AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR
‘A gripping investigation of Israel’s assassination policy’ Sunday Times
‘Remarkable’ Observer
‘Riveting’ Daily Mail
‘Compelling’ John le Carré
Winner of 2018 National Jewish Book Award
Rise and Kill First is the definitive book to read on Israel’s military history.
From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, the instinct to take every measure to defend the Jewish people has been hardwired into Israel’s DNA. This is the riveting inside account of the targeted assassinations that have been used countless times, on enemies large and small, sometimes in response to attacks against the Israeli people and sometimes pre-emptively.
Rise and Kill First counts their successes, failures and the moral and political price exacted on those who carried out the missions which have shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East and the entire world.
‘Exciting, sometimes moving and always considered . . . a stunning feat of research and a riveting read’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
‘A gripping investigation of Israel’s assassination policy’ Sunday Times
‘Remarkable’ Observer
‘Riveting’ Daily Mail
‘Compelling’ John le Carré
Winner of 2018 National Jewish Book Award
Rise and Kill First is the definitive book to read on Israel’s military history.
From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, the instinct to take every measure to defend the Jewish people has been hardwired into Israel’s DNA. This is the riveting inside account of the targeted assassinations that have been used countless times, on enemies large and small, sometimes in response to attacks against the Israeli people and sometimes pre-emptively.
Rise and Kill First counts their successes, failures and the moral and political price exacted on those who carried out the missions which have shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East and the entire world.
‘Exciting, sometimes moving and always considered . . . a stunning feat of research and a riveting read’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
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Reviews
Ronen Bergman has set out in incontestable detail the history and scale of Israel's use of extrajudicial killing as an instrument of defence and foreign policy. His material is stark and sensational, but he steers a steady course through it ... The result is a compelling read whatever your point of view.
A masterpiece! Only Ronen Bergman's extraordinary research could have achieved it
Exciting, sometimes moving and always considered...Not only is Bergman's book a stunning feat of research and a riveting read, it is also testament to the author's personal courage
The Israeli government did its best to prevent Bergman from writing this ...fascinating new book about the history of Israeli assassinations, published during Israel's seventieth anniversary year. Rise and Kill First not only sheds light on that most secretive of subjects, Israel's intelligence services, but also has wider significance: how and why a state uses extra-judicial killing, and the consequences of doing so.
Terrific ... It's easy to understand why Bergman's book is already a bestseller. It moves at a torrid pace and tells stories that would make Jason Bourne sit up and say 'Wow!' It is smart, thoughtful and balanced.
An exceptional work, a humane book about an incendiary subject
This remarkable account of Israel's targeted-killing programs is the product of nearly eight years of research into what is arguably the most secretive and impenetrable intelligence community in the world.
Authoritative . . . a chilling portrait
With remarkable access to officials and reports, Ronen Bergman's revealing book lays bare Mossad's kill operations
A gripping investigation of Israel's assassination policy
Riveting...Based on 1,000 interviews and vast numbers of leaked documents, his book often reads like a John le Carre novel. But it took considerable courage for him to publish it.
Well-written and informative, Rise and Kill First is the best book so far written on this dramatic subject
A thrilling narrative of extreme bravery and compromised morality
Fascinating . . . In picturesque and gripping language, making use of careful, often ground-breaking research, Bergman presents a series of incidents from the history of the Mossad's assassination missions
You think the Krays were rough? Try the Mossad. This is an amalgam of the secret and often lethal special operations they carried out over the years.