Katz, Samuel M. 1963–

PERSONAL: Born 1963.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Lerner Publication, 241 1st Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55401.

CAREER: Writer. Editor-in-chief of Special Operations Report. Also creator of two television episodes of Investigative Reports, A&E, and three-part television series on counterterrorism for Learning Channel. Military service: Former member of Israeli Defense Force.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

(With Lee Russell) Israeli Defence Forces, 1948 to the Present, Arms and Armour Press (London, England), 1985.

Israeli Defense Forces since 1973, Osprey (London, England), 1986.

Modern Israeli Tanks and Combat Vehicles, Sterling (New York, NY), 1987.

Israeli Elite Units, Sterling (New York, NY), 1987.

Israeli Tank Battles: Yom Kippur to Lebanon, Arms and Armour Press (London, England), 1987.

Follow Me!: A History of Israel's Military Elite, Arms and Armour (London, England), 1989.

Israel's Army, Presidio Press (Novato, CA), 1990.

Guards without Frontiers: Israel's War against Terrorism, Arms and Armour Press (London, England), 1990.

Israel's Air Force: 1948 to Today, Motorbooks International (Osceola, WI), 1991.

Soldier Spies: Israeli Military Intelligence, Presidio Press (Novato, CA), 1992.

The Elite: The True Story of Israel's Secret Counterterrorist Unit, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Israel versus Jibril: The Thirty-Year War against a Master Terrorist, Paragon House (New York, NY), 1993.

Israeli Special Forces, Motorbooks International (Osceola, WI), 1993.

NYPD: On the Streets with the New York City Police Department's Emergency Service Unit, Motorbooks International (Osceola, WI), 1995.

Anytime, Anywhere!: On Patrol with the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1997.

LAPD: Patrol, SWAT, Air Support, K-9, CRASH, and Homicide, Motorbooks International (Osceola, WI), 1997.

The Hunt for the Engineer: How Israeli Agents Tracked the Hamas Master Bomber, Fromm International (New York, NY), 1999.

Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the Manhunt for the al-Qaeda Terrorists, Forge/Tom Doherty Associates (New York, NY), 2002.

Jihad: Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism, Lerner Publications (Minneapolis, MN), 2003.

Jerusalem or Death: Palestinian Terrorism, Lerner Publications (New York, NY), 2004.

Raging Within: Ideological Terrorism, Lerner Publications (New York, NY), 2004.

At Any Cost: National Liberation Terrorism, Lerner Publications (New York, NY), 2004.

Jihad in Brooklyn: The NYPD Raid That Stopped America's First Suicide Bombers, New American Library (New York, NY), 2005.

Global Counterstrike: International Counterterrorism, Lerner Publications (New York, NY), 2005.

Targeting Terror: Counterterrorist Raids, Lerner Publications (New York, NY), 2005.

U.S. Counterstrike: American Counterterrorism, Lerner Publications (New York, NY), 2005.

Against All Odds: Counterterrorist Hostage Rescues, Lerner Publications (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Esquire, Washington Times, and Jane's Intelligence Review.

SIDELIGHTS: Samuel M. Katz specializes in writing books and articles about international terrorism, law enforcement, Middle East security issues, and counterterrorism operations. Writing in Publishers Weekly, John F. Baker noted that the author has "an impressive track record for books on aspects of terrorism and intelligence." In Soldier Spies: Israeli Military Intelligence, for example, Katz, a former member of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), writes about the elite Israeli intelligence agency A'MAN and its vital role in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The author goes on to outline the agency's growing importance before it was made a fourth branch of the IDF in 1990. "The book is a soundly researched review," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor,

Israel versus Jibril: The Thirty-Year War against a Master Terrorist focuses on terrorist Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. Here Katz describes the evolution of Jibril and his terrorist organization over more than two decades, beginning in 1970, as the Popular Front became increasingly effective and innovative. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the author's "workmanlike study presents the few known facts about" the terrorist and his organization.

Katz focuses on a successful Palestinian bomber in the book The Hunt for the Engineer: How Israeli Agents Tracked the Hamas Master Bomber. Young terrorist Yehiya Ayyash masterminded a series of bombings in the 1990s that killed more than 130 Israelis. Katz describes the series of bombings that made Ayyash a feared terrorist and then follows the manhunt for Ayyash, who with his degree in electrical engineering had the expertise needed to build his devastating bombs. Daniel K. Blewett, writing in the Library Journal, called The Hunt for the Engineer "very descriptive, reading almost like a thriller." In a review for Booklist, Gilbert Taylor described it as a "complete, well-informed detailing of the mastermind's violence."

In Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the Manhunt for the al-Qaeda Terrorists Katz discusses the history and efforts of a little-known U.S. agency that fights terrorism. The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), as Katz reveals, was organized in 1985 and is primarily concerned with protecting various U.S. embassies throughout the world. Relentless Pursuit details the agency's growth into a vital front-line agency that with its increasing focus on terrorism has had such successes as the capture of Ramzi Yousef, who led the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Katz also explores why Islamic militants have turned their focus on the United States. Vanessa Bush noted in Booklist that the author's account of the search for and capture of Yousef "evokes a cop drama with international intrigue," and called the book a "riveting read." A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that the author "is strongest when he focuses, through interviews with agents, on the personal," but added that Katz "leaves too many questions unanswered." In a review for Library Journal, Daniel K. Blewett concluded that Katz's effort is an "informative and cautionary book."

At Any Cost: National Liberation Terrorism focuses on terrorist groups committed to liberating their homeland, such as the Irish Republican Army and the Basques in Spain. Jerusalem or Death: Palestinian Terrorism details the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict, and Jihad: Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism takes a long-term historical view of the conflict between the East and West from the time of the Crusades to the creation of the modern state of Israel. Julie Webb, reviewing At Any Cost and Jerusalem or Death in School Library Journal, noted that the author "provides students with an overall understanding of the political and personal repercussions of these violent acts." In a review of both Jerusalem or Death and Jihad, Booklist contributor Ed Sullivan wrote that, "Well written and informative, these books offer an excellent introduction to complex and timely subjects."

Both Global Counterstrike: International Counterterrorism and U.S. Counterstrike: American Counterterrorism focus on international and U.S. counterterrorism forces and their operations. In these books Katz includes a who's who of organizations and a timeline. In a review for School Library Journal, Cynthia M. Sturgis called the works "well-written, useful resources for reports and for readers interested in military and paramilitary topics." Katz also writes about the foiling of a terrorist threat to the New York subway system in Jihad in Brooklyn: The NYPD Raid That Stopped America's First Suicide Bombers. A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that here "Katz provides a cops'-eye view of the case, with affectionate, detailed profiles of the men and processes involved."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 1999, Gilbert Taylor, review of The Hunt for the Engineer: How Israeli Agents Tracked the Hamas Master Bomber, p. 583; June 1, 2002, Vanessa Bush, review of Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the Manhunt for the al-Qaeda Terrorists, p. 1643; March 15, 2004, Ed Sullivan, reviews of Jerusalem or Death: Palestinian Terrorism, and Jihad: Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism, p. 1297.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2002, review of Relentless Pursuit, p. 786.

Library Journal, November 15, 1999, Daniel K. Blewett, review of The Hunt for the Engineer, p. 84; June 15, 2002, Daniel K. Blewett, review of Relentless Pursuit, p. 81.

Publishers Weekly, June 29, 1992, review of Soldier Spies: Israeli Military Intelligence, p. 50; March 29, 1993, review of Israel versus Jibril: The Thirty-Year War against a Master Terrorist, p. 43; December 22, 1999, review of The Hunt for the Engineer, p. 50, October 29, 2001, John F. Baker, "Two More Terror Titles Signed," p. 16; June 3, 2002, review of Relentless Pursuit, p. 75; January 3, 2005, review of Jihad in Brooklyn: The NYPD Raid That Stopped America's First Suicide Bombers, p. 50.

School Library Journal, March, 2004, Julie Webb, reviews of At Any Cost: National Liberation Terrorism and Jerusalem or Death, p. 237; May, 2004, Jody Kopple, reviews of Jihad and Raging Within: Ideological Terrorism, p. 170; January, 2005, Cynthia M. Sturgis, reviews of Global Counterstrike: International Counterterrorism and U.S. Counterstrike: American Counterterrorism, p. 149.