Doomed to Succeed

The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama

By: Dennis Ross

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

A necessary and unprecedented account of America's changing relationship with Israel.

When it comes to Israel, US policy has always emphasized the unbreakable bond between the two countries and our ironclad commitment to Israel's security. Today, our ties to Israel are close - so close that when there are differences, they tend to make the news. But it was not always this way.

Dennis Ross has been a direct participant in shaping US policy toward the Middle East, and Israel specifically, for nearly 30 years. He served in senior roles, including as Bill Clinton's envoy for Arab-Israeli peace, and was an active player in the debates over how Israel fit into the region and what should guide our policies.

In Doomed to Succeed, he takes us through every administration from Truman to Obama, throwing into dramatic relief each president's attitudes toward Israel and the region, the often tumultuous debates between key advisers, and the events that drove the policies and at times led to a shift in approach. Ross points out how rarely lessons were learned and how distancing the United States from Israel in the Eisenhower, Nixon, Bush, and Obama administrations never yielded any benefits and why that lesson has never been learned.

Doomed to Succeed offers compelling advice for how to understand the priorities of Arab leaders and how future administrations might best shape US policy in that light.

©2015 Dennis Ross (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

Insider View of US-Israel Relations

There is probably no one better positioned to provide this panoramic historical review of the US - Israel relationship. You will need some fair background to understand the story - Do you remember the Sinai Campaign of 1956? - but Dennis Ross provides a lot of useful perspective. He emphasizes that our Arab friends do not prioritize resolving the Israel - Palestinian conflict, but he has devoted countless years to trying to resolve it.

Incredible Book!

Incredible, comprehensive, scholarly, and most of all insightful. Probably the best book ever written on the U.S.-Israeli relationship and one of the best books pertaining to Israel. Dennis Ross should be every President's Secretary of State.

Great book with terrible narrator.

This is an important book, and very good. Its really unfortunate that the narrator who read this for Audible is so boring. I found it very difficult to listen to his voice without getting tired.

ספר מצוין, גם אם לא מושלם

סיימתי לקרוא את ספרו של דניס רוס, "doomed to succeed", שבוחן את מערכת היחסים של ארה"ב עם ישראל מהקמת המדינה (טרומן) ועד לתום ממשל אובמה. בשורה התחתונה - ממליץ, גם אם הספר אינו מושלם.

רוס, שהיה מעורב בתפקידי עיצוב מדיניות בכל הממשלים מרייגן ועד אובמה (מינוס בוש הבן) מתמקד ביחסים עם ישראל דרך המשקפת של הנשיא, מחמ"ד, משה"ג והnsc.

הספר רחב ומקיף. בחלקו הראשון כולל סקירה היסטורית. החלק השני נשען יותר על חוויותיו האישיות, המרתקות, של רוס.

הספר לא נטול מגרעות. הוא נשען יותר מדי על ניסיונו ולכן מתמקד בחלק השני בסכסוך, אולי יתר על המידה. הוא גם מתמקד בזוית הממשלית ומזניח זויות ניתוח אחרות נדרשות ליחסים. רוס גם מושקע בנושא ולא מתמודד עם הכתיבה האחרת בנושא. הוא נע בין האישי למרוחק. בכך קסמו של הספר אך גם חולשותיו.

אבל בסה"כ - למתעניינים בנושא, הספר מוצלח ומומלץ מאד.

excellent and very informative but often dense

well written and narrated. often dense with detail that is hard to follow, but very informative. changed my view of many of the players.