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lavinia_speaks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
gadicohen93's review against another edition
4.0
I took so many notes down. An in-depth and broad look at not just targeted assassinations, but also at many aspects of Israel's security and military history.
Below are some disorganized notes.
-The beginning history — the militias and their travails, including the rebellion of the Altalena and Ben Gurion's strategic squashing of the militant dissent it represented, and the murders of Lord Moyne and the dozens of innocents at the King David
-The Fedayeen guerillas who snuck in from Jordan and Egypt and committed terrorist attacks, and the units that sprang up to fight them — units 504, 188, 101, which was led by Ariel Sharon to conduct retaliation attacks (!) against Arab villages. Moshe Sharett — the first foreign minister and second prime minister — was a moderating, liberal influence on the government and Ben Gurion.
-Shin Bet uncovered the Khrushchev secret speech and gave it to the CIA
-The whole saga with the German ex-Nazi scientists who helped Nasser develop weapons
-The "blackest day in aviation history" - when PFLP hijacked and exploded some Pan Am flights
-Raful Eitan - seemed awful
-If Sharon et al knew how horrific Phalangists were, how did they trust them? And the lead up to Lebanon - how Sharon was desperate to invade
-The controversial Uri Avneri interview with Arafat
-Operation Salt Fish - to assassinate Arafat in a full stadium
-Shin Bet interrogation rooms
-Abraham shalom - Skull dossier
-What did the writer mean by, "IDF was over-prepared for violence" in the Second Intifada?
-There was no discussion of Palestinian disillusionment during the intifada phase
-Condoleeza Rice and Hadley - settlements agreement with Sharon
Ron Cohen’s musketeers
-Dagan- believes Netanyahu would lead to binational solution - only for political survival - I do not want a binational state, I do not want an apartheid state. Prescient
Below are some disorganized notes.
-The beginning history — the militias and their travails, including the rebellion of the Altalena and Ben Gurion's strategic squashing of the militant dissent it represented, and the murders of Lord Moyne and the dozens of innocents at the King David
-The Fedayeen guerillas who snuck in from Jordan and Egypt and committed terrorist attacks, and the units that sprang up to fight them — units 504, 188, 101, which was led by Ariel Sharon to conduct retaliation attacks (!) against Arab villages. Moshe Sharett — the first foreign minister and second prime minister — was a moderating, liberal influence on the government and Ben Gurion.
-Shin Bet uncovered the Khrushchev secret speech and gave it to the CIA
-The whole saga with the German ex-Nazi scientists who helped Nasser develop weapons
-The "blackest day in aviation history" - when PFLP hijacked and exploded some Pan Am flights
-Raful Eitan - seemed awful
-If Sharon et al knew how horrific Phalangists were, how did they trust them? And the lead up to Lebanon - how Sharon was desperate to invade
-The controversial Uri Avneri interview with Arafat
-Operation Salt Fish - to assassinate Arafat in a full stadium
-Shin Bet interrogation rooms
-Abraham shalom - Skull dossier
-What did the writer mean by, "IDF was over-prepared for violence" in the Second Intifada?
-There was no discussion of Palestinian disillusionment during the intifada phase
-Condoleeza Rice and Hadley - settlements agreement with Sharon
Ron Cohen’s musketeers
-Dagan- believes Netanyahu would lead to binational solution - only for political survival - I do not want a binational state, I do not want an apartheid state. Prescient
rellimreads's review against another edition
5.0
What is most amazing to me is that, at 26 hours, this never failed to keep my attention. Ronen Bergman has pulled together a massive amount of documented information about the Mossad and presented in such a way that it felt neither tedious or pedantic.
Other than a book about the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the resulting operation Wrath of God/Bayonet, my knowledge of the history of the State of Israel is fairly minimal. I appreciated that Bergman combines personal, professional, regional, and world events in a manner that gives a broader understanding of Israel’s founding and how its missions were initiated. He does not gloss over technical, procedural, or moral failures and provides insight into the real human cost to the many sides of Israel’s operations. Covering over 60 years of historical perspective, few people and no countries or political/ideological movements are left untarnished.
I did not finish listening feeling that there was an agenda other than to provide the reader (or listener in my case) with a more comprehensive view of what has been, up to 2010, classified or the “public version” was purposefully lacking in information. Bergman does not provide any prescriptives, and in many ways the story is not over.
Rob Shapiro does a fantastic job. He’s one of few narrators that could handle such an informationally dense yet emotionally wrought text with such skill. Shapiro’s delivery of names, cities, and regional or operational colloquialism seemed effortless. Combined with Bergman’s composition – this is an engaging listen.
Other than a book about the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the resulting operation Wrath of God/Bayonet, my knowledge of the history of the State of Israel is fairly minimal. I appreciated that Bergman combines personal, professional, regional, and world events in a manner that gives a broader understanding of Israel’s founding and how its missions were initiated. He does not gloss over technical, procedural, or moral failures and provides insight into the real human cost to the many sides of Israel’s operations. Covering over 60 years of historical perspective, few people and no countries or political/ideological movements are left untarnished.
I did not finish listening feeling that there was an agenda other than to provide the reader (or listener in my case) with a more comprehensive view of what has been, up to 2010, classified or the “public version” was purposefully lacking in information. Bergman does not provide any prescriptives, and in many ways the story is not over.
Rob Shapiro does a fantastic job. He’s one of few narrators that could handle such an informationally dense yet emotionally wrought text with such skill. Shapiro’s delivery of names, cities, and regional or operational colloquialism seemed effortless. Combined with Bergman’s composition – this is an engaging listen.
spamrisk's review against another edition
5.0
Beset on all sides.
There will always be a war.
Know more than they do.
There will always be a war.
Know more than they do.
dale_kooyenga's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very comprehensive book. It is impossible to commit all the stories in this book to memory. It has to be the most detailed book on the subject. I have read others, for example, Gideon's Spies, that are easier reads. This book includes every significant unclassified assassination attempt of consequence in Israel's history. Some of the assassinations, and kidnappings, are textbook examples of how to execute a military operation, while other stories take a less romantic perspective and detail the ineptitude that also cost lives and embarrassed Israel. A lot of heroes, zeroes, and characters between the two extremes.
The author has an axe to grind with Benjamin Netanyahu and ends the book with a settle but noticeable disdain for the Prime Minister.
A must-read for any Intelligence Community professional.
The author has an axe to grind with Benjamin Netanyahu and ends the book with a settle but noticeable disdain for the Prime Minister.
A must-read for any Intelligence Community professional.