Varon Svoray discovered more than he bargained for when· he infiltrated the German neo-Nazi movement. Svoray is an Israeli journalist and ex-police detective who resembles a Turkish wrestler (his description). He was investigating the story of hidden diamonds that were supposedly left by an American who was wounded before he could recover them, when he met a Nazi who mistook Svoray's familiarity with Leni Reifenstahl's Nazi propaganda films for sympathy with the cause. The Nazi invited Svoray to a private film show where they viewed Nazi propaganda films and rape/snuff . movies that they used for personal sexual gratification.

Svoray was horrified and decided after some soul-searching - to infiltrate the movement. His experiences are described in this riveting account. He solicited the support of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency which agreed to fund his undercover investigation. He disguised himself as an Australian newspaperman sympathetic to the neo-Nazi cause. Without a great deal of difficulty, mostly by asking reporters and police, he identified some of the fringe group, who led him to the core of the organization, which appeared to be more organized than German authorities were willing to admit. The neo-Nazis had strong ties to the Republikaner party, formed in 1983, dedicated to the elimination of foreigners and to a return of the more "pure Germanic ..nation" Svoray attended several parties attended by skinheads and more traditional supporters celebrating Nazi events and heroes. He learned that as many as 500 nouveau Hitler Jugend were fighting for the Croats (this was written in 1992) to learn guerrilla warfare techniques that could be used upon their return to Germany.

The question· everyone wanted answered was whether the 2,OOO-plus acts of violence. including the. murder of a German sea captain who was overheard calling Hitler a criminal, were random acts of the disaffected skinheads or an orchestrated campaign of violence to terrorize the country into adopting right-wing strategies.

The book reads like a detective novel, but I sometimes wondered about Svoray's sanity and investigative techniques. For example, I doubt if a serious spy would tape a genuine personal credit card and photograph of the wife and kiddies to his ankle while trying to impersonate someone else in the lairs of the enemy. Nor would a spy be likely to rent a car under his real name for any policeman to discover at the first traffic stop.

The ultimate value of Svoray's descent into the maelstrom is as yet unknown, although moving a fungus into the sunlight does have a sanitizing effect. ( )