugandan troops & the terrorists and rescued some 103 hostages taking them back to the safety of the Jewish state.On this sc

who says new/big=better?

This book was easy to read, yet detailed and captivating. i doubt there is a better account of the hijacking to be found. for a short book its quite detailed and enjoyable. who says that old books cant be good?

Good Book

I read this book in 1981. It was captivating. I knew some of the characters and places mentioned in the book (associated to Kenya). I was very young when it happend and when I read the book. I was in Kenya and not far from the action itself. The book I read had title related to Operation Thunder bolt-The Entebbe Raid. I am currently searching for this book. Kenya helped a lot in the rescue since the Hacules`s refuel in Kenya before the last trip to Entebbe. There was fear for retaliation for the help, but Kenyans helped anyway. Sure as death, retaliation came in form of a bomb in a Nairobi Hotel. What a world we live in!