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A review by rellimreads
Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations by Ronen Bergman
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.