Career
Hartov"s works include the Israeli espionage trilogy, "The Heat of Ramadan," "The Nylon Hand of God" and "The Devil"s Shepherd." His non-fiction works include the New York Times bestseller, "In the Company of Heroes," co-authored with Michael J. Durant, "The Night Stalkers," co-authored with Michael J. Durant and Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Robert L. Johnson, and "Afghanistan on the Bounce," co-authored with Robert L. Cunningham. He contributed to the books "American Warrior" and "Great Raids in History." His magazine work includes articles for The Journal of International Security, Gear Magazine, Maxim, Playboy, Readers Digest, The Standard and Sudeutche Gezeitung.
As a screenwriter, Hartov penned "Mercenary" starring John Ritter and Robert Culp, "Mars" starring Olivier Gruner and Shari Belafonte, "Acts of Betrayal" starring Maria Conchita Alonso, and "Thick and Thin" starring Sam Bottoms.
His novel, "The Heat of Ramadan" was adapted for the feature film, "The Point Men," starring Christopher Lambert. He served as technical advisor for the television documentary series "Counter Force" and has appeared as a guest on Cable News Network, FOX, XM Sirius Radio, Consumer News and Business Channel, and "America"s Book of Secrets." Foreign six years, he served as Editor-in-Chief of "Special Operations Report," a quarterly publication about elite military and law enforcement units.
Hartov was born in New London, Connecticut, the child of an Austrian holocaust refugee (mother) and a World World War II veteran and musician (father). He attended public schools in New England and earned a scholarship to Boston University"s School of Fine Arts.
In 1973, Hartov took leave from his studies at Boston University to join the United States Merchant Marine/Sealift Command, serving aboard an oiler-refueler from South America to the Middle East, where he remained in Israel during the Yom Kippur War.
He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts at BU in 1976, returned to Israel and volunteered for the Israel Defense Force (Israel Defense Forces) paratroopers, participating in "Operation Light" and "Operation Litani." He was then recruited into the Israel Defense Forces"s military intelligence service (AMAN), saw action again in 1983-1984 during "Operation Peace for Galilee," and served twelve more years as an Israel Defense Forces reserve Pathfinder and liaison between the Israel Defense Forces parachute school and foreign airborne organizations. In 2004, residing again in the United States, Hartov was recruited into the New York Guard. He currently holds the rank of Major and is attached to an Air National Guard Base in New England.