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Title: The Brigade: An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and WWII by Howard Blum, Lloyd John Bedford ISBN: 0-694-52658-4 Publisher: HarperAudio Pub. Date: 06 November, 2001 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.71 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An Israeli "Band of Brothers"
Comment: An Israeli "Band of Brothers"
All those who loved the recent HBO miniseries (and Stephen Ambrose book) "Band of Brothers" will also enjoy "The Brigade" by Howard Bloom.
"The Brigade" is the story of the Jewish Brigade Group, a unit made up of Jews - mostly from the then-British mandate of Palestine. Also known as the Jewish Fighting Brigade, it was formed in 1994 and played a critical role in the defeat of the Nazi armies in Northern Italy in 1945 as integral part of the British 8th Army.
Like "Band of Brothers", "The Brigade" not only gives us a history of the unit as a whole, but also allows us to get a better understanding of some of the individual members. In place of Dick winters, Lewis Nixon,Carwood Lipton, etc. we have Sgt. Israel Carmi, Cap't Johanthan Peltz, and Lt. Arie Pinchuk.
And while "Band of Brothers" reaches it's anticlimax in May of 1945 (or even in earlier in '45, after the victory at Bastogne), the story of the Jewish Brigade only gets more interesting after the war "officially" ends.
Though nominally part of the British army, the loyalty of most members was to the Jewish people. Service in the British army was seen merely as a means to an end. It was in this spirit, that the Brigade (aided by elements of American intelligence) started to carry out a campaign to identify and eliminate Nazi war criminals that had evaded Allied arrest. Their efforts as infiltrating and destroying a secret Nazi cabal that was spiriting former SS officers into hiding in South America was as exciting and as filled with intrigue as anything that could come out of the imagination of John Le Carre.
The adventure, however, doesn't stop there. The Brigade soon turned to rescuing the remaining Jews of Europe and making sure that they returned to their historical homeland in Palestine. Despite the active opposition of the British and in defiance of British colonial immigration laws, the Brigade was able to help around 68,000 Jews reach the Middle East. Another 50,000 or so were
captured by the British en route but were able to enter Israel after it had achieved independence in 1948. (The Jewish population of Palestine was about 600,000 in 1945.)
The Brigade was the first organized Jewish Army since the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in 70 CE/AD and Howard Bloom captures well their struggles, anguish and triumphs.
Rating: 5
Summary: Moving story of Palestine brigade
Comment: Blum focuses on three men -- Israel Carmi, Johanan Peltz, and Arie Pinchuk -- and one incredible woman -- Leah Pinchuk -- in weaving a story of political, military, personal, and cultural triumph.
Formed in 1944, the brigade plays a small yet perhaps pivotal role in Italy in the closing days of World War II. Some Allied officers and politicians feared the creation of a Jewish brigade; the Allies knew that there would be more than a late contribution to the Allied war effort from these highly motvated soldiers. And the year following victory in the European theater of war showed just how well-organized, focused, and effective a small number of well-trained and committed soldiers could be. They rooted out Nazi murderers, stole weapons from right under the noses of the Allies, and organized the exodus of Jewish war victims.
Blum uses a variety of military, historical and personal sources to construct his tale. By the time the reader reaches the end notes, Blum's choice of the three featured heroes makes good sense, among all of the heroics that made up this brigade. Of course, the memories of the people he interviewed were imperfect and incomplete, fifty years following the events. It should make a good movie. Perhaps that explains why the chapters have more of an outline format than the details some would like to see. And the first few chapters take some time to get the story up and running.
Leah Pinchuk has the most remarkable story of survival among the four. Her story epitomizes the terror of the war, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the ultimate triumph of human nature.
A strong historical and personal record worth reading.
Rating: 5
Summary: An epic story finally re-told!
Comment: "Before setting out for revenge, one must first dig two graves"
-ancient Chinese proverb
Like many Americans, I was completely ignorant of the small Isreali brigade mobilized by the British in the closing days of WW II. Howard Blum, in interviewing three key players, brings to life the stunning, action-packed and bloody history of this brigade which fought not just for freedom, but for vengence as well. Blum captures the complex history of British Palestine, the disinigration of post-war Europe, the survival of concentration camp refugees as well as the iron will it took all Isrealis to forge a nation in a just a few pages. Through the words of the survivors he also paints a vivid picture of the slow soul assissination that occurs when one seeks vengence. A lightening fast read that finally flashes some light on a nearly forgotten piece of history. A must read!
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Title: The Avengers by Rich Cohen, Rich Cohen ISBN: 0375705295 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Eve of Destruction : The Untold Story of the Yom Kippur War by Howard Blum ISBN: 0060013990 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz ISBN: 047146502X Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Memoirs of a Warsaw Ghetto Fighter: Critical Essays by Simhah Rotem, Kazik Simha Rotem, Barbara Harshav, Simha Rotem ISBN: 0300093764 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest by Peter Duffy ISBN: 0066210747 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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