âWondrous . . . Compelling . . . Piercing.â âThe New York Times Book Review
Award-winning writer Matti Friedmanâs tale of Israelâs first spies has all the tropes of an espionage novel, including duplicity, betrayal, disguise, clandestine meetings, the bluff, and the double bluffâbut itâs all true.
The four spies were young, Jewish, and born in Arab countries. In 1948, at the outbreak of war in Palestine, they went undercover in Beirut, spending two years running sabotage operations and sending crucial intelligence back home. It was dangerous work. Of the dozen members of their ragtag unit, five would be caught and executedâbut the remainder would emerge as the nucleus of the Mossad, Israelâs vaunted intelligence agency.
Journalist and award-winning author Matti Friedmanâs masterfully told and meticulously researched tale of Israelâs first spies reads like an espionage novelâbut itâs all true. Spies of No Country is about the slippery identities of these spies, but itâs also about the complicated identity of Israel, a country that presents itself as Western but in fact has more citizens with Middle Eastern roots, just like the spies of this fascinating narrative.
âWondrous . . . Compelling . . . Piercing.â âThe New York Times Book Review
Award-winning writer Matti Friedmanâs tale of Israelâs first spies has all the tropes of an espionage novel, including duplicity, betrayal, disguise, clandestine meetings, the bluff, and the double bluffâbut itâs all true.
The four spies were young, Jewish, and born in Arab countries. In 1948, at the outbreak of war in Palestine, they went undercover in Beirut, spending two years running sabotage operations and sending crucial intelligence back home. It was dangerous work. Of the dozen members of their ragtag unit, five would be caught and executedâbut the remainder would emerge as the nucleus of the Mossad, Israelâs vaunted intelligence agency.
Journalist and award-winning author Matti Friedmanâs masterfully told and meticulously researched tale of Israelâs first spies reads like an espionage novelâbut itâs all true. Spies of No Country is about the slippery identities of these spies, but itâs also about the complicated identity of Israel, a country that presents itself as Western but in fact has more citizens with Middle Eastern roots, just like the spies of this fascinating narrative.