The Liberty Incident

The Book

The Liberty Incident:
The 1967 Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship

 
by A. Jay Cristol
 
Brassey's Military n/k/a Potomac Books, Washington (DC), 2002
 
ISBN: 157488414X
 
The book is available for purchase from Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon, and other independent bookstores.
 
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Read excerpts of book reviews
(Front Cover)
Front Cover

 
Praise for The Liberty Incident

"After years of research for this book, Judge A. Jay Cristol has reached a similar conclusion to one my father reached in his June 18, 1967, endorsement of the findings of the court of inquiry. I commend Judge Cristol for his thoroughness and fairness, and I commend this work."
- SEN. JOHN McCAIN
 
"The Liberty Incident puts twenty-five years of conspiracy theories and political confusion to rest and marks the culmination of your exhaustive research. With your in-depth analysis of what really occurred on June 8th, 1967, you have shown the light of knowledge into the darkest corners of mistrust and misconceptions. [...] You truly deserve to be commended for your extensive research, analysis and conclusions resulting in the writing of The Liberty Incident. [Full text]"
- SEN. BOB GRAHAM
Chair, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
 
"Only those with an ulterior motive can still cling to the conspiracy theories after Judge Jay Cristol's excellent coverage documents each detail that led to the tragic mistaken attack."
- ADM. LEON A. (BUD) EDNEY, USN (Ret.);
former NATO supreme allied commander, Atlantic;
and commander-in-chief, U.S. Atlantic command
 
"This is a story of mistakes in war as old as history and as current as today's headlines. Jay Cristol is well qualified to write this exhaustive history after analyzing, collecting, and cross-checking decades of interviews and reams of written material."
- ADM. DAVID E. JEREMIAH, USN (Ret.),
former vice chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
 
"A. Jay Cristol, with his background as a chief federal judge, lawyer, naval officer, and carrier pilot, has brought unprecedented credentials to his investigation--and account of--The Liberty Incident."
- NORMAN POLMAR,
naval analyst and author of
The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet
 
"Judge Jay Cristol has completed exhaustive research, an accurate reconstruction of events, and persuasively reasoned analysis of the tragic circumstances which led to the Israeli attack on the Liberty.... A great book, I couldn't put it down!"
- ADM. JERRY JOHNSON, USN (Ret.),
former vice chief of naval operations
 
"The name I want you to remember is Jay Cristol.... He knows more about the Liberty than anybody else in the world.... He's got the most balanced view of anybody I've ever known."
- The late DONALD ENGEN,
former director, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
 

 
Reviews of The Liberty Incident

"This is the definitive book...a meticulous work...this book ends the debate."
- ELIOT A. COHEN,
Foreign Affairs, Nov/Dec 2002
 
"...an exquisitely researched and articulately presented analysis...a must-read for all who have an interest in the Liberty incident."
- Rear ADM. T. A. BROOKS, USN (Ret.)
Former Director of Naval Intelligence
Naval Intelligence Professionals Quarterly, Oct 2002
 
"His research is stunningly complete...."
Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2002; IX(4)
 
"His research is based on every available source."
- DAVID M. WITTY,
Journal of Military History 2003 Jan; 67:299-300
 
"This book is an historical masterpiece."
- LES KINSOLVING,
WorldNetDaily, 3 Sep 2002
 
"Cristol's book thoroughly investigates the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, including all official investigations, and concurs that it was a tragic mistake caused by numerous U.S. and Israeli blunders."
Military Officer, Jul 2003
 
"...an exhaustive analysis...the author knows more about this subject than anyone who has written about it."
- REAR ADM. PAUL TOBIN,
U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 2002 Aug; 128(8):88
 
"[H]e presents a reasonable case for Israel's innocence."
Sea Power, Feb 2003
 
"This account of the incident is by far the best of any retelling."
- CDR. PETER B. MERSKY, USNR (Ret.),
Naval Aviation News, Mar-Apr 2003
 
"Cristol...makes his case that it was not deliberate. His conclusion is the result of 14 years of investigation, done with the perspective of a combat pilot, and with the painstaking care one would expect of a federal judge."
- KEITH TAYLOR,
San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug 2002, p. BOOKS.5
 
"A painstakingly detailed and footnoted account."
- ELINOR J. BRECHER,
Miami Herald, 15 Jul 2002, p. 1B
 
"This is the most thorough study to date of the attack..."
- AMB. RICHARD B. PARKER,
Middle East Journal, Autumn 2002
 
"The book convincingly sets the record straight."
- CDR. DOUG SIEGFRIED, USN (Ret.),
Journal of Carrier Aviation, "The Hook", Fall 2002
 
"His book clears up the multiplying confusion."
- PETER STANFORD,
National Maritime Historical Society, "Sea History", Winter 2002-03
 
"It is by far, the most thorough, even handed and accurate account."
- CAPT. ERNEST E. CASTLE, USN (Ret.),
United States Naval Academy Alumni Association, "Shipmate", Nov 2002
 
"The most comprehensive account likely to be written."
- NORMAN POLMAR,
Navy League of the United States, "SeaPower" Almanac, Jan 2003
 
"...provides a painstaking, comprehensive and what I believe to be definitive view of what happened. This reviewer found The Liberty Incident to be comprehensive and convincing."
- RODERICK S. SPEER,
Military History, August 2003
 
"Jay Cristol...has done the U.S. government a service...." [An] "insightful book."

- JOHN DARRELL SHERWOOD,
Historian, U.S. Naval Historical Center
International Journal of Naval History, December 2003