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The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy Kindle Edition

by Seymour M. Hersh (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 138 ratings
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"Almost defies belief . . . a riveting tale of Israeli determination and cunning—and Washington's indecision, ineptitude and acquiescence."—Dallas Morning News

An investigation into Israel's nuclear capabilities discloses information about the country's rush toward nuclear status, its collaboration with South Africa and Iran, and its espionage activities.
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  1. Print length
    354 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Random House
  5. Publication date
    October 30, 2013
  6. File size
    2877 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hersh's investigation into Israel's nuclear capabilities sparked a series of controversies when it appeared in hardcover, and spent three weeks on PW 's bestseller list.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ever since the early 1950s, Israel has had one military eye firmly fixed on atomic weapons as a means of salvation, using them primarily as a military threat for both offensive and defensive purposes. Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize winner, expounds on the steady but quiet growth of an Israeli nuclear industry that proved so successful that Israel was able to coerce several U.S. administrations into doing its bidding. He also explores in depth Israeli access to U.S. intelligence satellite technologies that resulted from inattention by Washington leaders as well as from the four years of insider spying by Jonathan Jay Pollard. He reveals that the Soviet Union has been targeted by Israeli nuclear warheads since the mid-1980s. Unlike several other recent expos es of Israeli intelligence apparatus (Ian Black and Benny Morris's Israel's Secret Wars , LJ 8/91, and Andrew and Leslie Cockburn's Dangerous Liaison , LJ 6/15/91), Hersh follows the threads of a specific intelligence focus while highlighting U.S. policies that ultimately ignore the very real presence of the Israeli nuclear arsenal. This incredibly well-written book should be in every collection.
- David Snider, Casa Grande P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00FUZQYPA
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House; 1st edition (October 30, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2877 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 354 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 138 ratings

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Seymour M. Hersh

Seymour M. Hersh

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
138 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

R.K. Sprau
5.0 out of 5 stars War?
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2015
Verified Purchase
Modern politics has forgotten the past. Very few people know that Israel is a nuclear player. We ignored black market fissionable material that came from France and Africa, assistance from us. During the 6 day war, we were more or less blackmailed into giving assistance above agreed amounts or in self defense Israel would fire its 300+ warheads bringing in WW3, or if your spiritual Armageddon.

Now lets fast forward to the Persian Gulf War. We all remember the pictures splashed across our television of Israelis wearing gas masks. what they never told you is Schwarzkopf was facing the Israeli version of the Pershing 2 moved into the open for us to see, in a ready launch position Nuclear tipped missiles. Were they bluffing or forcing our hand, or setting themselves up to take everyone out to include us as collateral damage in one decisive blow? The author skillfully sidestepped the question and stuck strictly to the facts. For whatever reason, the implication is clear. Political motives aside, Israel would go overboard and disengage the quid pro quo or proportion response thus putting us in an almost untenable position. Not in the book, if one remembers what they extracted from us in exchanged for what?

This research book is designed to give you the overall history as to how they became a nuclear power, why we kept it as the worlds worst kept secret, and if one cares to read between the lines, how they learned a trick from us, the art of nuclear blackmail.

For those who are interested in the complex game of Middle East politics, the price of the end notes is well worth the read.
23 people found this helpful
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Dennis R. Jugan
5.0 out of 5 stars Friend, foe, or an enduring enigma?
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2007
Verified Purchase
According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the tragic events on this day were primarily the result of "a failure of imagination" in the U.S. intelligence community. How so.....?

The Samson Option provides stunning insights into the abject paralysis (a failure of imagination?) within this same community and nearly throughout the U.S. government as it failed miserably to halt nuclear arms proliferation for nearly 60 years. Every loyal American with an ounce of critical thinking skills should come away from reading this book, appalled with this government's impotence at its highest levels under the leadership of both political parties.

Seymour Hersh's excellence as one of our most accomplished investigative journalists with deep penetration to insiders 'in the know' has only been reaffirmed since he wrote The Samson Option in 1991. To be sure, this is a classic piece of detective work that time has proven to be highly accurate with the perpetrator grudgingly admitting to some of its activities only when every attempt at obfuscation had failed.

This book challenges the notion of an ally, one that is lavishly treated to foreign aid, exclusive access to intelligence assets and advanced weaponry yet cannot be satiated. Rather, it brazenly goes about its practice of espionage and nuclear proliferation at the expense and peril of the United States.

As a reader with reasonable knowledge of history and current events, you will be challenged with an enigma: Can the victim be a perpetrator?

The prosecutor will present an airtight case including the confessions of the perpetrator. The defense will challenge you with irrational arguments, reinforcing the perpetrator's tautology. Your verdict will most likely be influenced by your exposure to ideology and style of education: Were you taught to believe or did you learn to think?

The stakes are remarkably high. Now, radical Christian fundamentalists are seemingly in league with the perpetrator, eager to use this arsenal against the third branch of Abrahamic religions to foment yet another in a long line of religious conflicts. This time the result may be worldwide cataclysm, the consequence of mutually attained, self-fulfilled destruction -- arrogated in the name of the Zionist state.

In all likelihood you are among the vast majority of guiltless human beings holding no malice toward the perpetrator, yet totally unable to affect the outcome of tyranny by a minority. Remember, OUR GOVERNMENT(???), charged by our Constitution to protect us has increasingly chosen to recuse itself for nearly six decades. Now it lies on the floor in a catatonic state, seemingly unwilling to engage in even an innocuous debate, fearing it will reap the wrath of the perpetrator. In the ultimate example of the tail wagging the dog, the U.S. slips deeper into division, chaos, and loss of national sovereignty.

Rub your eyes, but this is not a nightmare. And The Samson Option IS NOT a work of fiction.
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RECOMMENDED READING:  Spy Trade: How Israel's Lobby Undermines America's Economy  by Grant F. Smith --  The Transparent Cabal: The Neoconservative Agenda, War in the Middle East, and the National Interest of Israel  --  The Neoconservative Revolution: Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy  by Murray Friedman --  The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy  by Mearsheimer and Walt -- "Israeli Surveillance of the Future Hijackers and FBI Suspects in the September 11 Attacks and Their Failure to Give Us Adequate Warning: The Need for a Public Inquiry" **a 166 PAGE REPORT** documenting foreign espionage activities surrounding 9-11, available on the Internet (although rarely in COMPLETE UNEDITED FORM **WITH 5 EXHIBITS AND 4 MAPS**).
27 people found this helpful
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StevieGee1945
4.0 out of 5 stars Samson Not Really Worried about Persia!
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2012
Verified Purchase
Seymour Hersh did a wonderful job of connecting well-researched historical facts into a necklace of painful truth. Of course we know the clues for a concealed underground nuclear program; it's been done before, in Israel. Using archival and valid resources, Mr. Hirsh presents a compelling case. The truth shall set you free? I hope so. If we can scrape away the layers of religious dogma, ideological imperatives, and geopolitical manipulations, perhaps a new awareness can lead us closer toward peace and a click away from war. This book is a courageous achievement. In clear, concise, language, the author has provided the world with information that should be required reading.
16 people found this helpful
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R. Hawk
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, Well Written Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
Scholarly analysis of Israel and nuclear weapons. Well written and informative even though decades old...

The physical quality of the book was also as expected, no surprises (unlike many booksellers out here that try to peddle their books at a much higher physical quality than they actually are). Even though this book was old, it was in very good shape, even the dust cover... So no complaints about this bookseller at all.
One person found this helpful
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Frank Del Castillo
5.0 out of 5 stars The Samson Option
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2011
Verified Purchase
Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal & American Foreign Policy  I was surprised with the detail and research. I wonder why the Whitehouse is not familiar with this work? Great, factual, well written, If anyone wants to do their own snooping, all the leads, names are clearly listed.
Israel is the rogue nuclear player in the middle east, no one else, this book simply states it, with foot notes. Should be required reading along with other sources. A great find! Now to do some research on the author.
5 people found this helpful
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Father of 2
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book! Fantastic research and very comprehensive .....Wow!
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
The research into this book is incredible and amazing! This is an important read for anyone interested in the middle East and its potential future. Bravo!
One person found this helpful
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Michael Ditmore
5.0 out of 5 stars This book documents the growth of the Israeli nuclear program ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
This book documents the growth of the Israeli nuclear program. It shows a record of Deceit unmatched in the history of diplomacy. It's a book that should not be ignored.
The Samson in the Samson option refers to the biblical text about Samson in which he chooses to destroy the Temple around him rather than defy the rules of God.
The Israeli nuclear program abounds in these kinds of equivalencies between Jewish martyrs and Israel's right to a nuclear program no matter what other people in the world might think.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Tammy Mohun
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential documentation to understand the real situation in Palestine and ...
Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
Essential documentation to understand the real situation in Palestine and how close Israel came to be nuked and also how close it came to nuke others including you will never guess who unless you buy Hersh's masterpiece.
One person found this helpful
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Steven Meier
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Spain on December 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
El libro llegó antes de lo previsto y en la calidad anunciada.
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paul mondeel
5.0 out of 5 stars the samson option. Israël's nuclear arsenal and American foreign policy
Reviewed in France on October 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
Quite appalling to read how Israël cheated and how America turned a blind eye. Will we ever trust them again?
One person found this helpful
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ARIF
5.0 out of 5 stars genial geschrieben
Reviewed in Germany on July 24, 2012
Verified Purchase
Das Thema der beginnenden Nuklearisierung des Nahen Ostens und die seit den 5oer Jahren immer stärker auch in die Blockkonfrontation einbezogene Position der regionalen Mächte, wird in diesem sehr detailliert und zuverlässig recherchiertem Buch ausführlich und sehr gut lesbar beschrieben. Viele Hintergründe, wie z.B. die wichtige Rolle Frankreichs für den Aufbau des israelischen Nuklearprogramms, die heute in der aktuellen Diskussion selten - wenn überhaupt - zur Sprache kommen, werden ebenfalls sehr gut dargestellt. Die Lektüre macht wirklich Freude und das Buch ist auch mentalitätsgeschichtlich von hohem Wert, hilft es doch zu verstehen, welche Einstellungshaltungen seit 60 Jahren den Atom- und Rüstungsdiskurs mitbestimmen. Für die Analyse der heutigen Auseinandersetzungen ist dieses journalistisch geschriebene Buch daher eine wichtige Voraussetzung. Nach 20 Jahren einer (Wieder-)Entdeckung wert!
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