Sledgehammer

How Breaking with the Past Brought Peace to the Middle East

By: David Friedman

Narrated by: Jim Seybert

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The Trump administration’s peace agreements in the Middle East were the greatest foreign policy accomplishment in decades. Now, for the first time, his ambassador to Israel explains how they pulled it off.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is insanity. For decades, the U.S. State Department called it diplomacy.

David Friedman was an outside candidate when President Trump appointed him U.S. ambassador to Israel. He took office to find U.S.-Israel policy stuck in stalemate. For years, accepted wisdom was that extensive experience and detailed knowledge of Middle Eastern history and culture were necessary to negotiate treaties. In truth, Friedman realized, all parties played on that accepted wisdom to stall—expecting to get a better deal further down the road.

Tossing the State Department playbook aside and incorporating insights from his many years as a negotiator in the American private sector, Friedman and a small team with no prior diplomatic experience revamped American diplomacy to project “peace through strength.” He emphasized the importance of leverage, the key to any good negotiation. After painstaking, behind-the-scenes work, the Abraham Accords were signed: a historic series of peace deals between Israel and the five Muslim nations.

In Sledgehammer, Friedman tells the true story of how the Abraham Accords came about. He takes us from the Oval Office to the highest echelons of power in the Middle East, putting us at the table during the intense negotiations that led to this historic breakthrough. The inside story of arguably the greatest achievement of the Trump Administration, Sledgehammer is an important, inspiring account of the hard, hopeful work necessary to bring long overdue—and lasting—peace to one of the most turbulent and tragic regions of the globe.

©2022 David Friedman (P)2022 HarperAudio

A must read for those who appreciate Israel

This book is a stunning revelation of how many things were unfair and discriminatory against Israel that Ambassador Friedman did an extraordinary job in correcting. As a result of his work, United States, Israel, and the world became a more peaceful and secure place. Ambassador Friedman will go down in history as one of the greatest, if not the all-time greatest US ambassador to Israel, or any country for that matter. What a fantastic book this was. Enjoyable, educational, and unbelievably insightful. Highly recommended.

Enlightening considering the horrible news coverage during the time

When I first heard about any of this, the only thing I knew is the thing Embassy had been moved to Jerusalem. I had no idea how much had to go on behind the scenes for that to happen, but this book was truly enlightening and encouraging.

Thank you David

Thanks to you and your team for your ingenuity, and the courage that it took to make peace in the Middle East. You and Mr. Kushner did more for Middle East peace in four years than most people ever hoped could be accomplished. It is so sad that you didn’t have four more years to serve our country, but so nice that now you have more time for God and your family.

A Breakthrough in Middle East Peace.

This is a behind the scenes look at the effort to finally make peace progress. It took Freedman, Trump, and Pompeo to ignore the advice of US State Department Middle East diplomats who had a long history of failure but still had their jobs. Two thumbs up!

A must read book.Amazing.

I very informativo book.I have now a complete different view of diplomatic work.My gratitud to Mr. Friedman for all the hard work. I agree with all his final analysis. You have all my respect.
Impeccably reading,it was so real that I even teared when they describe the feeli gs I the signing of the Abraham's Accord.

Can’t stop listening

Ambassador Friedman shares an exciting turnaround of events who shaped the recent history between the United States, Israel, and its neighbors. As someone who follows the geopolitical events in the region it was fascinating to get a peek behind the scenes into the people and forces who tried to maintain the status-quo, and thankfully failed.

Great learning moments

Great to know about the inside conversations where common sense prevails. A foreign affairs gem.

We need more David Friedmans.

i knew much of what was covered, but the first hand detail made this an important read.

A most fantastic book!!!!

A most fantastic book!!!

What a terrific insight as to what happened during President Trumps time in office with respect to Israel. A tremendous amount of good things were accomplished against significant road blocks.
May G-d bless David Friedman & president Trump!!!

Amazing!

Great insight into the relationships involved in making peace in the Middle East. Stories are fascinating and well written!