222 mm x 146 mm, softcover, 240 pages RRP: R200, ISBN 978-1-4152-0080-3 Publication date: September 2009, Category: Fiction Description This book, by Alan D Elsdon, tells of a reign of terror marked by several political murders in one man’s zealous quest to combat communism. For many, General “Lang” Hendrik van den Bergh was the most feared man in the old South Africa. He was the head of BOSS, the Bureau of State Security, and The Tall Assassin tells of his dealings. The book draws on facts, reconstructing likely scenarios where details were not obtainable. Van den Bergh, who was responsible for the arrest of Nelson Mandela, built a formidable intelligence network linking into MI5, the CIA, Mossad, and French and German intelligence agencies. According to this book, he may have been involved in the assassination of HF Verwoerd, the death of Nic Diederichs, Steve Biko’s murder, as well as the murder of Anton Lubowski and Prof. Johan Heyns. Two of the most infamous murders in which this book implicates the general are those of Dr Robert Smit and his wife in 1977. This murder mystery has never been solved, but here a compelling explanation is offered for the meaning of the mysterious words “RAU TEM” painted on the Smits’ kitchen wall. From a meeting of minds in an internment camp at Koffiefontein, to the paranoid sixties, the tumultuous seventies and the Information Scandal that rocked the Nat establishment, The Tall Assassin paints a terrifying picture of ideology driving a regime’s agents into a moral free fall. Ook in Afrikaans beskikbaar as Die lang generaal. FromThe Tall Assassin, page 114 In the dirty game of international espionage, the tool that gave one agency the edge over the rest was their technical ability. Van den Bergh spent massive amounts of money to ensure that BOSS had the most sophisticated technical equipment in the world. Having the finest radio, surveillance and countersurveillance devices in the correct places gave BOSS the edge over many of its competitors. To properly install and train his staff, technical experts from Israel were secretly brought into the country. Van den Bergh was intent on having listening devices placed in every quarter where friend and foe operated.       “There ’s nothing closer to the truth,” he told his subordinates, “than straight from the horse ’s mouth.” Of course he added his favourite line, “And remember, knowledge is power!”       The first fully-fledged radio spy station was erected on a hill outside Pretoria.       The second was erected on the site occupied by Sharp and his two colleagues.       In an incident labelled “Spies in the Sky”, it was discovered that BOSS agents had recruited and trained cabin crew employed by SAA. BOSS agents studied daily passenger lists supplied to them by sources within SAA. On local but especially international flights, the trained SAA staff placed listening devices in secret hiding places above the seats of identified passengers. In that way the conversations of political “suspects” were recorded. The tape cassettes were then placed in diplomatic bags and handed to BOSS agents at the various destinations. The media ripped into the State body and accused them of violating the basic human rights of their targets. To read on Read Jimmy Matyu’s article in the Herald. Read a review in the Herald. To buy this book www.exclusivebooks.com www.kalahari.net home   writers   books   contact   buy   rights all content © Umuzi, Random House Struik this website designed and maintained by Guanaco.co.za