Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
St. Martin's Press (2011), Edition: 1, 272 pages
Description
"In July 1973, a gunman stepped from behind a tree and fired five shots, point blank, into Josef Alon, a kind, unassuming Israeli Air Force pilot. Sixteen-year-old Fred Burton was deeply shocked by this crime that rocked his sleepy suburban neighborhood of Bethesda, Maryland. As it turned out, Alon wasn't just a pilot and family man--he was a high-ranking Israeli military official with intelligence ties. The assassin was never found and the case was closed. Then, in 2007, now State Department counterterrorism special agent Fred Burton reopened the case and successfully pursued the killer, bringing closure to a traumatized family. From swirling dogfights over Egypt and Hanoi to gun battles on the streets of Beirut, this action-packed history spans the globe and several fraught decades in our history. In its portrait of how power is used, misused, and sold to the most convenient bidder, Chasing shadows spins a gripping tale of agents, double agents, terrorists, and heroes as Burton chases leads around the globe in an effort to solve this decades-old murder"--Provided by publisher.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Ronrose1
Terrorism, murder, revenge, an eye for an eye, so very little separates one from the other. Small nuances that define our lives. Thin lines crossed by individuals and governments. Who is to say what is right? A statement often attributed to Winston Churchill states, history is written by the
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victors. As a young man of sixteen, Fred Burton's life was changed forever by the news of a murder in a quiet suburb of Bethesda, Maryland in 1973. The mystery of the unsolved shooting would haunt him as his life followed a career in law enforcement and security analysis. The victim was Colonel Joe Alon, an Israeli Air Force pilot assigned to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. On an otherwise quiet July night, he was shot, execution style, in front of the home where he lived with his wife and two daughters. The murder would go unsolved by the local police and the FBI. Why was this man murdered in the U.S.? Was it a random shooting or was it tied to the history of this Israeli pilot who had fought in the Israeli-Palestinian wars while protecting his country. Reopening the cold case on the killing, Fred Burton traces Joe Alon's life through the formation and defense of the Israeli state, as Alon plays a leading role in the development of the Israeli Air Force. The trail leads across the years through the Middle East to Europe and the United States. The story of Joe Alon is a story of individuals and governments, mystery and intrigue, spies and terrorists, obfuscation and cover-up on many levels, ultimately leading the author to an inescapable conclusion and a moral conundrum. Book provided for review by the well read folks at Palgrave/Macmillan. Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
This fast-paced, non-fiction account of the long unsolved murder of a former war hero turned Israeli diplomat, Joe Alon, (aka Jospeh Placzek) is filled with intrigue, deception and conspiracy theories. I was reading several other books at the same time, as I am wont to do, but once I started this
Beginning with the murder of Joseph Alon, in 1973, a tale of intrigue which spans decades is born. Tracing back through the history of this unique man and his family, we are taken from the tragedy of the Holocaust to Israel’s war for independence and right up to the present day. We learn what made him successful and what motivated him to do the things he did. His courage was often tested and his piloting skills in the Israeli Air Force were legend. He was a major force in Israel’s defense forces. He loomed large, once discovered, in the Palestinian terror network. Did politics, international relations and clandestine operations prevent the details of his murder from being explored and solved in a timely fashion? Why was his family kept in the dark about the circumstances surrounding his death?
This is a well written book whose pages turn themselves. You will not be bored as you trace the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, through the life of this unusual hero or was he??? There are so many variables that one wonders if the whole story behind his murder can ever truly be resolved? The conjecture surrounding the secrets and ploys of various governments and their enemies create plots that rival those of a modern day spy novel. The subterfuge surrounding the secret deals between different organizations is often unfathomable. In the end, you will turn the final page with more knowledge about the event than you had before but you will still wonder about what to believe regarding the mysterious death of Joseph Alon. It is a true life tale of espionage.
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one, the others languished on the table as this story consumed me and I concentrated on it, to the exclusion of all else. It is a case of the truth being stranger than fiction. Can he have been a double agent? Was there a cover up of his murder or was it truly unsolvable at the time? There are many mysteries dealt with in this short book, as we are taken from Brno, Czechoslovakia to Israel and finally to the United States. All of the intervening wars, including the history of Israel and the Middle East conflict, are outlined and somewhat explored in the process. It is a clear and concise explanation that is easily understood and absorbed.Beginning with the murder of Joseph Alon, in 1973, a tale of intrigue which spans decades is born. Tracing back through the history of this unique man and his family, we are taken from the tragedy of the Holocaust to Israel’s war for independence and right up to the present day. We learn what made him successful and what motivated him to do the things he did. His courage was often tested and his piloting skills in the Israeli Air Force were legend. He was a major force in Israel’s defense forces. He loomed large, once discovered, in the Palestinian terror network. Did politics, international relations and clandestine operations prevent the details of his murder from being explored and solved in a timely fashion? Why was his family kept in the dark about the circumstances surrounding his death?
This is a well written book whose pages turn themselves. You will not be bored as you trace the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, through the life of this unusual hero or was he??? There are so many variables that one wonders if the whole story behind his murder can ever truly be resolved? The conjecture surrounding the secrets and ploys of various governments and their enemies create plots that rival those of a modern day spy novel. The subterfuge surrounding the secret deals between different organizations is often unfathomable. In the end, you will turn the final page with more knowledge about the event than you had before but you will still wonder about what to believe regarding the mysterious death of Joseph Alon. It is a true life tale of espionage.
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LibraryThing member DJ_Cliffe
Good story, well written. I appreciated the background information. I'm also glad Burton got his man in the end. However, as I stand on the ramparts between my own country and one consumed by violence and human (is there any other kind?) depravity I take serious objection to the jingoistic
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clap-trap on page 223. Who will save us from the USA? Show Less
LibraryThing member 5hrdrive
Very compelling account of a forty-year old murder mystery that involves Middle-eastern terrorists, Israeli intelligence, the CIA, U.S. foreign policy and the man who would not give up his quest to find a killer and bring him to justice. I found the back-story to actually be more interesting than
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the main mystery; the birth of the Israeli Air Force and how the U.S. Air Force's struggles against MiG fighters in Vietnam led to the sharing of information between the U.S. military and the Israeli Defense Forces and the strengthening of ties between the two nations. The account of the birth of Middle-eastern terrorism and how it operated in the 1970's was fascinating as well. Altogether a terrific story about the "Shadow War" that still resonates today. Show Less
LibraryThing member gtown
When the author was a teenager a murder happened in his neighborhood that he unknowingly trained his entire life to solve. This book tells the story of how he did that after over 30 years of following the case. While the book is about the murder investigation, about half of it is dedicated to
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explaining the Israel/Palestine conflicts and how they affected the world and ultimately relate to this murder mystery. A great story and great education on the Middle East. Show Less
LibraryThing member qstewart
When Fred Burton was 16 a murder occurred in his quiet community that was never solved. Burton had a difficult time accepting the fact that something like this could occur in his neighborhood in 1973. Nothing like it had occurred before and he had a difficult time accepting that it could happen and
After retiring he made contact with two daughters of the victim who were still looking for answers to their father’s death. Burton uses sources that he made contact with before his retirement, the first police officer on the scene that night, and others to attempt to track down the person of persons that committed the murder in 1973. Of course he started with the victim, the Military Attaché to the Israeli Embassy. This leads Burton to give us a brief history of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians that started at the Olympic Games of 1972. Was the Military Attaché killed as part of this “Shadow War” or was he victim of a robbery gone badly.
Chasing Shadows is an excellent book tracing the conflict that possibly led to the death on a quiet street in the USA. It is also the story of one man’s search for justice for an invasion in his quiet community that as a teenager he did not understand. He needed to bring closure in his own mind to an occurrence that he did not understand. An excellent book and an easy and enjoyable read. It is fast paced and keeps one’s attention. Highly recommended.
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never be solved. It was one of the factors that led Burton into the field of law enforcement and he never forgot that morning when he first heard of the murder. In each stop in his career as he advance through various levels of law enforcement he kept that murder in mind and was always open to any facts or stories that might come his way as a police officer. His final position, before retirement, was with the Diplomatic Security Service in the State Department. As deputy chief of the Counterterrorism Division of the DDS he made contacts and heard things that would enable his private investigation of the 1973 killing to go on once he retired.After retiring he made contact with two daughters of the victim who were still looking for answers to their father’s death. Burton uses sources that he made contact with before his retirement, the first police officer on the scene that night, and others to attempt to track down the person of persons that committed the murder in 1973. Of course he started with the victim, the Military Attaché to the Israeli Embassy. This leads Burton to give us a brief history of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians that started at the Olympic Games of 1972. Was the Military Attaché killed as part of this “Shadow War” or was he victim of a robbery gone badly.
Chasing Shadows is an excellent book tracing the conflict that possibly led to the death on a quiet street in the USA. It is also the story of one man’s search for justice for an invasion in his quiet community that as a teenager he did not understand. He needed to bring closure in his own mind to an occurrence that he did not understand. An excellent book and an easy and enjoyable read. It is fast paced and keeps one’s attention. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member LamSon
Chasing Shadows is a very good book. Burton is driven to find out who killed his neighbor, an Israeli diplomat, in 1973. For more than thirty years he tracks down clues, before finding the name of the assassin. What makes this story most interesting is the detail about some of the big names in
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1970s terrorism, like Black September, PLO and the PFLP and Israel’s response to the growing threat to its security. This book created interest to read more about terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s. Chasing Shadows reads like a fast paced spy thriller and would be a good basis for a quality movie. Show Less
LibraryThing member surly
A fast reading story on the 1973 murder of Joseph Alon, the air force attache at the Israeli embassy in Washington. Alon's own story, from his birth in what then was British-ruled Palestine to his command of Mirage and Phantom squadrons, is told along with how unsatisfactory U. S. Air Force
The author, Fred Burton, lived near Alon and was 16 at the time. He credits the murder as part of the reason he joined law enforcement and then the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. He well weaves the story of the original investigation which was closed with no resolution, the growth of terrorism (Black September in particular) and Israeli anti-terrorism with his own reopening of the case in 2007 and the eventual 2010 climax.
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air-to-air experiences in Vietnam combined with Israel's relative successes in this field combined with its obtaining an Iraqi MiG-21 in 1966 and success against Soviet pilots over Egypt in 1970 led to a closer Air Force relationship with Israel and his subsequent posting to the United States. The author, Fred Burton, lived near Alon and was 16 at the time. He credits the murder as part of the reason he joined law enforcement and then the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. He well weaves the story of the original investigation which was closed with no resolution, the growth of terrorism (Black September in particular) and Israeli anti-terrorism with his own reopening of the case in 2007 and the eventual 2010 climax.
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LibraryThing member spacecommuter
I loved this book and have a lot of praise for it, but first I have to debunk the subtitle. Chasing Shadows is advertised as the story of "a Special Agent's lifelong hunt to bring a Cold War assassin to justice," however, the author/investigator is actually retired from the Diplomatic Security
This book has provides a rich, readable history of Israel's tiny Air Force and the extraordinarily fierce and smart tactics they used to preserve their nation in the face of existential threats from their neighbors after World War II. One of the brightest stars in their air service was Joe Alon, a pilot who invented many of Israel's air war tactics and trained a generation of pilots on how to compensate for their inferior equipment and tiny numbers. Alon then came to the United States as an Air Force liaison (and possible spy) until he was gunned down in his driveway in Bethesda, Md.
Fred Burton was a teenager living a few blocks away when that shooting occurred and never forgot it. After he retired, he spent years trying to solve the long-forgotten cold case. He follows not only Alon but also all of his suspects through the decades of the Cold War - through the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the Munich Olympics and many other events rarely told as vividly as they are here. And it's the only time I've ever read the CIA, Mossad and the Montgomery County Police department mentioned in the same paragraph.
For the Israeli military history alone, I recommend this book. But the true-crime espionage story at the heart of the book is exceptionally interesting and ultimately leaves you feeling like Fred Burton really may have cracked the case in the end.
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Service when he undertakes his investigation and has to rely on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with also-retired investigators. And as for "Cold War" - the main players all come from Israel, the United States and Palestinian territories, though there is a spectacular firefight in Berlin that isn't the least bit "Cold". This book has provides a rich, readable history of Israel's tiny Air Force and the extraordinarily fierce and smart tactics they used to preserve their nation in the face of existential threats from their neighbors after World War II. One of the brightest stars in their air service was Joe Alon, a pilot who invented many of Israel's air war tactics and trained a generation of pilots on how to compensate for their inferior equipment and tiny numbers. Alon then came to the United States as an Air Force liaison (and possible spy) until he was gunned down in his driveway in Bethesda, Md.
Fred Burton was a teenager living a few blocks away when that shooting occurred and never forgot it. After he retired, he spent years trying to solve the long-forgotten cold case. He follows not only Alon but also all of his suspects through the decades of the Cold War - through the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the Munich Olympics and many other events rarely told as vividly as they are here. And it's the only time I've ever read the CIA, Mossad and the Montgomery County Police department mentioned in the same paragraph.
For the Israeli military history alone, I recommend this book. But the true-crime espionage story at the heart of the book is exceptionally interesting and ultimately leaves you feeling like Fred Burton really may have cracked the case in the end.
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LibraryThing member CharlesSvec
I really enjoyed this book. While the actual search that he described was interesting, I found the history to be of more interest. I didn't realize the reasons that the USAF was having such challenges during the Vietnam War. I also enjoyed the historical information about the development of the
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IDF. I recommend this book for anyone that is interested in the IDF or in a book about a conspiracy. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012
Physical description
272 p.; 6.47 inches
ISBN
0230620558 / 9780230620551