Rise and Kill First

The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations

By: Ronen Bergman

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller. The first definitive history of the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDF’s targeted killing programs, hailed by The New York Times as "an exceptional work, a humane book about an incendiary subject."

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award in History.

Named one of the 10 best books of the year by Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times.

Named one of the best books of the year by The Economist, The New York Times Book Review, BBC History Magazine, Mother Jones, and Kirkus Reviews

The Talmud says: "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first." This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel's DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small, sometimes in response to attacks against the Israeli people and sometimes preemptively.

In this pause-resisting, eye-opening audiobook, journalist and military analyst Ronen Bergman - praised by David Remnick as "arguably [Israel's] best investigative reporter" - offers a riveting inside account of the targeted killing programs: their successes, their failures, and the moral and political price exacted on the men and women who approved and carried out the missions.

Bergman has gained the exceedingly rare cooperation of many current and former members of the Israeli government, including Prime Ministers Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as high-level figures in the country's military and intelligence services: the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the Mossad (the world's most feared intelligence agency), Caesarea (a "Mossad within the Mossad" that carries out attacks on the highest-value targets), and the Shin Bet (an internal security service that implemented the largest targeted assassination campaign ever, in order to stop what had once appeared to be unstoppable: suicide terrorism).

Including never-before-reported, behind-the-curtain accounts of key operations, and based on hundreds of on-the-record interviews and thousands of files to which Bergman has gotten exclusive access over his decades of reporting, Rise and Kill First brings us deep into the heart of Israel’s most secret activities. Bergman traces, from statehood to the present, the gripping events and thorny ethical questions underlying Israel’s targeted killing campaign, which has shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the entire world.

©2018 Ronen Bergman (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Ronen Bergman has set out in incontestable detail the history and scale of Israel’s use of extrajudicial killing as an instrument of defense and foreign policy. His material is stark and sensational, but he steers a steady course through it, even pausing along the way to debate the effectiveness and morality of his subject. The result is a compelling read whatever your point of view.” (John le Carré)

“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. Bergman, an investigative reporter and military analyst, interviewed hundreds of insiders, including assassins, and obtained thousands of classified documents.” (The New Yorker)

“America’s difficult relationship with targeted killing and the dilemmas we may face in the future are beautifully illuminated by the longer story of Israel’s experiences with assassination in its own endless war against terrorism.... Americans now have a terrific new introduction to that story with publication of Ronen Bergman’s Rise and Kill First.... 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, and the English translation is superb. It deserves all of the plaudits it has already received.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Blending history and investigative reporting, Bergman never loses sight of the ethical questions that arise when a state, founded as a refuge for a stateless people who were targets of a genocide, decides it needs to kill in order to survive.... This book is full of shocking moments, surprising disturbances in a narrative full of fateful twists and unintended consequences.” (The New York Times)

Just awesome. That's all I have to say.

Keeping it simple. Spend the money and listen to this audio book. You won't regret it.

Fascinating but most likely neo-disinformation

Hard to stop listening and impossible to get bored. Biggest operations with ups and downs.
Hard to believe it is near the actual truth, but maybe he was miss-informed on purpose and he really believes what he is telling us? Who knows anyway.
And remember that as long as you talk about one thing: you are not talking about another one.

Fascinating. Could not stop listening.

Would you recommend Rise and Kill First to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Great book. Terrific historical account. Would be even better if not for the author’s strong political bias.

incredible book

Really enjoyed the stories, and learning thr history of the people of Israel. great analysis of what the ethics and strategies of how to fight terror, this from people who have lived it.

Indispensable

Nowhere to this day have I come across this much info detailing the reach of Israel. Makes one wonder what was left untold.

a peak into the world of black ops

fascinating account of covert operations during a time of incredible world stress.

not sure how much is accurate but it made for a good story.

Truly an amazing story

This story is an amazing insight into the mysterious world of Israeli intelligence. It provides the reader a view that I never thought I'd see, and tells the story of so many different escapades that I never knew of. The book provides a view into another world of murder in the defense of an abstract idea.

It does all of these things through a series of anecdotes and stories several which have never seen the light of day. This provides an enthralling read that I can't suggest enough.

Interesting story

iust Sad to see that it will never is going to piece in middle east.

Great Book

This book was really compelling and kept me interested the entire listen. I like the objective look at the organization and the people behind it.

Excellent read

Leave the badger alone, shoot for peace.

It's better for everyone in the end.