THE BEST INTELLIGENCE BOOK for 2017 by The American Association of Former Intelligence Officers
A gripping feat of reportage that exposes—for the first time in English—the sensational life and mysterious death of Ashraf Marwan, an Egyptian senior official who spied for Israel, offering new insight into the turbulent modern history of the Middle East.
As the son-in-law of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and a close advisor to his successor, Anwar Sadat, Ashraf Marwan had access to the deepest secrets of the country’s government. But Marwan himself had a secret: He was a spy for the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service. Under the codename “The Angel,” Marwan turned Egypt into an open book for the Israeli intelligence services—and, by alerting the Mossad in advance of the joint Egyptian-Syrian attack on Yom Kippur, saved Israel from a devastating defeat.
Drawing on meticulous research and interviews with many key participants, Uri Bar Joseph pieces together Marwan’s story. In the process, he sheds new light on this volatile time in modern Egyptian and Middle Eastern history, culminating in 2011’s Arab Spring. The Angel also chronicles the discord within the Israeli government that brought down Prime Minister Golda Meir.
However, this nail-biting narrative doesn’t end with Israel’s victory in the Yom Kippur War. Marwan eluded Egypt’s ruthless secret services for many years, but then somebody talked. Five years later, in 2007, his body was found in the garden of his London apartment building. Police suspected he had been thrown from his fifth-floor balcony, and thanks to explosive new evidence, Bar-Joseph can finally reveal who, how, and why.
Uri Bar-Joseph is Professor of Political Science at the University of Haifa. He is the author of six books about intelligence, Israel’s national security strategy, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. His coming book, Intelligence Success and Failure: A Comparative Study (with Rose McDermott), is forthcoming from Oxford University Press.
Table of Contents
Cast of Characters vii
Prologue: The Funeral and the Mystery 1
Chapter 1 Cairo, 1944-1970: Beginnings 7
Chapter 2 London, 1970: Contact 33
Chapter 3 April 1971: Enter Military Intelligence 55
Chapter 4 May 1971: Liftoff 76
Chapter 5 The Dream of Every Spy Agency on Earth 100
Chapter 6 Sadat's Emissary for Special Affairs 133
Chapter 7 Egypt Girds for War 152
Chapter 8 Final Preparations and an Intermezzo in Rome 176
Chapter 9 Signing at Sundown on Saturday 194
Chapter 10 Dovecote: Warning and War 219
Chapter 11 The Rise and Fall of Ashraf Marwan 237
Chapter 12 An Angel in the City, a Son-In-Law Exposed 269
The fearless warrior has finally met his match . . .When Alyce Bunnock's father tried
to marry her off, she fled, taking shelter at Everagis Abbey, donning a nun's habit, and renaming herself Sister Terese. But when Lachlan Sinclare arrives ...
A new fantasy masterpiece from Garth Nix, bestselling author of the Old Kingdom series.More than
a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical ...
Robyn Cadwallader fashions words with the same delicate, colourful intensity that her 14th-century illuminators brought
to their illustrated manuscripts. SARAH DUNANTFrom the author of the internationally acclaimed novel The Anchoress - hailed by the New York Times Book Review as ...
An iconic poetry collection from American luminary Leonard Cohen, containing some of his most significant verseLeonard
Cohen wrote the poems in Book of Longing—his first book of poetry in more than twenty years after 1984's Book of Mercy—during his five-year stay ...
The internationally acclaimed The Book of Yogurt offers more than 300 flavor-packed recipes ranging from
hearty peasant fare to elegant creations. Sonia Uvezian, an Armenian born and raised in Lebanon, expands yogurt beyond the narrow limitations of desserts and snack ...
Américas Award Winner“An achingly beautiful story.”—Kirkus (starred review) ... review) “Lovely and lyrical.”—School Library JournalThis
powerful and resonant Américas Award-winning novel tells the story of a young girl’s struggle to find her place in the world ...
Heaven-sent?Ellie was never particularly good at talking to boys—oranyone other than her best friend and
fellow outcast, Ruth.Then she met Michael.Michael is handsome, charming, sweet. And totallyinto Ellie. It’s no wonder she is instantly drawn to him.But Michael has a ...
She was the beautiful daughter of a dirt-poor Alabama farmer. But Angela Sherrington had a
dream: to love dashing Bradford Maitland, the handsome heir to magnificent Golden Oaks. In the satin boudoir of a Yankee bordello, Angela's prayers are answered ...
