title: The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins
author: Robert B. Baer
description: &ldquo;A best-selling author and former CIA operative chronicles his experiences as an assassin while offering chilling insight into the fine art of political murder&hellip; Fascinating reading from an expert.&rdquo;&mdash;<i><b>Kirkus</b></i><br><br>&ldquo;Exposes a niche of the spy world that we are all aware of but know little about: assassination. <i>The Perfect Kill</i> is 310 pages of cold calculations, intriguing ethical debates and eyebrow-raising scenes, with Middle East history sprinkled throughout.&rdquo;&mdash;<i><b>Washington Post</b></i><br><br>&ldquo;<i>The Perfect Kill</i>'s unusual mix of thrilling memoir and political science is a winning combination.&rdquo;&mdash;<b><i>Shelf Awareness</i> (starred review)</b><br><br> &ldquo;A fascinating, up-close look at the hunt for Radwan, and it&rsquo;s packed with intriguing contemporary and historical details on the assassinations of tyrants.&rdquo;&mdash;<i><b>Booklist&#160;</b></i><br><br> &ldquo;A thrilling read from start to finish. [Baer] has a narrative voice that is concise, informative and though he occasionally drifts toward the conspiratorial (which isn&rsquo;t a bad thing), he tempers it by clearly defining what is fact and what is conjecture.&rdquo;&mdash;<i><b>Ensuing Chapters</b></i><br> <i>&#160;</i><br> &ldquo;A true maverick with an undeniably captivating personal story, Baer pulls back the curtain on the underbelly of world politics and the quiet murderers who operate on the fringe of our society.&rdquo;&mdash;<b>OccuWorld</b><br> &#160;<br><b>Acclaim for <i>The Devil We Know</i></b><br> &ldquo;A masterpiece&hellip;Baer's brilliant analysis of Sunni versus Shia, Arab versus Iranian, and Christian versus Muslim is shocking, revealing, and provocative. &#160;Baer lifts the veil of Western media hype and challenges the simplistic solutions offered by &lsquo;experts&rsquo; whose&#160;vision is blurred&#160;by&#160;the past. Through his knowledge, long-term experience, and ability to&#160;assess the changing landscape&#160;of this&#160;vital region, he not only shatters the foundations of conventional&#160;thinking, but also offers a practicable blueprint for turning things around.&rdquo;&mdash;John Perkins, author of the <i>New York Times </i>bestseller <i>Confessions of an Economic Hit Man</i><br><br> &ldquo;The most important and original book on the Middle East to appear in many years. This is a book McCain and Obama should ponder.&rdquo;<br> &mdash;Thomas Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of <i>The Man Who Kept the Secrets</i> and <i>Intelligence Wars</i><br><br> "<i>The Devil We Know</i>, Bob Baer has once again peered into the future and has brought back uncomfortable truths that won't satisfy any partisan. But his book does force us to do something that, unfortunately, doesn't come naturally to the chattering classes. Think.&rdquo;<br> &mdash;James Risen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of <i>State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration</i><br><br> &ldquo;An important text studded with keen insights into a nation about which America remains dangerously misinformed.&rdquo;<br> &mdash;<i>Kirkus Reviews</i><br> &#160;<br><b>Acclaim for <i>Sleeping With the Devil: </i></b><br><br> &ldquo;An unsettling, eye-opening account of our relationship with Saudi Arabia... [Baer] gets our attention.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>Boston Herald </i><br><br> &ldquo;Details how an administration known for its vigilance on the international scene routinely and inexplicably spins, caves, and hops for the Saudis.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>The Washington Post</i><br> &#160;<br><b>Acclaim for <i>The Company We Keep: </i></b><br> &#160;<br> "[A] bloody, suspenseful story of love and deceit.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>Mens Journal</i><br><br> &ldquo;<i>The Company We Keep</i> is a breezy, often fascinating account of this CIA romance, with tradecraft details and war stories thrown in to make it catnip for any fan of espionage fiction...That the Baers coaxed a happy ending out of all this is not the least remarkable part of their appealing story, and hats off to them."&mdash;<i>The Washington Post</i><br><br> &ldquo;Engrossing&hellip;filled with juicy, personal on-the-job details&hellip;[an] exhilarating tale of geopolitical love and peril.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>More</i><br><br> "<i>The Company We Keep </i>is the best true-life spy story I've ever read&hellip;You'll find yourself rooting for these two vagabond spies, and you won't want their exciting and moving story to end."&mdash;David Ignatius, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Body of Lies</i><br><br> "Funny, frightening, ironic, and deeply moving, this is an utterly engrossing thrill ride through the hall of mirrors that is modern espionage&hellip;A wonderful book."&mdash;Richard North Patterson, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Degree of Guilt </i>and <i>In the Name of Honor </i><br><br> "Provides a spot-on and compelling portrait of real life inside the CIA; the periods of boredom and frustration loudly punctuated by fast-moving and sometimes frightening, sometimes amusing intelligence operations.&#160; Bob and Dayna Baer are the real deal and they beautifully capture the murky world they lived and worked in for years."&mdash;Valerie Plame Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of <i>Fair Game </i><br><br> &ldquo;Propulsive momentum&hellip;the authors give a good sense of the improvisational nature of the CIA&hellip;Both Baers write affectingly of their experiences.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>Kirkus Reviews</i><br><br> "A revelation&hellip;[shows] how spies operate in the field, the personal costs they pay for the exceptional lives they live, and the way fate can deliver up redemption&hellip;I loved this book."&mdash;Barry Eisler, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Rain Fall </i>and <i>Fault Line</i><br><br> "An emotionally candid memoir of a life few could imagine, juggling terrorists and dictators with all too real family dramas&hellip;describes how two accomplished spies trained in shooting for the heart, improbably found their own."&mdash;Jane Mayer, National Book Award Finalist for <i>The Dark Side </i><br><br> "After 20 years as the CIA's best and most adventurous spy,&#160;Bob&#160;Baer&#160;has established himself as America's go-to writer on espionage and the Middle East in the age of 9/11. Now he and his wife Dayna have added a heart-stopping new chapter, revealing how a couple caught up in the dark world of CIA intrigue try to balance romance and gunplay while building a relationship on the jagged edge of undercover work&hellip;<i>The Company We Keep </i>will make you ask, who needs Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie?"&mdash;James Risen, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of&#160;<i>State of War </i><br><br> "A cross between John Le Carre and Erich Segal&hellip;Told with flair, intelligence and emotion &ndash; and often diary-like detail."&mdash;Leslie Stahl, CBS News<br><br> "Extraordinary&hellip;shows the Baers&rsquo; ultimate triumph over the isolation inherent in their professions and the banality of bureaucracy worldwide."&mdash;Lindsay Moran, author of <i>Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy </i>
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  Unforeseen Circumstances
  
  My precognition warned me just in time and I jerked my head back. Half a
  second later there was a high harmonic crack as a bullet whipped through the
  space that had just a moment ago been occupied by my right eye. My would-be
  assassin was a very good shot.
  
  That last bit of information was enough to make me sure that I did not want to
  make a run for it. The ground around the tree was rolling grassland for fifty
  yards in every direction and I had no intention of trying my luck. I hugged
  the tree and waited.
  
  Ten seconds passed, twenty. How long would the assassin stay with his sights
  trained on the tree? He couldn’t afford to wait forever; the more time he
  spent in his position the better the chance of being found. Thirty seconds.
  Forty. I looked into the future and saw that putting my head out wasn’t going
  to attract another bullet. Maybe he’d gone? No, there was another attack
  coming, it was—
  
  My eyes went wide. He’s going to shoot me with a