Customer Reviews

NO MARGIN FOR ERROR: The Making of the Israeli Air Force

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This is the first book that I have seen which describes the air war during the Six Day War, The War of Attrition and the 73 War. The personal stories make this book a must read. I met Iftach Spector before reading the book. How I wish I had read it first before meeting him. I have so many questions I would like to ask him. As a combat ready Air Force F-16 pilot I found this book extemely informative.

I read this after a friend of mine, who had met the author, handed me a copy.

I have to admit, I nearly turned my nose up at this book when I read the cover description that it was "the true story of 'Top Gun.' " I expected a flashy, poorly researched and superficial collection of stories that wouldn't pique my interest.

I should have trusted my friend's opinion more -- the book and the stories it contains are absolutely fascinating, even for someone (like me) with little interest in (or knowledge of) Israel. Though Yonay doesn't use oral histories as source material, the stories have the captivating personal aspects that make Stephen Ambrose's WW2 histories so compelling. They are funny and gut-wrenching, impressive and terrifying, all at once.

Quite honestly, this is one of the best non-fiction aviation narratives that I have ever read. I would highly-recommend it to anyone.

I enjoyed this book so much I gave it to my father-in-law in Israel, who was actively involved in building the Israeli Air Force and Israel Aircraft Industries from their onset, and knew the people and events depicted in the book first hand. After reading it, he said it is a very accurate portrayal.

This book goes into large amounts of details about the IAF and how it was formed. Ehud tells about the IAFs greatest achievements and worst moments in details that I have never seen. I recomend this book for anyone intrested in the IAF, but I do warn that this book might be a little hard to stay with in the begining.

If there is only one book in your aviation library devoted to the Israeli air force, Ehud Yonai's No Margin for Error should be that book. Yonai brings to life the pilots, the leaders, the visionaries and prophets who made and shaped the Heyl HaAvir into the force that it is today, portraying the men and the world they lived in ways that only an experienced writer could hope to achieve. The author of the original "Top Gun" story which inspired the hit 1986 movie, Israeli-born Yonai has had a long and award-winning career as an investigative reporter within the aerospace and defense industries. There are many other books on the Israel Air Force which fill in those gaps which Yonai did not have the time or space to fully describe. Eliezer Cohen's Israel's Best Defense, for example, includes coverage of the 1982 to 1991 period which was omitted by Yonai. And Peter Mersky's Israeli Fighter Aces provides the largest collection of first-hand pilot accounts currently available from the aircrews of the IAF. But Yonai's history of the Heyl HaAvir stands out as the most well rounded, and best written account of this remarkable fighting force that is currently available. Nowhere else are the personalities and mannerisms of Ezer Weizmann, Moti Hod, or Yak Nevo so vividly portrayed. This is the book that leaves the most lasting impression of the IAF, its men, its mission, and the spirit that has sustained them.

I'm new to the subject of the Israeli air force, from what I've heard they have some of the best pilots around and the only aspects of the IAF I was familiar with was the fact that the Soviets via Czechoslovakia supplied Israel with their first planes and many weapons for their ground troops and that France supplied them with the majority of their first jet fighters. So when I read that the first ME's supplied by Czechoslovakia had in fact Heinkel engines in them and the problems that created for the pilots were still overcome to end up winning the war, I was shocked. Those are just some of the details that the reader will be privy to in learning about the evolution of this small new nation's Air Force. In the same vain I was surprised to find out how little of an impact the practically non-existent Israeli Air Force had during the war of Independence yet they were probably responsible for a lot of lost time that the Arabs encountered which gave the future IDF enough time to supply themselves and launch their own offensives. This book goes through the history of the IAF and makes no qualms about showing both the good and the bad as well as all the inter-office rivalries that were being played out behind the scenes, none of which I knew about. It came as a surprise that after WWII the Israeli general staff wanted to concentrate more on ground troops than the Air Force, and it was only after the Sinai campaign in the 50's that the Air Force got the funding it truly deserved, and proved itself during the Six Day war when they destroyed the Egyptian air force on the ground and within minutes moved on to do the same to the Syrian and Jordanian Air Forces as well. Overall the book is an excellent investment, learn both what Israel pioneered and what the set backs were and how they were overcome. Stories about individual pilots and their escapades are interesting and will keep you glued to the book page after page, a riveting read to say the least.

As an instructor pilot in the F-15E, I was honored to be selected to teach the first four IAF crewmemebers how to fly the "E-model." Their skill and dedication was impressive. During the training, I asked if there was a book (or two) I should read about the IAF. The unanimous answer was, "Yonay's "No Margin for Error."" I couldn't put it down!

Clear insight into the evolution of the Israeli Air Force, from it's beginning to the present. Written with insight into the personalities of all the individuals involved in the growth of the Air Force along with the politics of the enviroment. Really fun to read.

If you want to understand what is happening today in the middle east, this is a must read. History repeats its self and you will relive it as if you are actually there plus gaining an understanding of watching history in the making. The heroes behind the building and defense of Israel comes to life in this accurate and personalized account by Ehud Yonay.

This is a great read for anyone interested in Israel's history. The book is the result of extensive research and dozens of interviews. It is well writen and extremly interesting.