Murder - General & Miscellaneous

One Day in September

Name: One Day in September
Author: Simon Reeve
ISBN: 9781611450354

by Simon Reeve

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

At 4:30 A.M. on the morning of September 5, 1972, a band of Palestinian terrorists took eleven Israeli athletes and coaches hostage at the Summer Olympics in Munich. More than 900 million viewers followed the chilling, twenty-hour event on television, as German authorities desperately negotiated with the terrorists. Finally, late in the evening, two helicopters bore the terrorists and their surviving hostages to Munich's little-used Furstenfeldbruck airfield, where events went tragically awry. Within minutes all the Israeli athletes, five of the terrorists, and one German policeman were dead. Why did the rescue mission fail so miserably? And why were the reports compiled by the German authorities concealed from the public for more than two decades? Based on years of exhaustive research and the Academy Award -- winning documentary of the same name, One Day in September is the definitive account of one of the most devastating and politically explosive tragedies of the late twentieth century, one that set the tone for nearly thirty years of renewed conflict in the Middle East.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-A comprehensive and unsettling account of a horrific occurrence that shocked millions in 1972. The Summer Olympics were held in (West) Germany for the first time since 1936, amid hopes for an open, nonmilitaristic competition. Early on the morning of September 5th, eight mem-bers of a PLO faction called Black Septem-ber snuck into the Olympic Village and stormed the men's residence, seizing 11 Is-raeli athletes and coaches. Two were killed immediately, and the remaining nine (along with five of the terrorists) were slain less than 24 hours later in a badly bungled rescue at-tempt at F rstenfeldbruck airport. Reeve's book originated with research conducted for an Oscar-winning documentary, but the vol-ume goes beyond the film to present many disturbing and previously unknown facts. While the film focuses on the massacre itself, the text covers acts of retaliation and cover-up that continued for years afterward. Indeed, one vital source of information is an investigative report, the existence of which was denied by German officials for 20 years, and came to light only through the persistent ac- tions of family members of the murdered ath- letes. Despite the regrettable omission of an index, Reeve's book is an important one since it deals with many issues-terrorism, anti-Semitism and other forms of racism, and Middle East unrest.-Dori DeSpain, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Booknews

On September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany, and held 11 Israeli athletes and coaches hostage. A failed rescue attempt left 17 people dead. Reeve (a journalist and writer who has written investigative feature articles for publications including and ) recounts one of the most politically explosive events of the 20th century. He draws on interviews and previously unavailable German records. His coverage includes the German government's cover-up of the tragedy, and the Israeli revenge mission. The book is not indexed. Expect the fake-sewn binding to endure only for a few readings. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Schiller

Reeve's skillful interweaving of the statements of those directly affected makes for gripping, suspenseful reading: the vivid accounts of Israeli athletes ungarmed by sheer luck, the emotional memories of the relatives of the eleven victims of Palestinian violence and the blatant incompetence, if not gross negligence of the Bavarian police...
—Times Literary Supplement