Customer Reviews

The Bomb in the Basement: How Israel Went Nuclear and What That Means for the World

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Michael Karpin's "The Bomb in the Basement" is a well-researched account of the development of Israel's nuclear weapon program. However, the preeminent scholarly work on this subject remains Avner Cohen's "Israel and the Bomb." Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of "The Bomb in the Basement" is the lack of detailed citations, which will make it very difficult for scholars to benefit from Karpin's research. For example, it is frequently unclear whether the author obtained quotes from interviews, diaries or secondary sources. Also, although Karpin effectively demonstrates how the Holocaust and fear of being wiped out by Arab enemies motivated Israeli leaders David Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres and Ernst David Bergmann to pursue a nuclear option, this concept has already been thoroughly addressed by Avner Cohen. Nevertheless, even readers of Cohen's book will find new insights in Karpin's account. For example, "The Bomb in the Basement" highlights the roles of lesser known players in Israel's nuclear history, including Munya Mardor, director of Israeli defense firm RAFAEL, and Shalhevet Freier, a diplomat/defense attaché who was instrumental in securing French assistance to Israel.

Karpin also brings to life the various political, bureaucratic and ideological differences among Israel's elites, such as the rift between Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president. Other highlights include a never-before-published account of a radioactivity accident at Israel's Weizmann Institute in 1957 and an exploration of France's motives for aiding Israel in the construction of the nuclear reactor at Dimona. Finally, whereas Cohen's account ends in the early 1970s, Karpin concludes his book with a chapter that recaps more recent events shaping Israel's security environment and examines the implications of a nuclear-armed Iran. The latter discussion is particularly relevant in light of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent call to wipe Israel "off the map." Overall, Michael Karpin's "The Bomb in the Basement" objectively tackles a subject that has historically received far less attention than it merits. While the book may have limited scholarly value because of its scant citations, more casual readers will find it a compelling and informative read.

This is a terrific book. It's a bit gossipy, which makes it extra entertaining. Example: Golda Meir's breakdown during the Y-K war; the general contempt for Shimon Peres; how both Truman and Kennedy acknowledged that they owed their election to the Lobby; how Rabin got his Phantoms out of LBJ; Teller's assistance with the project. There is a great deal of information about the French connection, pre-de-Gaulle. And it is of course not just about the development of the device, but about the creation and growth of Israel in general.

A couple of details reviewers might find of interest, recalling that Karpin can't say a number of things, and other things he simply doesn't know about (his unknown unknowns). 1) Nothing new here but the bland denials about the 1979 test; yet most who have reviewed the Vela flash and corroborating evidence seem nearly 100% convinced that it was a genuine test. (Karpin talks about "photographs" from Vela, so he hasn't investigated this very deeply.) 2) Nothing new about USS Liberty, although most likely Karpin does know what really occurred. 3) A bit of interesting detail about the Egyptian (prob. Russian) overflights of Dimona in May 1967, during extreme tension. This is good, because a couple of Israeli jokesters have weaved a conspiracy theory about it recently (Foxbats over Dimona). Karpin says they were MiG-21s dashing in from Jordan at 55,000 feet and the IAF Mirage IIICs could not catch them.

A very good read, but obviously not the whole story, and probably not all accurate. Ben-Gurion made a wise choice back at the founding; events continue to prove him right.

The first that the author clarifies is that the book has been heavily cencored by the Israeli military, thus do not expect to find in it startling revelations about Israel's nuclear program. What you will find though is a very good account of the whole effort and its protagonists, from 1948 to the present (albeit the story somehow stops in the `80s). The reader will find also many similarities between the Israelis' efforts to conceal their project and the Iranians' efforts today and will come to the conclusion that when we have to do with a national effort to aquire the ultimate weapons of mass destruction we must it's rather naïve to expect those responsible to tell the truth or confess their aims. The chapters which deal with the US - Israeli relations and how they were strained by the race for the "bomb" are amonf the best. This is surely a very nice account on the subject of the Israeli "secret" nuclear arsenal and it is surely more readable than A. Cohen's book "Israel and the Bomb".

"The Bomb in the Basement" is a superbly written history of Israel's nuclear program. It documents it from the earliest stages during the pre-state period all the way till the Yom Kippur War. There is also a small chapter on how Israel might deal with an Iranian bomb. Before reading this book, I was not aware at how involved Ben-Gurion was in Israel's quest for nuclear weapons. This book also details how US policy helped Israel get the bomb, and contains many fascinating insights into US-Israeli relations from Truman till Carter. I would suggest this book to anyone who is interested in Israeli history and defense.

I was fascinated by this book. It provides a great review for the history of Israel, from the perspective of developing nuclear capability, and pretty good political analysis. I learned a lot of things I had previously been unaware of including why Lyndon Johnson was so attached to Israel, and how Anwar Sadat planned the last war Egypt fought against Israel. The insights I gained into Egypt were by themselves worth the book. I finished the book with lots of admiration for Sadat. The book also discussed Egypt's intervention in Yeman, under Nassar, which I was previously not well informed about. I do not know Michael Karpin's background, but overall I really think the author was even-handed to all concerned and basically just tried to provide an accurate analysis.

I just finished The Bomb in the Basement, and thought it was tremendous - feels completely new, evenly balanced, and (particularly for a person as ignorant as I am) enlightening. Who knew that France was so involved, that France benefited from Israel's own expertise, and that Israel's ambiguous messages evolved in such a delicate fashion. The story is also a clear lens through which to see Israel's emotional, social, and political development - not to mention the transition in Israel-U.S. relations from wariness to warmth.
The subtext I found most interesting was the role that censorship played and plays. The phrase "according to foreign sources" ends up, rather than concealing, ironically being a signal for the most important revelations. Any sentence that carries that phrase or its equivalent is to be taken most seriously.

Joe Cohen, NYC

The story being told here has been covered by others, namely in `The Samson option' and `Israel and the bomb' however this book not only updates the story regarding the Yom Kippur War but also explores the characters involved, it is a story worth telling again and a brilliant examination of the personalities of Ben-Gurion, Peres and others. Most familiar with Israel today will be surprised to learn that France was Israel's closest ally in the 1950s, when America opposed Israeli policies. This book serves as a good account also of the nature of Israeli reasoning regarding the bomb. This is not a dramatically biased book, so most readers should be able to stomach it, since most people are incapable of reading anything about Israel if it doesn't fit their ideological love-hate of the country, but this book should sidestep this to some extant, unlike `Samson' option it isn't basing its logic on the question of why Jews should or shouldn't be allowed to develop nuclear weapons by using Biblical analysis, rather it is a modern fair book examining how Israel obtained the bomb. Israel, alone among the many nations who covertly have attempted to develop nuclear weapons secretly(Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, Libya etc...), did not sign the non-proliferation treaty, so as to remain `ambiguous' and thus not in violation, unlike other hypocritical nations who sign the bogus treaty and then build nukes. Ironically the very same people that condemn Israel's possession of nukes are the same people who condemn America for daring to invade Iraq because of WMDs, in there view Israel possessing WMDs is tantamount to the `holocaust' whereas Iraq or Iran pursuing the same objective is merely for `national defense and sovereignty and combating colonialism'.

A good read, fair, however it is a mostly popular work.

Seth J. Frantzman

Israel not only became the Middle East's first nuclear power: it kept its atomic program secret - and veteran Israeli journalist Michael Karpin explains how in THE BOMB IN THE BASEMENT: HOW ISRAEL WENT NUCLEAR AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE WORLD. From the Israeli program's heavy reliance on early French aide to its resurgence of energy under the approval of President Nixon, the political interactions, policies and changes between nations makes for fascinating, revealing reading.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

I read this book on a whim, I'm not very familiar with the subject as some of the other reviewers here appear to be. There are two aspects of the Bomb in the Basement that I really enjoyed:

1. The story of Israel's history and evolution transcending one multi-decade policy initiative to acquire the bomb and obfuscate its acquisition is fascinating. I found the analysis of the international political and dimplomatic intrigue as well as the roles played by many familiar figures (Peres, Rabin, Ben-Gurion, Begin, Golda Meier) to be thoroughly rewarding.

2. The books detail of the political, scientific, financial, human and physical challenges to acquiring and concealing a nuclear weapon was enlightening to me. During the Iraqi Disarmament Crises I found myself very frustrated with the WMD inspectors as they explained the complexities of their effort (and subsequent interpretations by parties with vested interests). I have a much better appreciation now for the variety of moving parts that underly an effort to obtain and conceal WMDs.

Karpin's history of Israel's nuclear project comes at an appropriate time, just as the Iranian nuclear crisis exhibits how sensitive and hazardous the Middle East is and how clever were Israel's visionary forefathers. Their determination to acquire the ultimate deterrent and their wisdom to hide it in the basement are excellently described. Karpin for sure knows the political and defense establishments of his country. He also has the advantage of being free of any ideological agenda. His detailed story streams superbly in spite the restrictions imposed on him by Israeli army censors.

What mattered for me as an American Jewish reader was that the United States made sure that Israel could defend itself without using its deterrent and that Israel's bomb did its work simply by its existing. Karpin points out that Israel planed that that the bomb will function as the instrument that would convince the Arabs to accept a peace settlement. The last chapter shows that in the long run the chances for materializing that aspiration are not bad at all.



Rebecca C., LA