Spies of No Country

Wondrous . . . Compelling . . . Piercing. The New York Times Book Review Award-winning writer Matti Friedmans tale of Israels first spies has all the tropes of an espionage novel, including duplicity, betrayal, disguise, clandestine meetings, the bluff, and the double bluffbut its 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 executedbut the remainder would emerge as the nucleus of the Mossad, Israels vaunted intelligence agency. Journalist and award-winning author Matti Friedmans masterfully told and meticulously researched tale of Israels first spies reads like an espionage novelbut its all true. Spies of No Country is about the slippery identities of these spies, but its 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.