The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower by Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot
The Weapon Wizards | How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower by Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot explores the strategies that Israel has implemented to become a fierce current day military power.
“A lively account of Israel’s evolving military prowess…if The Weapon Wizards were a novel, it would be one written by Horatio Alger; if it were a biblical allegory, it would be the story of David and Goliath.” —The New York Times Book Review
From drones to satellites, missile defense systems to cyber warfare, Israel is leading the world when it comes to new technology being deployed on the modern battlefield. The Weapon Wizards shows how this tiny nation of 8 million learned to adapt to the changes in warfare and in the defense industry and become the new prototype of a 21st century superpower, not in size, but rather in innovation and efficiency—and as a result of its long war experience.
Sitting on the front lines of how wars are fought in the 21st century, Israel has developed in its arms trade new weapons and retrofitted old ones so they remain effective, relevant, and deadly on a constantly-changing battlefield. While other countries begin to prepare for these challenges, they are looking to Israel—and specifically its weapons—for guidance. Israel is, in effect, a laboratory for the rest of the world.
How did Israel do it? And what are the military and geopolitical implications of these developments? These are some of the key questions Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot address. Drawing on a vast amount of research, and unparalleled access to the Israeli defense establishment, this book is a report directly from the front lines.
Yaakov Katz is Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post. He previously served for close to a decade as the paper’s military reporter and defense analyst and is the co-author of the books The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower and Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War. Prior to taking up the role of Editor-in-Chief, Katz served for two years as a senior policy adviser to Israel’s Minister of Economy and Minister of Diaspora Affairs. In 2013, Katz was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Originally from Chicago, Katz also has a law degree from Bar Ilan University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and four children.
Amir Bohbot is the military editor and senior defense analyst for Walla, Israel’s leading news website. Amir previously covered military affairs for Maariv, one of Israel’s high-circulation daily newspapers, where he worked for 12 years. Bohbot is a popular lecturer on security and defense issues in Israel and is often interviewed by local radio and TV news stations. Bohbot has a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Ben-Gurion University and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Intelligence Studies at Bar Ilan University. He lives in Lehavim with his wife and their three children.
- ISBN: 125008833X
- 304 pages
- January 31, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
