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Description
The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert AmesThe Good Spy is Pulitzer Prize winning biographer Kai Bird's compelling portrait of the remarkable life and death of one of the most important operatives in CIA history a man who, had he lived, might have helped heal the rift between Arabs and the West. On April 18, 1983, a bomb exploded outside the American Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. The attack was a geopolitical turning point. It marked the beginning of Hezbollah as a political force, but
The Good Spy is Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Kai Bird's compelling portrait of the remarkable life and death of one of the most important operatives in CIA history - a man who, had he lived, might have helped heal the rift between Arabs and the West. On April 18, 1983, a bomb exploded outside the American Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. The attack was a geopolitical turning point. It marked the beginning of Hezbollah as a political force, but even more important, it eliminated America's most influential and effective intelligence officer in the Middle East - CIA operative Robert Ames. What set Ames apart from his peers was his extraordinary ability to form deep, meaningful connections with key Arab intelligence figures. Some operatives relied on threats and subterfuge, but Ames worked by building friendships and emphasizing shared values - never more notably than with Yasir Arafat's charismatic intelligence chief and heir apparent Ali Hassan Salameh (aka "The Red Prince"). Ames' deepening relationship with Salameh held the potential for a lasting peace. Within a few years, though, both men were killed by assassins, and America's relations with the Arab world began heading down a path that culminated in 9/11, the War on Terror, and the current fog of mistrust. Bird, who as a child lived in the Beirut Embassy and knew Ames as a neighbor when he was twelve years old, spent years researching The Good Spy. Not only does the book draw on hours of interviews with Ames' widow, and quotes from hundreds of Ames' private letters, it's woven from interviews with scores of current and former American, Israeli, and Palestinian intelligence officers as well as other players in the Middle East "Great Game." What emerges is a masterpiece-level narrative of the making of a CIA officer, a uniquely insightful history of twentieth-century conflict in the Middle East, and an absorbing hour-by-hour account of the Beirut Embassy bombing. Even more impressive, Bird draws on his reporter's skills to deliver a full dossier on the bombers and expose the shocking truth of where the attack's mastermind resides today.Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Broadway Books
Published: 05/26/2015
ISBN: 9780307889768
Pages: 448
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.13w x 1.13d
Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 06/07/2015 pg. 36
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4.5 ★★★★★
Based on 824 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Love that they come in a plastic container
I prefer this brand of razors because they don’t have the line sections on the blade. They are very sharp! Be careful. I love how sharp it is because I don’t need to do double passing on my face, and I can be as light as a feather with it and know it’ll still work. It did not cause any skin irritation, and was great at removing the dead skin cells off the top layer of my face.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Terrific!
While less well known than his later biographies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, this book stands equal to them. Rather than a biography of a single man this is the biography of a most extraordinary family and their impact on banking and the history of the twentieth century. This is a terrific book and one that I recommend without reservation. Chernow tells a very complex story in the tradition of a great novelist, without sacrificing any of the historical details that define the picture of a family whose story mirrors the triumphs and tragedies of the 20th century.
The book traces the history of the Warburg family from the 16th century to the 1990's, with the emphasis on the 20th century. The story is told through the biographies of many of its members, focusing on the brothers Aby, Max, Paul, Felix and Fritz, their sons and nephews. Individual chapters cover individuals, interwoven and progressing through the 20th century. There is the scholarly eldest brother, Aby, who exchanged his birthright for the promise of being provided all the books he desired (and created one of the world's greatest private libraries), the next eldest brother Max who autocratically ran the familie's Hamburg bank, the next brother Paul who made his mark in the US (providing the banking expertise behind his idea for the US Federal Reserve System), Felix who also made his mark in the US (both as a banker, but even more so as a philanthropist) and on to the youngest Fritz who served in both the Prussian and American Armies, and eventually fought to revive the Warburg position as preeminent Hamburg bankers. The book follows these brothers and their nephew Sigmund who made his mark in the US, in Great Britain (becoming Sir Sigmund) and in Europe after WWII. The book also discusses the sons of these brothers, their wives and other relatives. Fortunately, there are several pages of genealogy charts which help in keeping all the relationships between family member straight and many photographs that help flesh out the many stories that are discussed.
Were the book just about the history of the family members it would have been very good, but it is about much more. The book is about the turmoil of 20th century Germany, about how this family suffered and recovered. It is about family members who were loyal to their adopted homes in the US and Great Britain, but still, before the 1930's, had strong emotional ties to Germany. It tries to explain how some in the family still had warm feeling for Germany, in spite of what happened to them in the 1930's. It is about how Fritz left his comfortable life in the US to return to Germany to reestablish their stolen Hamburg bank, but also to serve as a bridge between Germany and the rest of the post-WWII world. It is about strong men with sons who often failed to live up to their high expectations. It is about loyalty, deceit, struggle, success and failure. It is a cautionary tail about the evolution of 20th century politics and war, as well as about banking. In short this is a terrific book.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2012
★★★★★ 4
I wish it had been done better
I imagine I'm going to get unhelpful votes by saying this, but this biography was not up to par with the author's other biographies. I've read Titan, which I thought was great, House of Morgan, which was really good, and Hamilton, which was also good, and this book just isn't up to those other books.
The beginning was very frustrating because we learn about this supposedly very successful and widely acclaimed and established German banking family, yet there is practically nothing concerning how they got to be well known and exceedingly wealthy, nor what their business dealings were at the time. And this lack of information goes on and on, focusing almost to exclusion on inter-personal issues.
Looking up the Warburgs in Wikipedia, I learned that the family had been a very successful banking family from the 1600's back in Venice, even before they settled in Warburg, Germany. Starting the narrative in the mid to late 1800's with the success of Jews in what was to become Germany just left me hanging and feeling like I was missing a large part of who the Warburgs were and how they got that way.
Additionally, the family had been around for a very long time and there are scattered references to visiting or staying with uncles and aunts, but the overall breadth of the family is not addressed.
Thinking about his problem now, it almost would make more sense and read better if there was a short intro and perhaps 10 separate bios on separate family members, instead of skipping around. It would help the flow. I have a feeling the author's inability to read German or Swedish or other European languages and his lack of primary research in Europe, where the Warburgs achieved fame and fortune, contributed to this incomplete biography.
On the other hand, it appears that not much had been written on the Warburgs prior to this book (at least in English), and that is why I read the book. Additionally, the whole build up to the Holocaust and how the Warburgs kept their warm feelings for Germany throughout the experience, as a constant theme, was very interesting and well done, especially since I'm Jewish. The reading got more focused and poignant the closer the Holocaust got and immediately afterwards.
3 or 3.5 stars is probably the best score, but will upgrade so I don't get canned too badly. If you're interested in the Warburg it's a good starter book, though I imagine if this weren't one of the first books Chernow wrote, he would have done a better job as a more mature and accomplished biographer.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2016
★★★★★ 5
In Depth Reading
Format: Paperback
Ron Chernow....incredible author....Pulitzer Prize winner. Read his books....so in depth....so interesting.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Well Worth the Lengthy Read
Format: Paperback
Enjoyed this book. Ron Chernow writes well, captures personalities and researches extensively. I went to Woodlands High School on an estate donated by the family. These were brilliant people who stood by their values and convictions while facing anti-semitism with grace and courage.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2023