Abraham Rabinovich writes so well that I kept fearing the day I would finally finish reading his masterpiece of international intrigue. The story, for Israel, is not unlike the American "skunk works" ultra-secretive design of the "Stealth Fighter" & "Stealth Bomber" - in that, in near total secrecy Israel revolutionized naval warfare. However, the United States is expected to create technological breakthroughs with the amount of resources availbe to her. In the 1960's Israel's flagship was a destroyer named "Eliat." Like everything in the Israeli navy - the "Eliat" was a 'hand-me-down' from the French Navy. Israel could not afford to add another destroyer to its tiny navy and this created a dilemma. What the Israeli Navy needed was a 'force multiplier' - several fast multi-purpose ships that packed a serious punch. In fact, Israel needed enough boats to simultaneously mount an attack/defense against Syria and Egypt. A young Israeli engineer named Even-Tov became convinced that he could design a devastating sea-to-sea missile that used an altimeter and radar. Even-Tov convinced the Defense Minister - Yitzhak Rabin that he could deliver a sea-to-sea missile, code-named 'Gabriel', within a year. This promise of a "serious punch" was the catalyst for the most intensive weapons system design project the Israel people (let alone the Israeli Navy) had ever undertaken. Israel's future Navy would be centered entirely on a small fleet of "missile boats." Up until this time, only the Soviets had created missile boats. It was only a matter of time before the Soviets shared a few missile boats with Egypt. In fact, Egypt used a "Styx-class" missile boat to sink the "Eliat." The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) sent naval officers to Europe to look for this do-it-all boat on which to place 'Gabriel' along with the hopes of the future navy. They decided, in principal, on a German ship design called 'Jaguar.' The Israeli officer's report would explain that many of the European boats he reviewed were nice but the Jaguar was a "boat made for war." IDF engineers spent over 18 months redesigning the wooden boat to be a couple meters longer and steal-hulled. This book reveals the Israeli geniuses that revolutionized naval combat. If it were only as simple as having the right idea, the right people, in the right place, at the right time - a French embargo was instituted within months of the delivery of the last five boats. I won't reveal any more of the story. This is a wonderful book. I also strongly recommend "Six Days of War" by Michael B. Oren.

The Boats of Cherbourg is a well written, exciting book about a well known but under-appreciated episode in Naval History. Rabinovich does an excellent job of putting the events in the book in historical context: the rise of anti-ship missiles, Israel's struggle for survival, the changes in Naval Warfare. The heart of the story, the dramatic plan to "liberate" the patrol boats, is told in a manner that makes you feel the suspense and the tension the Israelis manning the boats must have felt. A must on any Naval History buff's bookshelf.

If this book had had a press agent, it would have been a bestseller. It has the technical depth of a Clancy thriller -- but it is a true story, based on over a hundred interviews. The battle scenes are especially remarkable. Chess for keeps. The Israelis used a short range "smart" missile against a long range, not-so-smart missile. Each 14,000 hp missile boat had to charge its enemy at full speed to close the range gap, under fire, with many miles to put under the keel before it could realistically open fire itself. An Israeli boat was able to do this successfully by cloning itself electronically, so that the incoming Russian-made missiles "saw" multiple racing targets instead of one. The hair-raising aspect of this primitive countermeasure was that one of the alternative targets seen by the incoming missile was indeed the real, almost completely vulnerable oncoming Israeli missile boat. Put this one next to Hornblower. A classic.