Former CIA operative Robert B. Baer, whose memoir See No Evil inspired the George Clooney thriller Syriana, blends memoir and geopolitical analysis into a comprehensive guide to the world of political murder. The Perfect Kill is organized into 21 laws for the successful assassin, covering everything from the act itself (the importance of vetting accomplices and using terrain) to its moral implications (the victim should really deserve it and his or her death should save lives).
Baer uses "good" and bad assassinations as examples, though most of the book revolves around his own harrowing experiences as a CIA agent in Lebanon during its civil war. He spent much of that assignment hunting (and, he speculates, being hunted by) master Hezbollah assassin Imad Fayez Mughniyah, alias Hajj Radwan, whose bombings drove the United States military out of Lebanon in the 1980s. Baer moves between other shady people and dangerous assignments, including a potential plot against Saddam Hussein in post-Gulf War I Iraq gone farcically awry, but his nemesis is never far from his thoughts. Radwan's own assassination in Damascus in 2008 was a fitting end and, Baer argues, the result of the professional ignoring the rules of his trade.
The Perfect Kill's unusual mix of thrilling memoir and political science is a winning combination. Baer's espionage exploits are the stuff of spy novels, his insider's insights on a deadly business refreshingly candid. His bluntness clarifies a topic usually obscured by moral quagmires, and The Perfect Kill should appeal to a wide swath of nonfiction readers and fans of spy thrillers. --Tobias Mutter, freelance reviewer