Rise and Kill First

This book is incredibly detailed and utilizes all 631 pages well.

It did a good job of criticizing the Israeli politicians in a world where they have made crucially bad decisions.

Great book that shows the history of assassination and terror by Israel under the cover of its security.

Engrossing history of targeted assassinations by Israeli intelligence services. It's hard to know who to trust when it comes to books written about Israel in terms of the author's slant. Bergman is a little bit to the left - just enough to be mildly annoying at times, particularly after 2000 and he finishes the book with a three page screed against Netanyahu that is really out of place here. Still, clear explanations with a cast of hundreds of players. Worth reading.

One of the surprises in this book was the number of times Israel's intelligence community (the Mossad, Shin Bet, et al) completely botched a job. Going into the book I had unconsciously imagined that Israeli spies and commandos were complete masters of the field, and my pre-conceived image was only brought into my conscious mind as the book began tearing it to shreds. I don't know if it was more fun reading about the failures or the successes; either way I was fascinated.