• A High Price

  • The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism
  • By: Daniel Byman
  • Narrated by: Luke Truan
  • Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
  • 3.4 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)

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A High Price  By  cover art

A High Price

By: Daniel Byman
Narrated by: Luke Truan
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Editorial reviews

Since its inception, Israel has faced a conflict of interest in its approach to counterterrorism: On the one hand it must rebuke security threats and appease its population. At the same time, heavy-handed counterterrorism tactics can be costly and provocative, resulting in what historian Richard A. Clarke terms a "Pyrrhic victory". In a style he's described as "non-complicated", performer Luke Truan provides a straightforward but eloquent voice for this even-handed account of Israel's war on terror. A High Price offers meticulous analyses of counterterrorism measures which have in turn been described as omnipotent and inadequate, ruthless but essential. Along the way, author Daniel Byman surveys the heavy toll on civilian populations - both Israeli and Palestinian - and explores repercussions for other western democracies in their own counterterrorism efforts.

Publisher's summary

The product of painstaking research and countless interviews, A High Price offers a nuanced, definitive historical account of Israel's bold but often failed efforts to fight terrorist groups. Beginning with the violent border disputes that emerged after Israel's founding in 1948, Daniel Byman charts the rise of Yasser Arafat's Fatah and leftist groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine--organizations that ushered in the era of international terrorism epitomized by the 1972 hostage-taking at the Munich Olympics. Byman reveals how Israel fought these groups and others, such as Hamas, in the decades that follow, with particular attention to the grinding and painful struggle during the second intifada. Israel's debacles in Lebanon against groups like the Lebanese Hizballah are examined in-depth, as is the country's problematic response to Jewish terrorist groups that have struck at Arabs and Israelis seeking peace. In surveying Israel's response to terror, the author points to the coups of shadowy Israeli intelligence services, the much-emulated use of defensive measures such as sky marshals on airplanes, and the role of controversial techniques such as targeted killings and the security barrier that separates Israel from Palestinian areas. Equally instructive are the shortcomings that have undermined Israel's counterterrorism goals, including a disregard for long-term planning and a failure to recognize the long-term political repercussions of counterterrorism tactics.

©2011 Daniel Byman (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

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What listeners say about A High Price

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The worst production/narrator ever

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story is good

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The worst narrator ever. He sounds like a 12 year old, no respect for ponctuation or rhythm. By the way is he reading from the actual book? At home? Cause we can hear him turning pages, drinking water, clearing his throat.. I can't believe anyone at audible listen to this and said it was ok to sell it. The narrator killed it for me. I'm returning the book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Frequent mispronunciations

The number of mispronunciations is painful. This reader is clearly unfamiliar with even the most basic Israeli/Hebrew and Arabic names and terms. It makes for painful listening. He ought never to have been chosen to read this book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unprofessional performance, great content

The content of the book is strong, but the person reading and the people editing are doing subpar jobs.

There's a section where you can actually hear the page turn of the person reading the book. on top of this, the reader mispronounces words, like "Israeli" and "onerous".

While I am enjoying the content, the performance of the reader is lacking.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Terrible recording of a great book

Audible generally has high quality recordings. But this one is terrible; replete with mispronunciations (sursupticious? Plassate for placate? And the list goes on), malaproprisms (Nobel surprise?), poor prosody, hesitations, shuffling papers, background clicks, and more. It is painful, which is a shame because the content is so good and timely. I hope that the author takes notice and arranges for a different recording. If so, may I get a copy of this one? I would live to listen to it without all the distractions.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Amateur reader

The reader mispronounces dozens of words aside for names and places. Very unprofessional. You can also hear page turns. Disappointed.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Terrible Terrible Terrible

Would you try another book from Daniel Byman and/or Luke Truan?

The facts are biased from the opening remarks to most of the statements that are made inside.

Would you ever listen to anything by Daniel Byman again?

Absolutely NOT

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Monotone voice and poor pronunciation.
He messed up all the name of the individuals and locations.
You can hear him flipping the papers. Stopping to take a breather and or a cigarette puff.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not at all... I want my money back

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Poor narration quality

Most chapters narrated quite well. Others not so well. At times the narrators volume also changed significantly.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Worst Narration Ever (I hope!)

Would you try another book from Daniel Byman and/or Luke Truan?

The topic was very interesting, but the narration was the worst I have ever heard on an Audible book. The reader mispronounced almost every non-English word he read, as well as some English ones. I am sure he would have offended Israelis, Arabs, and Palestinians with the pronunciation. I could even hear the pages being turn on some occasions. Scott Brick, et. al. where are you?

How could the performance have been better?

Pronounce the words correctly. Do let us hear the pages being turned.

Could you see A High Price being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Hilariously bad pronunciation

What would have made A High Price better?

Getting a narrator who can read big words like "Jordanian" and "Kalashnikov"

Has A High Price turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, though the story was nothing special - basically a simple retelling of the events. It was like reading back issues of Newsweek. Pretty much limited to the Israeli viewpoint too.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator had a George W accent and consistently said "Jordinian" for "Jordanian", "Israels" for "Israelis" + similarly mangled countless other rather common words. The pronunciation of "coup d'etat" was a high-light!

What character would you cut from A High Price?

The narrator

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A High Price

Would you consider the audio edition of A High Price to be better than the print version?

Though I usually enjoy audio books. A High Price was excellent despite being marred by a dull reader.

What other book might you compare A High Price to and why?

The Looming Tower also deals with US efforts to prevent the horrific attack on the World Trade Center and how, despite good intentions, intelligence failed.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The reader's voice was flat, like a high school student forced to read a history book. Audible should find better readers to do books like this justice. .

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Byman describes a strike that had gone wrong because of faulty intelligence. Despite efforts to eliminate civilian deaths, innocent people were killed. A heartbreaking event.

Any additional comments?

A High Price is a carefully balanced study of counterterrorism in Israel--what worked and what did not. The book begins with a harrowing story of a bus bombing and the extraordinary efforts that Israelis undertook to prevent future attacks. Some measures worked well and became legendary, Entebbe, for example. Others failed and the author does not spare the details. The lessons learned from this carefully nuanced study are important for democracies fighting their own terrorist threat--the US after The World Trade Center bombing and more recently, Copley Square.

Unfortunately, the reader selected to narrate this book detracts from the pleasure of listening.

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