Short Synopsis
A gripping feat of reportage that exposes the sensational life and mysterious death of Ashraf Marwan—an Egyptian senior official who spied for Israel—offering new insight into the turbulent modern history of the Middle East.

Full Synopsis
As the son-in-law of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and a close advisor to his successor, Anwar Sadat, Ashraf Marwan had access to the deepest secrets of the country's government. But he himself had a secret: he was a spy for the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service. Under the codename "The Angel," Marwan turned Egypt into an open book for the Israeli intelligence services and, by alerting the Mossad in advance of the joint Egyptian-Syrian attack on Yom Kippur, saved Israel from a devastating defeat.

Drawing on meticulous research and interviews, Uri Bar Joseph pieces together Marwan's story. In the process, he sheds new light on this volatile time in modern Egyptian and Middle Eastern history, culminating in 2011's Arab Spring. The Angel chronicles the discord within the Israeli government that brought down Prime Minister Golda Meir—but the story doesn’t end there. Marwan eluded Egypt's ruthless secret services for many years until somebody talked. Five years later, his body was found in the garden of his London apartment building. Police suspected he had been thrown from his fifth-floor balcony, and thanks to explosive new evidence, Bar-Joseph can finally reveal who, how, and why.

“Trenchant, serpentine. . . . Packed with jaw-dropping and intimate details. . . . Bar-Joseph has done a laudable job of synthesizing the voluminous Israeli government information about Marwan, always keeping his eye for some of the outrageous—even absurd—turns of events in a high stakes drama.” ---New York Times

“Eye-opening. . . . A lucid and compelling glimpse into the world of espionage and the functioning—or malfunctioning—of leaders.” ---Wall Street Journal

“Intriguing. . . . The author . . . shows great empathy for a man who was in turn respected, reviled, and almost certainly murdered. Well-researched and candidly told, this book deserves shelf space next to volumes on Vladimir Vetrov and Kim Philby.” ---Kirkus

“Establishes beyond doubt that Marwan was the spy who most benefitted Israel in the 1970s and 1980s. . . . This work will be of great interest to readers trying to understand the byzantine world of international intelligence.” ---Library Journal