You want blood and guts? Check out Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, or Business Tactics and Techniques from History's Twelve Greatest Generals.

Maybe you prefer religious themes. Try The 25 Most Common Problems in Business: And How Jesus Solved Them.

Science fiction? How about Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek: The Next Generation, or The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition?

Statesmen? You can take your pick among Lincoln on Leadership, The Founding Fathers on Leadership, and Churchill on Leadership.

There are dozens and dozens of these things. There's even a book on the management theories of Winnie the Pooh.

Now comes Gerald Westerby with In Hostile Territory: Business Secrets of a Mossad Combatant. I can just imagine how this came about. A publisher yawns at a prospective author's management ideas and asks, "Where's the gimmick?" The author, sensing that his dream of being published is fading fast, volunteers tentatively that, "well, I was in the Israeli army as a kid and did a bit of espionage." The publisher jumps up and shouts, "That's it! Readers of business books are middle-aged white males who also read spy and war novels. We'll say that we had to change names and details for security reasons. Then we'll just make up a lot of great cloak-and-dagger stuff. No one will ever know!"

Whatever the genesis of the book, the lessons that Mr. Westerby (a pseudonym) draws from the Mossad have almost no bearing on business management. The ideas are simplistic, and the writing is awful. Here's an example of both: "People prefer like people. That is the rule. Simple, concise, elegant, and true. Note again: People prefer people who in as many ways and in as many customs and habits as possible are like themselves. The rule is ironclad. It is watertight. It is airtight and hermetically sealed. You can bank on it. You can wager your last dollar on it. You can act as though it were as immutable as the laws of gravity." I think you get the point.

Sometimes Mr. Westerby lays out ideas that are simply wrong. The author suggests heavy use of deceit, which is probably fitting for a spy but is generally a bad idea in business. A spy can lie his way through a mission because he often does not have to deal with those same people again. A business person, however, will often continue to deal with the same people over and over, be they customers, suppliers, or bankers. Even leaving morality aside, executives can't use a string of lies to close a bunch of sales or get a series of deals, even if the tactic does work once or twice. While business sometimes resembles war, just as often it can look like a fraternity, a courtship, or a marriage.

In the chapter, "How to Make Silence Your Ally," Mr. Westerby suggests that it's best not to reveal anything in a conversation. "If you have to speak, say nothing," he writes. That might be the right approach if you're a spy, but a free exchange of ideas is crucial for building trusting relations in business.

I have to admit that I enjoyed reading the segments on Mr. Westerby's exploits as a Mossad agent, which are conveniently printed in boldface type. Heck, I also enjoy reading Ken Follett, Tom Clancy, and Robert Ludlum. But it's important to remember that there is a difference between fact and fiction, and between war and business.

My advice on this book—and others of the gimmick genre—is to stay away from them. If you want to read an exciting book about spies, pick up a good novel. If you want to read about business, go for one of the classics.

Mr. Nee (his real name) writes about business from Palo Alto, Calif. He's never been a Mossad agent but thinks that his experience as a father might be the basis for his first book, Dad: Lessons in Leadership. He can be reached at enee@forbes.com.