A Call at 4 AM

Thirteen Prime Ministers and the Crucial Decisions That Shaped Israeli Politics

De: Amit Segal

Narrado por: Mike Lenz

The full and untold story of Israeli politics penned by one of Israel's most distinguished political journalists.

In A Call at 4 AM, Israel’s top political journalist, Amit Segal, takes you inside the moments when history was decided in real time. From Golda Meir’s sleepless nights before the Yom Kippur War to Benjamin Netanyahu's power struggles during missile attacks, Segal uncovers the untold stories of war rooms, last-minute deals, and the relentless pressure of governing a country that never knows a quiet day.

Through gripping storytelling and unprecedented access, Segal reveals how Israel's leaders navigate wars, terror waves, and global crises—while constantly fighting for their own political survival. What happens behind closed doors when a prime minister must decide whether to strike Iran? How do backroom betrayals and coalition battles shape military decisions? And why, in Israel, is every political crisis also a national emergency?

Witty, fast-paced, and packed with revelations, A Call at 4 AM is the closest you'll ever get to standing in the prime minister's shoes when the phone rings—and the fate of Israel is on the line.

©2025 Amit Segal LTD (P)2025 Kalorama

A good read.

Segal’s storytelling is as captivating in audiobook form as it is on television.
Narration here, however, is lazy - showcased mostly by the sloppy, unrehearsed pronunciation attempts for Israeli names.

Amit at his best (As usual)

A history book , but without the boredom!

A great listen/read for new and old lovers of isreal political (a)maze.

A brief but thorough account from the nation's beginnings to the present day.

Book is good, Hebrew words are mispronounced

The book is interesting. However, many Hebrew words are mispronounced.
Haaretz, Haredi, Dayan....
Is there no QA at Audible?

Narrator and editing sucks

I'm an Israeli living abroad and I really wanted to enjoy this book. I've got one comment on the content (at the end) but my big issue is with the narration.

The book is very well written and the stories are captivating but the narrator cannot pronounce simple names of people or places in Hebrew - he pronounces "Eli" like "Ilay" - both different names in Hebrew. In a name like Tzipi he pronounces the T and the Z separately and so on. It REALLY takes me out of the flow of enjoying the audio.

Also, seems like this whole audio thing was a last minute job. The original book got released with no audio track and that only came out 2 weeks or so later. I'm gonna guess it was rushed and not checked. There's even a section (talking about Raphael Eitan and his non kosher sausages) where the original track of the mumbling narrator wasn't edited out.

Honestly, do a better job. In this day and age I could probably find a way to get an AI to read out this book for free. When I pay for an audiobook I expect more.

P. s. one weird thing about the book is despite the 2025 release date, it seems like its timeline has stopped somewhere in 2022-23. I haven't finished it yet but to mention Israelis are living with a fear of an invasion and being slaughtered and not mentioning October 7th is crazy. If Segal wrote that book and was waiting for years to launch it, just a bit of editing to make it more current would show respect to your readers.

A knesset textbook meets house of cards.

As a subscriber to Segal's "it's noon in Israel" newsletter, I was predisposed to like this book--but it's actually better than I expected. If you've ever tried to teach Israeli politics to students, getting non-Israelis to really "feel" how and why, and under what circumstances, the knesset works is a major challenge. With engaging story-telling for the political junky, Segal shows, rather than tells, the reader the good, bad and ugly from Israel's political system. Along the way, he also offers a study in what it means to be the Prime Minister of a Jewish state, and the kinds of decision points leaders face in that suegenerous role. Recommended not only for those interested in Israel, but for people interested in comparative or Middle Eastern politics.