ASSAULT ON THE LIBERTY: The True Story of the Israeli Attack on an American Intelligence Ship.

New York:: Random House,, (1979). SIGNED hardcover -. Very near fine in a near fine dustjacket.. 4th printing. An account of an attack that was lied about and covered up by both sides, written by a former ship's officer who was there when it happened "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. . . the assault that followed was initiated by high-performance jet aircraft, 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. 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." SIGNED by the author on the front endpaper. Photographs, maps, author's note and several appendices, index. 299 pp.