Updated

In a memoir completed shortly before Shimon Peres' death last year, the former Israeli president and prime minister offers his trademark optimistic blueprint for future leadership — along with some subtle criticism of the country's current leader.

The book, "No Room for Small Dreams," came out Tuesday as Israel began marking the first anniversary of his passing at the age of 93 with memorial ceremonies, commemorative stamps and foreign dignitaries descending on The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.

The book offers a rare glimpse into key chapters of an extraordinary seven-decade career packed with historic triumphs and painful setbacks. It was a life Peres vows he lived without regrets but for one possible exception — that his vision to make Middle East peace did not materialize in his lifetime.