An odyssey through the art, theory, and brutality of modern political murder by Robert Baer, New York Times–bestselling author, former CIA operative, and, yes, assassin All four of Robert B. Baer’s previous books were New York Times bestsellers, and it’s no wonder. A recipient of the Career Intelligence Medal, Baer served as a CIA operative for decades, and his career was the model for the acclaimed movie Syriana. Now, Baer draws on his extensive firsthand experience—including a decades-long cat-and-mouse hunt for the greatest assassin of the modern age—to examine the serpentine history of political murder. Offering a tantalizing glimpse at the underbelly of world politics, The Perfect Kill will be avidly read by thriller fans and military history buffs alike.
An odyssey through the art, theory, and brutality of modern political murder by Robert Baer, New York Times–bestselling author, former CIA operative, and, yes, assassin All four of Robert B. Baer’s previous books were New York Times bestsellers, and it’s no wonder. A recipient of the Career Intelligence Medal, Baer served as a CIA operative for decades, and his career was the model for the acclaimed movie Syriana. Now, Baer draws on his extensive firsthand experience—including a decades-long cat-and-mouse hunt for the greatest assassin of the modern age—to examine the serpentine history of political murder. Offering a tantalizing glimpse at the underbelly of world politics, The Perfect Kill will be avidly read by thriller fans and military history buffs alike.
Swede is a memoir to a great father who happened to be a humble, legendary New Jersey athlete. It is also a visit back to a storied time and place, Newarks historic Weequahic section. Swede covers the life of Seymour Swede Masin: his growing up in Newark, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants; his marrying out of the faith, temporarily breaking his parents hearts; his fascinating competitors and contemporaries; numerous anecdotes that best define him; the saga of Newarks Weequahic High School, past and present; and Swedes final years battling Alzheimers Disease. Of special note is the attention he received after serving as an inspiration for Philip Roths main character, Seymour Swede Levov, in the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, American Pastoral. There was something very special about him, especially some of his fascinating contradictions: strong yet gentle; frugal yet generous; individualistic yet a great team player; a worry wart yet with a great sense of humor. For Robert Masin, this was the father he was so fortunate to have known, admired, and loved. This memoir will allow people a glimpse of the Seymour "Swede" Masin he idolized.
Robert Baer was known inside the CIA as perhaps the best operative working the Middle East. Over several decades he served everywhere from Iraq to New Delhi and racked up such an impressive list of accomplishments that he was eventually awarded the Career Intelligence Medal. But if his career was everything a spy might aspire to, his personal life was a brutal illustration of everything a spy is asked to sacrifice. Bob had few enduring non-work friendships, only contacts and acquaintances. His prolonged absences destroyed his marriage, and he felt intense guilt at spending so little time with his children. Sworn to secrecy and constantly driven by ulterior motives, he was a man apart wherever he went. Dayna Williamson thought of herself as just an ordinary California girl -- admittedly one born into a comfortable lifestyle. But she was always looking to get closer to the edge. When she joined the CIA, she was initially tasked with Agency background checks, but the attractive Berkeley graduate quickly distinguished herself as someone who could thrive in the field, and she was eventually assigned to “Protective Operations” training where she learned to handle weapons and explosives and conduct high-speed escape and evasion. Tapped to serve in some of the world's most dangerous places, she discovered an inner strength and resourcefulness she'd never known -- but she also came to see that the spy life exacts a heavy toll. Her marriage crumbled, her parents grew distant, and she lost touch with friends who'd once meant everything to her. When Bob and Dayna met on a mission in Sarajevo, it wasn't love at first sight. They were both too jaded for that. But there was something there, a spark. And as the danger escalated and their affection for each other grew, they realized it was time to leave “the Company,” to somehow rediscover the people they’d once been. As worldly as both were, the couple didn’t realize at first that turning in their Agency I.D. cards would not be enough to put their covert past behind. The fact was, their clandestine relationships remained. Living as “civilians” in conflict-ridden Beirut, they fielded assassination proposals, met with Arab sheiks, wily oil tycoons, terrorists, and assorted outlaws – and came perilously close to dying. But even then they couldn’t know that their most formidable challenge lay ahead. Simultaneously a trip deep down the intelligence rabbit hole – one that shows how the “game” actually works, including the compromises it asks of those who play by its rules -- and a portrait of two people trying to regain a normal life, The Company We Keep is a masterly depiction of the real world of shadows.
Over the past thirty years, while the United States has turned either a blind or dismissive eye, Iran has emerged as a nation every bit as capable of altering America’s destiny as traditional superpowers Russia and China. Indeed, one of this book’s central arguments is that, in some ways, Iran’s grip on America’s future is even tighter. As ex–CIA operative Robert Baer masterfully shows, Iran has maneuvered itself into the elite superpower ranks by exploiting Americans’ false perceptions of what Iran is—by letting us believe it is a country run by scowling religious fanatics, too preoccupied with theocratic jostling and terrorist agendas to strengthen its political and economic foundations. The reality is much more frightening—and yet contained in the potential catastrophe is an implicit political response that, if we’re bold enough to adopt it, could avert disaster. Baer’s on-the-ground sleuthing and interviews with key Middle East players—everyone from an Iranian ayatollah to the king of Bahrain to the head of Israel’s internal security—paint a picture of the centuries-old Shia nation that is starkly the opposite of the one normally drawn. For example, Iran’s hate-spouting President Ahmadinejad is by no means the true spokesman for Iranian foreign policy, nor is Iran making it the highest priority to become a nuclear player. Even so, Baer has discovered that Iran is currently engaged in a soft takeover of the Middle East, that the proxy method of war-making and co-option it perfected with Hezbollah in Lebanon is being exported throughout the region, that Iran now controls a significant portion of Iraq, that it is extending its influence over Jordan and Egypt, that the Arab Emirates and other Gulf States are being pulled into its sphere, and that it will shortly have a firm hold on the world’s oil spigot. By mixing anecdotes with information gleaned from clandestine sources, Baer superbly demonstrates that Iran, far from being a wild-eyed rogue state, is a rational actor—one skilled in the game of nations and so effective at thwarting perceived Western colonialism that even rival Sunnis relish fighting under its banner. For U.S. policy makers, the choices have narrowed: either cede the world’s most important energy corridors to a nation that can match us militarily with its asymmetric capabilities (which include the use of suicide bombers)—or deal with the devil we know. We might just find that in allying with Iran, we’ll have increased not just our own security but that of all Middle East nations.The alternative—to continue goading Iran into establishing hegemony over the Muslim world—is too chilling to contemplate.
This anthology of newspaper, magazine and journal articles explore the entrepreneurial process from idea to harvest. Selections come from such sources as Forbes, Fortune, Business Week and Harvard Business Review. Topics covered include: new business venture opportunity, financing the new venture and managing rapid growth and global expansion.
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