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

History of politics in Israel

Its a history-review of politics in israel rather an account of how different prime ministers confront crisis moments that shaped the character of the hebrew nation.

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.

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.

Terrible Hebrew Pronunciation

The book is very compelling. I am a big fan of Amit Segal, primarily from the "Call Me Back" podcast.
But, as an avid Audible listener, I was disappointed by the way names and Hebrew words were pronounced. It sounded like it was read by AI or someone with absolutely no background on Israeli history. I expect better.

it's an interesting take on Israel's inside politics but the narrator is irritating.

I like the author's quick eye .He can turn politics into a story and make it interesting. But I find it tiresome that the reader didn't take the trouble to learn how to pronounce the names of people properly. it isn't such a big deal to learn correct Hebrew pronunciation, and you can feel him hesitate before he dives in and says someone's name only to get it wrong, every single time. Worse still, he can't pronounce the names of major cities correctly. It transforms what could be an enjoyable listen to an irritation.

Needs a Hebrew Speaker

Amit Segal is great and I benefit from his journalistic work. While I am not a fan of the breezy way some of these chapters were written and don't share his sense of humor, the content will be edifying for those who aren't familiar with what goes on within Israel's political system.

It starts with a good overview and comparison with other systems of governance, and as a citizen I think he lays out well why we dislike what the system does to our politicians, and what our politicians do to the system. He's accurately described how the trauma of living in a place surrounded by haters causes voters to put security front and center, explaining why we have so many domestic issues that haven't been resolved even though they've been problematic for a long time.

All that noted, I really disliked the reading of the book. It was so chock full of mispronunciations that I wasn't always sure who the reader was referring to, or what, or where. That could easily have been prevented by having a reader who was familiar with the subject matter. It's an unfortunate oversight. But if you can tolerate it and you are new to the Israeli political scene, you'll pick up useful context.