Average customer rating: Calculations are only as good as your numbers Pants on fire? Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. Very Interesting History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1) Anatoly Fomenko Manufacturer: Mithec ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Chinese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Japanese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Augustine, Saint | ( A ) | People, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Doctors & Medicine | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books Lawyers & Criminals | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books General | World | History | Subjects | Books General | Asian American | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Asian American | Poetry | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books French | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Victorian | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Epic | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books German | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Russian | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Spanish | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Chinese | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books War on Drugs | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Arabic | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Armenian | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Czech | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Greek | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Hungarian | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Japanese | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Korean | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Norwegian | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Persian & Farsi | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Polish | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Portuguese | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Romanian | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Russian | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Swedish | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Turkish | Foreign Language | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Science | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books Online Research | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books Native American | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books General | Science | Subjects | Books General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books Magic & Wizards | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books Sailor Moon | Popular Characters | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Pilates | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books History | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books Similar Items: History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology) History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies ASIN: 2913621058

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Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Average customer rating: RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION!" "THIS COULD BE THE BLUE PRINT FOR IRAN!" This book is a fast and entertaining read Incredible Exciting Incredible tale!

Raid on the Sun: Inside Israel's Secret Campaign that Denied Saddam the Bomb Rodger Claire Manufacturer: Broadway ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books Israel | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books Intelligence & Espionage | Military | History | Subjects | Books General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books International Security | Freedom & Security | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Similar Items: The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services The Hunt For The Engineer: The Inside Story of How Isral's Counterterrorist Forces Tracked and Killed the Hamas Master Bomber Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team ASIN: 0767914252 Release Date: 2005-03-01

Book Description

The first authorized inside account of one of the most daring—and successful—military operations in recent history

From the earliest days of his dictatorship, Saddam Hussein had vowed to destroy Israel. So when France sold Iraq a top-of-the-line nuclear reactor in 1975, the Israelis were justifiably concerned—especially when they discovered that Iraqi scientists had already formulated a secret program to extract weapons-grade plutonium from the reactor, a first critical step in creating an atomic bomb. The reactor formed the heart of a huge nuclear plant situated twelve miles from Baghdad, 1,100 kilometers from Tel Aviv. By 1981, the reactor was on the verge of becoming “hot,” and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin knew he would have to confront its deadly potential. He turned to Israeli Air Force commander General David Ivry to secretly plan a daring surgical strike on the reactor—a never-before-contemplated mission that would prove to be one of the most remarkable military operations of all time.

Written with the full and exclusive cooperation of the Israeli Air Force high command, General Ivry (ret.), and all of the eight mission pilots (including Ilan Ramon, who become Israel’s first astronaut and perished tragically in the shuttle Columbia disaster), Raid on the Sun tells the extraordinary story of how Israel plotted the unthinkable: defying its U.S. and European allies to eliminate Iraq’s nuclear threat. In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, journalist Rodger Claire re-creates a gripping tale of personal sacrifice and survival, of young pilots who trained in the United States on the then-new, radically sophisticated F-16 fighter bombers, then faced a nearly insurmountable challenge: how to fly the 1,000-plus-kilometer mission to Baghdad and back on one tank of fuel. He recounts Israeli intelligence’s incredible “black ops” to sabotage construction on the French reactor and eliminate Iraqi nuclear scientists, and he gives the reader a pilot’s-eye view of the action on June 7, 1981, when the planes roared off a runway on the Sinai Peninsula for the first successful destruction of a nuclear reactor in history.

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The first authorized inside account of one of the most daring—and successful—military operations in recent history

From the earliest days of his dictatorship, Saddam Hussein had vowed to destroy Israel. So when France sold Iraq a top-of-the-line nuclear reactor in 1975, the Israelis were justifiably concerned—especially when they discovered that Iraqi scientists had already formulated a secret program to extract weapons-grade plutonium from the reactor, a first critical step in creating an atomic bomb.

The reactor formed the heart of a huge nuclear plant situated twelve miles from Baghdad, 1,100 kilometers from Tel Aviv. By 1981, the reactor was on the verge of becoming "hot," and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin knew he would have to confront its deadly potential. He turned to Israeli Air Force commander General David Ivry to secretly plan a daring surgical strike on the reactor—a never-before-contemplated mission that would prove to be one of the most remarkable military operations of all time.

Written with the full and exclusive cooperation of the Israeli Air Force high command, General Ivry (ret.), and all of the eight mission pilots (including Ilan Ramon, who become Israel's first astronaut and perished tragically in the shuttle Columbia disaster), Raid on the Sun tells the extraordinary story of how Israel plotted the unthinkable: defying its U.S. and European allies to eliminate Iraq's nuclear threat.

In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, journalist Rodger Claire re-creates a gripping tale of personal sacrifice and survival, of young pilots who trained in the United States on the then-new, radically sophisticated F-16 fighter bombers, then faced a nearly insurmountable challenge: how to fly the 1,000-plus-kilometer mission to Baghdad and back on one tank of fuel. He recounts Israeli intelligence's incredible "black ops" to sabotage construction on the French reactor and eliminate Iraqi nuclear scientists, and he gives the reader a pilot's-eye view of the action on June 7, 1981, when the planes roared off a runway on the Sinai Peninsula for the first successful destruction of a nuclear reactor in history.

"Rodger Claire handles a complex story with ease and assurance. Infused with an understanding of the pilots and their historical mission, Raid on the Sun illustrates how what they achieved for Israel was as vital as that earlier flight of the Enola Gay to Hiroshima to end World War Two. Claire has created a patient, scrupulous story that still unfolds with the pace and verve of a thriller. Don't wait for the movie of the book. Buy it now."
    GORDON THOMAS, AUTHOR OF GIDEON'S SPIES: MOSSAD'S SECRET WARRIORS

"Raid on the Sun is an extraordinary look into the most secret, and perhaps the finest, air force on the planet. It is also a blistering indictment of the international arms industry that sells modern weapons to anyone with money. Raid on the Sun is required reading for everyone in the age of terror."
   STEPHEN COONTS, AUTHOR OF FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER

"A stunning eye-opener, shocking you with the realization of the enormous service the Israeli Air Force rendered the free world with its 1981 attack on Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility. Claire went right to the source—the Israeli pilots who flew the mission—to tell in colorful detail the full story of this historic strike."
    Customer Reviews:

RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION!" "THIS COULD BE THE BLUE PRINT FOR IRAN!".......2007-06-16

I'm sure you've heard the phrase: "I COULDN'T PUT THIS BOOK DOWN, AND READ IT COVER TO COVER!" This book for me defined that, and if there really is a dictionary, (With famous phrases.) with the proverbial picture next to it, this book should be next to that phrase! This "TRUE" story, written over twenty years after the unbelievable Israeli bombing mission to destroy Iraq's nuclear facility, is too fantastic to believe. Why, was this in depth story never told before you may ask? Because Israel refused to talk about it, or release classified information. But now, this book was written with the "FULL" and exclusive cooperation, of the Israeli Air Force high command. I don't want to give away too much of the book, but it actually gives you information, way ahead of the actual mission also. Such as, Saddam Hussein's childhood and early years, that led and shaped him into the monster he became, as with the building of this nuclear reactor, and the vow to blow Israel off the face of the earth. It traces all the secret training in Israel, leading up to the historic raid. A titillating, page, early in the book, is an organization chart, of all the Israeli leaders in June 1981, and how they voted, pro or con, for the approval of the mission. This story makes James Bond look like The Hardy Boys. During the training of the pilots, Israel had to dismantle part of the jets, to lower the weight, so they would use less fuel, since the round trip mission from Israel to Iraq and back, had to be done with no refueling. Since I am not a pilot, but fly constantly. I almost felt like I was a passenger, along with the brave Israeli pilots, as they had to fly so close to the ground (100 FEET!) for 600 MILES over Saudi Arabia, to stay under the radar. The pilots had to contend with the rising heat from the desert, that adversely affected the jets. There were also things going on outside of Israel, that had to be done, while training was still taking place, to insure that the Iraqi nuclear reactor wouldn't go "live", before the Israeli plan was ready to go into action! These events were so unbelievable, that if you saw it in an Arnold Schwartzenagger, or Clint Eastwood movie, you wouldn't believe it! A beautiful blonde, pretending to be hit by a car, in front of a French Security gate, where the final pieces of the nuclear reactor were being manufactured. With this "blonde" diversion, Israeli agents got into the French manufacturing facility, to sabotage the piece, needed to finish the reactor. Thereby giving Israeli pilots, and masterminds, more time to prepare. The blowing up of an Italian apartment, owned by a supplier of parts to Iraq, as a warning not to supply the reactor. Of course, credit for the explosion was given to someone else. I could go on and on, but, that's why I said earlier, you can't put the book down. I want to tell you more, because it's unbelievable, but just go buy the book, and then I guarantee you, you'll want to tell someone else too. P.S. This could be a blue print for Iran. Wait and see?!

This book is a fast and entertaining read.......2007-03-19

If you are interested in military and middle east history, this may be a book for you. It has a good pace and is very easy reading. The pace of the book is not quite as fast as BlackHawk Down, but better than Bowden's other book, Killing Pablo. It almost has that 'reads like fiction' feel. I agree though, with one of the other posters comments that I read, and that is that there are alot of technical details that are not correct, (like "heat seeking Sparrow's") which does beg the question of whether or not he did not did not get all the facts right. But none the less, still a fun read and if even only half of it is right, its still an amazing story. I will highly recommend this book to my friends.

Incredible.......2007-02-24

Raid on the Sun describes the events leading up to to the 1981 raid on the Osirik reactor. It's a solid written, highly readable book. The book jacket nails it dead on by saying that this is something you'd see in a Hollywood thriller - a small country up against incredible odds both technologically and politically and overcoming them. I highly recommend it.

Reading some of the other reviews, I would like to point out that the comparisons to the current situation with Iran are perfunctory at best. Iran's nuclear facilities are deep underground, spread out in multiple locations over a large land mass, many cynically located under civilian areas such as schools. The Iranians learned many lessons from "the raid on the sun." There are three options on the table at this point from the Israeli perspective:

1. Wait and hope the U.S. bombs Iran. It's not looking like this is going to happen, as Bush probably needs Congress's authorization , and they most likely will not give it considering how Iraq is going. Furthermore, Bush has given authorization to Rice and the State Department to try to negotiate. Looks like Cheney and the neo-cons have lost power. Yet Israel will give it until the end of the year at least, according to leaked reports.

2. Attack Iran. Given how spread out the facilities are and Israel's capabilities, they have the ability to attack the three or four most important nuclear targets but not much more, which will delay the nuclear program for a number of years but not stop it. Iran will retaliate heavily, as well as its proxies Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas. The Tel Aviv skyscrapers will almost certainly be hit; there will be a huge fallout internationally; and Israel's economy will go to hell.

3. Do nothing, which is of course the worst decision, given Ahmadinejad's statements about Israel and the apocalyptic beliefs of Shiite Islam.

We'll have to wait and see, eh? By the way, I highly recommend that you check out the MIT paper, "Osirak Redux? Assessing Israeli capabilities to Destroy Iranian Nuclear Facilities" by Whitney Raas and Austin Long, which is where the estimates from #2 come from.

Exciting .......2006-11-04

This is a great read. I found my heart pounding as these great pilots defended their country against this great evil.

Incredible tale!.......2006-09-11

This is an incredible story of the June 7, 1981, operation that took out Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor and, as a result, probably alone kept him from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Astonishingly, the brave Israeli pilots took 8 F-16's in to enemy territory and all returned home safely. This book details the planning and exeuction of this operation from start to finish.

This is a very good read, especially given the happenings of recent years in that region. Despite the almost unanimous international criticism Israel received for this operation, we probably have those brave men and women of the IDF to thank today for the fact that the world has not yet experienced a nuclear holocaust at the hands of a mad tyrant.

Average customer rating: A Great History of Israel's Nuclear Program Great Review of Modern Israel History and Even Handed My Apologies to Hans Blix Best on this subject The political interactions, policies and changes between nations makes for fascinating, revealing reading

The Bomb in the Basement: How Israel Went Nuclear and What That Means for the World Michael Karpin Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Israel | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books Nuclear | Weapons & Warfare | Military | History | Subjects | Books General | World | History | Subjects | Books International Security | Freedom & Security | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Similar Items: Spying on the Bomb: American Nuclear Intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea Israel and the Bomb Man in the Shadows: Inside the Middle East Crisis with a Director of Israel's Mossad Shopping for Bombs: Nuclear Proliferation, Global Insecurity, and the Rise and Fall of the A.Q. Khan Network DEFCON-2: Standing on the Brink of Nuclear War During the Cuban Missile Crisis ASIN: 0743265955

Book Description

As Iran continues to develop its nuclear program and explicitly denounces Israel, Michael Karpin's The Bomb in the Basement provides important context for the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

After Israel won its war of independence in 1948, founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion realized that his country faced the possibility of having to fight Arab nations again in the future. He embraced the idea of developing a nuclear capability and put a young lieutenant, Shimon Peres, in charge of the project. This was the beginning of Israel's quest for nuclear capability, a project that could not have happened without the cooperation of the French. In The Bomb in the Basement, journalist Michael Karpin gives us the most complete account of how Israel became the Middle East's only nuclear power and how its status as an officially unacknowledged nuclear nation affects the politics of that volatile region.

Karpin's research includes exclusive interviews that provide new insights into the key figures behind the program (notably a harsh rivalry between Peres and Isser Harel, the first head of Mossad). He explains how different U.S. administrations have dealt with Israel's nuclear status, from Eisenhower's disapproval to Johnson's open support. And he shows how the key to Israel's nuclear capability has been its policy of "nuclear ambiguity."

A compelling account of a complicated history, The Bomb in the Basement raises provocative questions about how Israel's nuclear arsenal may affect not only its own future, but the future of the entire Middle East.

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THE BOMB IN THE BASEMENT tells the fascinating story of how Israel became the Middle East's only nuclear power and -- unlike Iraq and Iran -- succeeded in keeping its atomic program secret. This is a fascinating story of scientists, politicians, spies, and major international personalities who all played a part in an extraordinary undertaking that continues to shape the politics of the world's most volatile region. Today it remains to be seen whether Israel will permit Iran to build a nuclear bomb and threaten Israel's security.

Customer Reviews:

A Great History of Israel's Nuclear Program.......2007-05-08

"The Bomb in the Basement" is a superbly written history of Israel's nuclear program. It documents it from the earliest stages during the pre-state period all the way till the Yom Kippur War. There is also a small chapter on how Israel might deal with an Iranian bomb. Before reading this book, I was not aware at how involved Ben-Gurion was in Israel's quest for nuclear weapons. This book also details how US policy helped Israel get the bomb, and contains many fascinating insights into US-Israeli relations from Truman till Carter. I would suggest this book to anyone who is interested in Israeli history and defense.

Great Review of Modern Israel History and Even Handed.......2007-04-09

I was fascinated by this book. It provides a great review for the history of Israel, from the perspective of developing nuclear capability, and pretty good political analysis. I learned a lot of things I had previously been unaware of including why Lyndon Johnson was so attached to Israel, and how Anwar Sadat planned the last war Egypt fought against Israel. The insights I gained into Egypt were by themselves worth the book. I finished the book with lots of admiration for Sadat. The book also discussed Egypt's intervention in Yeman, under Nassar, which I was previously not well informed about. I do not know Michael Karpin's background, but overall I really think the author was even-handed to all concerned and basically just tried to provide an accurate analysis.

My Apologies to Hans Blix.......2007-02-01

I read this book on a whim, I'm not very familiar with the subject as some of the other reviewers here appear to be. There are two aspects of the Bomb in the Basement that I really enjoyed:

1. The story of Israel's history and evolution transcending one multi-decade policy initiative to acquire the bomb and obfuscate its acquisition is fascinating. I found the analysis of the international political and dimplomatic intrigue as well as the roles played by many familiar figures (Peres, Rabin, Ben-Gurion, Begin, Golda Meier) to be thoroughly rewarding.

2. The books detail of the political, scientific, financial, human and physical challenges to acquiring and concealing a nuclear weapon was enlightening to me. During the Iraqi Disarmament Crises I found myself very frustrated with the WMD inspectors as they explained the complexities of their effort (and subsequent interpretations by parties with vested interests). I have a much better appreciation now for the variety of moving parts that underly an effort to obtain and conceal WMDs.

Best on this subject .......2006-08-02

This writers has made a good effect to find out his facts.

I have read many books on this subject. Most book on this subject, even by Israeli have a tendancy to concentrate totally on the US and Israel relationships such as Avner's "Israel and the bomb" and almost ignore local Israeli and French policies.

This book however does make an attempt to discuss the actually bomb construction including the relationship with France, that was so important in getting it built. What struck me almost immediately is how cheap was the Israeli nuclear program! Many 100 of millions US dollars and several thousand people might be a massive project but compared to other nuclear programs, it does seems incredibly cheap. Still I would have liked to have seen more about the nuts and bolts of how Israel actually built the bomb.

Whether the US could have stopped the project as the writer states, I think is unlikely, considering that they had little to do with its creation nor did they know for certain about it until the Israeli bomb was well established. Without the US though Israel would have probably have a public nuclear defence policy.

The writer also provides a fairly good discussion at the end of what Israel achieved by its bomb program and the reasons for the Israeli policy of ambiguilty.

The political interactions, policies and changes between nations makes for fascinating, revealing reading.......2006-05-21

Israel not only became the Middle East's first nuclear power: it kept its atomic program secret - and veteran Israeli journalist Michael Karpin explains how in THE BOMB IN THE BASEMENT: HOW ISRAEL WENT NUCLEAR AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE WORLD. From the Israeli program's heavy reliance on early French aide to its resurgence of energy under the approval of President Nixon, the political interactions, policies and changes between nations makes for fascinating, revealing reading.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

Average customer rating:

Beyond Bullets and Bombs: Grassroots Peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians (Contemporary Psychology) Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Israel | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books War & Peace | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Relations | International | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books General | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books ASIN: 0275998800

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In the midst of ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, civil war, and political discord, courageous civilians from both sides are working together toward mutual understanding and peace. Israeli Jews and Arabs, and Palestinian Muslims and Christians, young and old, men and women, are cooperating in grassroots people-to-people projects, developing educational programs and creating activities to bridge their differences. Beyond Bullets and Bombs showcases such impressive and important projects that deserve more support and world attention. In 40 captivating chapters, experts tell intriguing personal stories interwoven with psychosocial models and principles proving how people living in hostile cultures can establish peace. This collection is the perfect companion to Kuriansky's earlier book, Terror in the Holy Land: Inside the Anguish of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, an unprecedented work that presents more than 30 chapters written by Israelis, Palestinians, and psychological experts on the underpinnings and effects of the conflict. In the volume at hand, we come to know established programs like Seeds of Peace and Search for Common Ground, as well as lesser-heralded, yet valiant efforts by children and adults of the region working together for peace. Both volumes will be of interest to everyone who cares about peace, as well as to professionals and students in the social sciences, psychology, international relations, public policy, human rights, and cross-cultural studies.

Average customer rating: The Political Background to an Historic Air Raid

First Strike: The Exclusive Story of How Israel Foiled Iraq's Attempt to Get the Bomb Shlomo Nakdimon Manufacturer: Summit Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Asia | History | Subjects | Books | Afghanistan | Armenia | Bangladesh | Belarus | Bhutan | Brunei | Cambodia | Central Asia | China | Far East | General | Georgia | Hong Kong | India | Indonesia | Japan | Korea | Laos | Malaysia | Maldives | Mauritius | Mongolia | Myanmar | Nepal | Pakistan | Philippines | Russia | Seychelles | Singapore | South Asia | Southeast Asia | Sri Lanka | Taiwan | Thailand | Tibet | Turkey | Vietnam General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books Iraq | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books Israel | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books Similar Items: Raid on the Sun: Inside Israel's Secret Campaign that Denied Saddam the Bomb ASIN: 0671638718

Customer Reviews:

The Political Background to an Historic Air Raid.......2001-12-17

In a bombing raid that took months to prepare, and mere minutes to release the bombs, on June 7, 1981 the Israel Air Force robbed Saddam Hussein of the ability to produce nuclear weapons for at least another decade. It would take the Iraqi dictator years of effort to replace what he had lost in this one day's operation. It would take the free world almost as many years to recognized the debt that they owed to the Israeli leadership which had rid them of this threat.
In these pages, Shlomo Nakdimon has captured the political story behind this operation: the years of futile diplomacy and negotiation, during which the Israeli government attempted in vain to warn the United States and Europe of the impending danger of a nuclear armed Iraq; and following the raid, the months of condemnation and the arms embargo that Israel endured for eliminating this threat. Shlomo Nakdimon's account provides an essential record of these events, and a warning against complacency in the face of a dictatorial madman. While not as riveting as Dan McKinnon's account of these same events, which is told from the pilot's point of view, the political story told by Nakdimon is perhaps of more enduring value. It is sobering to realize how many world leaders knew of Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions, but failed to react. For those readers who want to further explore the details behind Saddam Hussein's early nuclear weapons program, I can recommend the 1984 publication, "Nuclear Proliferation Today", by Leonard S. Spector. However, Shlomo Nakdimon captures the essentials of this story, and hopefully has captured a lesson that we will not soon forget.

Average customer rating: Great Book on Political Aspect of Israel's Nuclear Program Should this book have been written? The Strange World of Nuclear Politics Israel's nuclear opacity Good Book, Though the Title is Misleading

Israel and the Bomb Avner Cohen Manufacturer: Columbia University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Israel | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books Nuclear | Weapons & Warfare | Military | History | Subjects | Books Control | Weapons & Warfare | Military | History | Subjects | Books General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Relations | International | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books International Security | Freedom & Security | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books General | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Similar Items: The Bomb in the Basement: How Israel Went Nuclear and What That Means for the World India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation Updated Edition with a New Afterword Iran's Nuclear Ambitions Shopping for Bombs: Nuclear Proliferation, Global Insecurity, and the Rise and Fall of the A.Q. Khan Network China Builds the Bomb (Studies in Intl Security and Arm Control) ASIN: 0231104839

Book Description

Until now, there has been no detailed account of Israel's nuclear history. Previous treatments of the subject relied heavily on rumors, leaks, and journalistic speculations. But with Israel and the Bomb, Avner Cohen has forged an interpretive political history that draws on thousands of American and Israeli government documents -- most of them recently declassified and never before cited -- and more than one hundred interviews with key individuals who played important roles in this story. Cohen reveals that Israel crossed the nuclear weapons threshold on the eve of the 1967 Six-Day War, yet it remains ambiguous about its nuclear capability to this day. What made this posture of "opacity" possible, and how did it evolve?

Cohen focuses on a two-decade period from about 1950 until 1970, during which David Ben-Gurion's vision of making Israel a nuclear-weapon state was realized. He weaves together the story of the formative years of Israel's nuclear program, from the founding of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission in 1952, to the alliance with France that gave Israel the sophisticated technology it needed, to the failure of American intelligence to identify the Dimona Project for what it was, to the negotiations between President Nixon and Prime Minister Meir that led to the current policy of secrecy. Cohen also analyzes the complex reasons Israel concealed its nuclear program -- from concerns over Arab reaction and the negative effect of the debate at home to consideration of America's commitment to nonproliferation.

Israel and the Bomb highlights the key questions and the many potent issues surrounding Israel's nuclear history. This book will be a critical resource for students of nuclear proliferation, Middle East politics, Israeli history, and American-Israeli relations, as well as a revelation for general readers.

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Until now, there has been no detailed account of Israel's nuclear history. Previous treatments of the subject relied heavily on rumors, leaks, and journalistic speculations. But with Israel and the Bomb, Avner Cohen has forged an interpretive political history that draws on thousands of American and Israeli government documents -- most of them recently declassified and never before cited -- and more than one hundred interviews with key individuals who played important roles in this story. Cohen reveals that Israel crossed the nuclear weapons threshold on the eve of the 1967 Six Day War, yet it continues to maintain an ambiguous posture with regard to its nuclear capability to this day. What made this posture of "opacity" possible, and how did it evolve? Cohen focuses on a two-decade period from about 1950 until 1970, during which David Ben-Gurion's vision of making Israel a nuclear-weapon state was realized. Cohen proceeds to weave together the story of the formative years of Israel's nuclear program, from the founding of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission in 1952, to the alliance with France that gave Israel the sophisticated technology it needed, to the failure of American intelligence to identify the Dimona Project for what it was, to the negotiations between President Nixon and Prime Minister Meir that led to the current policy of secrecy. Cohen also analyzes the complex forces that led Israel to conceal its nuclear program -- from concerns over Arab reaction and the negative effect of the debate at home to consideration of America's commitment to nonproliferation.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book on Political Aspect of Israel's Nuclear Program.......2007-10-10

Avner Cohen focuses on the political, rather than technical, dimensions of Israel's development of nuclear weapons in this 1998 work. Cohen's goal is to explain how international and domestic political pressures shaped Israel's strategy of "nuclear opacity." Cohen differentiates opacity from ambiguity- the phrase many use to describe Israel's nuclear strategy. In documenting Israel nuclear program, Cohen demonstrates the importance of individuals (both U.S. and Israeli) in the rise of a new nuclear power. The book is an historical account, written largely for a general audience, but with enough depth to satisfy an academic reader. The author's expertise makes him an authoritative voice on Israeli nuclear history. Cohen developed and has written extensively on the concept of nuclear opacity, in addition to publishing many papers on other issues related to nuclear weapons. Cohen's account relies on sources largely drawn from declassified archives of Israel and the U.S. In addition to interviewing 150 individuals, Cohen also cites memoirs of principal Israeli policymakers that remark upon the highly sensitive program in oblique, but contextually obvious ways.

In largely positive reviews, both Foreign Affairs and the New York Times note Cohen's disillusionment with the continuance of Israel's nuclear opacity strategy. Unlike Foreign Affairs, the New York Times review finds Cohen's argument that Israel should drop its opaque strategy "persuasive." In this reviewer's opinion, however, Cohen's advocacy of a more open, debatable nuclear posture is not as convincing as the evidence he presents for the policy's existence. Through its opaque posture, Israel has been able to retain support of its chief ally, attain conventional military superiority over its enemies, all while developing a formidable monopoly on nuclear weapons in the Middle East. The case for abandoning that policy is better made using strategic defense arguments, rather than through appeals to democratic norms and principles. Cohen fails to make that argument in a convincing manner. That does not take away from the book's value though, as it is still a fascinating story. Missing from Cohen's book is the technical story of Israel's development of nuclear weapons; however, censorship rules and still classified sources likely preclude such a story and Cohen sticks to his stated purpose of recounting the political story. If Cohen gets his wish for more openness by Israeli leaders about their nuclear weapons program, then all would benefit from a history that includes the technical challenges that the program surely faced.

Should this book have been written?.......2005-10-20

I am not certain that this book should have been written.
It was obviously written against the wishes of the Israeli Defense Establishment. This is important because that Establishment is responsible for the security and well- being of Israel. Cohen as a native Israeli might have had that as priority.
On the other hand what he seems to believe is that an open- discussion of Israel's nuclear option is good for Israel. He also seems to believe that it would be better if Israel made it clear to the world , said openly that it has nuclear weapons.
My own sense is that this position may well be mistaken.
Israel after all is not making threats against its neighbors. It has never in all the years of its existence threatened to destroy anyone.
Its adversaries however make threats against it day and night. Now Iran who either has, or is on the way to nuclear weapons is making such threats.
Thus a nuclear capability may be invaluable for Israel as ' deterrent' Once however it ended opacity, ambiguity and declared that it has a weapon , other states in the region, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, would do even more than they are doing now to attain such weapons.
Cohen believes that telling the story of the Israeli acquisition of the weapon is necessary and important. In telling the story he exposes evasive and not necessarily 'honorable' behavior of Israel vis- a - vis the United States.
Is it wise to do this?
Avner Cohen's career was undoubtedly greatly advanced by this book.
But I doubt that the security of Israel's was.

The Strange World of Nuclear Politics.......2004-05-08

A (long) waiting for the latest shipment of books from Amazon has an upside - I'm left to read books purchased in Israeli bookstores, often in Hebrew, and obviously, often about Israel or Israeli politics.

Avner Cohen's "Israel and the Bomb" is such a book, and, despite some structural flaws it is a well written one. The main focus is not really Israel's Weapons of Mass Destruction, but Israel's nuclear policies, particularly vis a vis the United States. This is the story of Israel's responds to US pressure with two similar but distinct strategies, which Cohen designates "Ambiguity" and "Opacity".

In late 1960, the US government came to realize that Israel was constructing in Dimona a large scale nuclear reactor. The uncovering of that Israeli state secret led to various Israeli announcements that Israel had no intention of building Nuclear WMDs. On the 21st of December, 3 days after a New York Times front page story about Israel's Reactor in Dimona, David Ben Gurion made what is still the only Prime Ministerial speech in the Knesset (Israel's parliament) about its Nuclear Policies, stating that the Reactor is meant for peaceful uses only (p.128).

The Eisenhower administration seemed initially unwilling to pressure Israel about its nuclear facilities, but following the exposure it did demand answers about Israel's plans. In a meeting with US Ambassador Ogden R Reid, David Ben Gurion stated that the Plutonium from the reactor will be returned to the manufacturing country, that Israel will allow visits of scientists from friendly countries in the reactor, but not international inspections, and that Israel did not plan to construct a third nuclear reactor. He also denied any intentions to construct a nuclear bomb (pp. 130-133).

When John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States, US policy became hostile to Nuclear Proliferation, and Kennedy started a drive that ended in the 1968 Non Proliferation Treaty. Therefore, his policies towards Israel were meant to assure that Israel was not constructing Nuclear weapons. Since Israel was doing just that, the clashes were all but inevitable.

US Scientists started to inspect (the US's term; Israel preferred "visit") Dimona in 1961. Despite the US demand for 2 such visits per year, Israel's duck-and-weave policy never allowed more then one single day visit per year.

The US continued to pressure Israel, especially towards the end of Kennedy's administration. In April of 1963, Kennedy arranged an unplanned meeting with Shimon Peres, the architect of Israel's reactor in Dimona and then the deputy minister for defense, in which Peres first articulated (apparently spontaneously) Israel's formula about Nuclear weapons "Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the middle east" (p. 159). Towards the end of Ben Gurion's prime ministry, and Kennedy's presidency, the ground rules for the "ambiguity" policy of Israel were set: Israel stated that it had no intentions to construct nuclear weapons, and it allowed US visitors, albeit in a lesser frequency then the US desired. Ben Gurion's resignation and the assassination of Kennedy meant that their predecessors would have to continue, and refine, "ambiguity" as Israel's policy and US's response.

The main change in subsequent US-Israeli relationship was Israel's increased interest in purchasing conventional weapons from the US. Strangely, Israel and the US switched roles in these two dialogues. Regarding Nuclear weapons, the US kept pressuring Israel to allow more inspections, and to authorize the US to share its belief in Israel's peaceful intentions, while Israel evaded. In the weapons front, Israel kept asking to buy weapons, while the US tried to evade and delay. Neither side wanted to connect the subjects, because Israel was anxious not to disclose its intentions, while the US feared that pressuring Israel by withholding conventional weaponry would only further commit it to the nuclear option (p. 272). Unlike the Kennedy administration, Lyndon Johnson seems to have been willing to accept Israel's nuclear plans, as long as they were not public. Thus "ambiguity" started to give over to "opacity" (p. 276).

Chiefly, "Opacity" meant the acknowledgement of Israel as a de-facto Nuclear power, provided that Israel made few outspoken references to its nuclear capacities. Late in the Johnson administration, the President was unwilling to tie the sale of Phantom jets to Israel to Israel's signing the Non-Proliferation Treatment. Israel's then ambassador to the US, Yitzhak Rabin, defined Israel agreement not to "introduce" nuclear weapons to the Middle East as an agreement not to test it (p. 409). By then Israel clearly possessed nuclear weapons. Under Nixon, the US effectively gave up contesting that definition, and gave up the increasingly embarrassing inspections of the Dimona reactor. On the 18th of July, 1970, the New York Times announced that Israel was a nuclear power, and although both Israel's official spokespersons and the State Department denounced the article as "speculative" and "inaccurate", neither denied it (p. 434).

Avner Cohen's book tells the story of the creation of the Israeli bomb, and the relations between Israel and the US is just one part of this story. Yet it was the Israeli-American relationship that above all defined Israel's continued policy of Opacity, still intact almost 35 years after that New York Times news story. In the afterwards, Cohen calls for a reconsideration of Israel's nuclear policy, and is encouraged by the new openness of public discourse about it. Yet even if Israel's policy was chiefly designed in response to US pressure, the bomb was build because of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In that conflict, it often seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Israel's nuclear opacity.......2003-04-26

Interesting account of the secret development of the Israeli atomic bomb, starting in the fifties with the decision of Ben Gurion, and his persistence. One can hardly exempt Israel from the general charges against proliferation, but at least in this instance there is a certain discipline to the endeavor, and, so far, no mad bomber routines. To be sure, Israel is a special case, the factor of deterrence has surely been more than abstraction. And one can only cheer at the destruction of the Iraq reactor.
But this work is interesting for the description of the insidious tactics of 'opacity' in the public discourse of Israel on the subject, that is, the engineered lack of discourse. We invade Iraq to nix the nukes, while Israel simply slipped into half-invisible mode. That is changing now, and the author ponders the future here. Quo vadis?

Good Book, Though the Title is Misleading.......2001-02-19

Cohen has done an admirable job of putting together a history of the diplomacy regarding Israel's decsion to pursue a nuclear weapons capability. And herein lies the problem. This book should really be titled Israel, America, and the Bomb. Most of the book is dedicated to telling the story of Isreaeli/US diplomacy regarding Isreal's facilities at Dimona. Readers expecting to find any information on how Israel went about actually building the bomb, will be disappointed. Nonetheless in an age were most non-fiction reads like warmed over attempts at mimicing Tom Clancy, it was refreshing to read a well researched, well written, and most importantly well footnoted, work on a topic that is seldom written about. All in all, worth reading, but dont expect to find anything out about Israel's weapons capability or strategies for employment.

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Daphne's Seasons Naomi Gal Manufacturer: PublishAmerica ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback General | Romance | Subjects | Books General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books ASIN: 1424157412 Release Date: 2007-02-26

Book Description

When Alon, DaphneÂ's beloved husband, dies in a suicide bombing, she thinks her life is over. All she wants is to join him wherever he is. But then she decides to proceed with their original plan and relocates to an isolated barn they chose together in rural Pennsylvania. During four magnificent seasons DaphneÂ's grief transforms into acceptance and then into a new-found happiness. She is slowly moving away from the huge shadow Alon has cast over her, learning to breathe on her own. As time goes by, she finds out that their marriage was not all she believed it to be. She grows and heals, finds her inner voice and strength, and becomes whole again in ways that were not possible while Alon was alive.

Average customer rating: interesting parallels

Technology And International Transformation: The Railroad, the Atom Bomb, And the Politics of Technological Change (Suny Series in Global Politics) Geoffrey Lucas Herrera Manufacturer: State University of New York Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Middle Eastern | Regional | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books Israel | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books General | World | History | Subjects | Books Relations | International | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Culture | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books General | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books Social Aspects | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books General | Agricultural Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books ASIN: 0791468674

Book Description

Examines the interrelation between technology and international politics since the nineteenth century.

Customer Reviews:

interesting parallels.......2006-10-20

Herrera gives us a good recount of the development of the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project. Where the narrative is not so much on the science and engineering problems that were tackled, but on how the development was closely interwoven with the politics of its time. The broad story is well known, and has been told numerous times before. How World War 2 and fear of Nazi Germany led many scientists in the US to put aside any qualms about nuclear weapons, and work feverishly to build the first atomic bomb. And many of the subsequent ones.

Herrera continues the story of how after the war ended, the knowledge gained profoundly influenced American and international politics.

What is relatively new in this book is how the author shows many parallels with the development of railways in the 19th century, throughout the world. In the US, this opened up the continent, and helped bind the new nation together.

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The Invisible Bomb: The Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East Frank Barnaby Manufacturer: I B Tauris & Co Ltd ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Israel | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books Nuclear | Weapons & Warfare | Military | History | Subjects | Books General | World | History | Subjects | Books Military Science | History | Subjects | Books General | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books ASIN: 1850430780

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First Strike The Exclusive Story of How Israel Foiled Iraq's Attempt to Get the Bomb Shlomo with (Peretz Kidron, Translator) Nakdimon Manufacturer: Summit Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000J0PW0Y

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