Gordon Thomas (author): Difference between revisions

|birth_place = Wales, United Kingdom

|death_place = [[Bath, Somerset]], England, UK

|known_for = AuthorTopics related to the [[CIA]]

|occupation = Investigative journalist, author

'''Gordon Thomas''' (21 February 1933 – 3 March 2017) was a British investigative journalist and author, notably on topics of [[Secret Intelligence Service|secret intelligence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://us.macmillan.com/author/gordonthomas|title=Gordon Thomas|author=World Archipelago|work=Macmillan|access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gordonthomas-author.com/Biography.html|title=Biography|work=gordonthomas-author.com|access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref> Thomas was the author of 53 books published worldwide<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3AThomas%2C+Gordon%2C&qt=hot_author|title=Results for 'au:Thomas, Gordon,' [WorldCat.org]|work=worldcat.org|access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref> including ''[[The Pope's Jews]]'',<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pope's Jews : the Vatican's secret plan to save Jews from the Nazis|work=worldcat.org|oclc = 778422585}}</ref> ''Secret Wars'',<ref>{{cite book|title=Secret wars : one hundred years of British intelligence inside MI5 and MI6|work=worldcat.org|oclc = 243544587}}</ref> and ''[[Gideon's Spies]]'',<ref>{{cite book|title=Gideon's spies : the secret history of the Mossad|work=worldcat.org|oclc = 772968239}}</ref> with sales exceeding 45 million copies. Thomas got the [[Scoop (news)|scoop]] on the [[Nationalization|nationalisation]] of the [[Suez Canal]] for the ''[[Daily Express]]'' in 1956.<ref name="ReferenceA">My Story: Gordon Thomas. Programme produced by Aparat Limited for Press TV. Published 30 January 2014</ref> He was a cousin of the poet [[Dylan Thomas]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

He was a regular contributor to the Japanese news magazine ''[[FACTA (magazine)|Facta]]'' and he lectured widely on the secret world of intelligence. He also provided expert analysis on intelligence for US and European television and radio programmes.<ref>[http://www.gordonthomas-author.com/Biography.html Biography], accessed 5 February 2009</ref> His book ''[[Gideon's Spies|Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors]]'' became a major documentary for [[Channel Four]] that he wrote and narrated: ''[[The Spy Machine]]''. It followed three years of research during which he was given access to [[Mossad]]’s main personnel. The documentary was co-produced by [[Open Media]] and Israfilm.<ref>''Belfast News Letter'', 14 May 1998</ref>

In 1998 he wrote and narrated a major documentary for [[Channel 4]]: ''[[The Spy Machine]]''. It followed three years of research during which he was given access to [[Mossad]]'s main personnel. The documentary was co-produced by [[Open Media]] and Israfilm.<ref>''Belfast News Letter'', 14 May 1998</ref> Two years later Thomas wrote ''[[Gideon's Spies|Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors]]''. As Thomas's "Notes on Sources" afterword to ''Gideon's Spies'' makes clear, the research for the film provided him with some, but not all, of the sources and material he used when writing his later book independently of Channel 4 and the film-makers.<ref>"Notes on Sources", afterword to the 2008 paperback edition of ''Gideon's Spies'', p. 673 onwards</ref> ''Gideon's Spies'' has so far been published in 16 languages. Sources for the book included [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], a former Israeli intelligence agent, and Israeli spy [[Rafi Eitan]]. According to [[Charles A. Foster|Charles Foster]] in ''[[Contemporary Review]]'': "Writers who know their place are few and far between: fortunately Mr Thomas is one of them. By keeping to his place as a tremendous storyteller without a preacher's pretensions, he has put his book amongst the important chronicles of the [[state of Israel]]."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2242/is_1606_275/ai_58055879|work=Contemporary Review|title=Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors|year=1999}}</ref>

His 1974 book ''Voyage of the Damned''<ref>{{Cite book| last=Thomas,Gordon | first=&Morgan-Witts,Max | year=1974 | title= Voyage of the Damned | place=London | publisher= Hodder & Stoughton | isbn=0-34018-1206}}</ref> was adapted for the 1976 film starring [[Faye Dunaway]] which won five [[Academy Award]] nominations. In 2020, playwright [[Tom Stoppard]] adapted for [[BBC Radio 4]] [[Daniel Kehlmann]]’s's play based on the same book.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000j1pf

He died on 3 March 2017 at the age of 84 at the [[Royal United Hospital]], Bath, Somerset, England.<ref>[http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/212099/thomas-gordon-(author-and-journalist) Thomas, Gordon (Author and Journalist)] {{Archive url|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313215316/http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/212099/thomas-gordon-(author-and-journalist)|date=2017-03-13}}</ref>

Thomas was a cousin of the poet [[Dylan Thomas]] who helped him publish his first book.<ref name="auto"/> He was once married to broadcaster [[Annie Nightingale]]. He divided his time between his homes in Ireland and England, with his wife, an [[interior designer]].<ref name="auto"/> His five children work in various parts of the entertainment industry.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Citation |title=My Story: Gordon Thomas | date=30 January 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF3Tljjj2E4 |access-date=2023-10-31 |language=en}}</ref>

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* Thomas, G. (1987). ''The Jesus Conspiracy: An Investigative Reporter's Look at an Extraordinary Life and Death''. {{ISBN|0-8010-1194-9}}

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| publisher = [[JR Books]]

* The [[ReadersReader's Digest]] Book Club