The Undercover Wrestler

Book excerpt: Based on true events, The UNDERCOVER WRESTLER is a "semi-fictional" espionage spy-thriller novel set in post-World War II Czechoslovakia, telling the incredible story of my grandfather, Zalman Unreich, a highly regarded wrestler and undercover spy from Israel. Raised as an extremely religious boy, with a strict father who hoped his son would become a Rabbi, Zalman had other plans, which involved using his champion wrestling background to defend the Jewish people. His adventurous "career" first began in the streets in Bratislava, then later in Palestine and eventually Israel, negotiating the Czechoslovakian Arms Deal that helped the State of Israel defend itself during its early days of war. While working as an Israeli diplomat (and a master of deceit), Zalman helped the victims of the Communist anti-Jewish "show-trials" and he smuggled many people across the Iron Curtain in Europe, risking his life on a daily basis. Zalman was a consummate professional, who left little traces of his work, and as a result, his story is untold -- until now.