Rating: 
Summary: An epic story finally re-told!
Review: "Before setting out for revenge, one must first dig two graves"
-ancient Chinese proverbLike 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!
Rating: 
Summary: Sufficiently appreciable
Review: "Fair" is the suitable adjective I can use to describe this book: a fair average between thread and history deeds, between thoroughness and narrative speed. It is an interesting story in the environment of WWII, matching military issues and Holocaust items, which can be seen as the convergence of several witnesses, on the landscape of birth of the Israel nation. It is an advisable reading, even if not a milestone, written by a very flowing style. It is not an ideological issue, nor a propaganda pamphlet. It is a plain witness, as simple as taking part to a world war can be, and facing, and an unusual Jewish point of view of the Holocaust. However, I have been disappointed by discovering that the photo collection inside the paperback edition is as half as the hardcover one.
Rating:
Summary: An epic story finally re-told!
Review: "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!
Rating: 
Summary: I learned a lot but wished for more
Review: A very good, informative story of the Jewish Brigade which fought in the Italian theatre in 1945 then later crisscrossed Europe exacting revenge on SS troops and rescuing Jewish refugees. I only wish a little more detail was included as the book is a rather quick read. Despite that, a very good book that left me wanting to go out and read more on the founding of modern Israel and the Israeli-Arab conflicts which followed.
Rating:
Summary: An Israeli "Band of Brothers"
Review: 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:
Summary: An Israeli "Band of Brothers"
Review: 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:
Summary: Moving story of Palestine brigade
Review: 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:
Summary: Terrific book
Review: Had a hard time putting it down. Well written and really moving.
Rating:
Summary: stirring history of WW II Jewish military valor, redemption
Review: Rarely does a history interweave compelling personal histories and enormous social/moral themes as does Howard Blum's moving and convicing "The Brigade." This work does far more than describe the formation, engagements and ultimate triumphs of the first organized Jewish armed forces in two millenia; it firmly places the five thousand Jewish Palestinian volunteers who fought with the Star of David proudly placed on their shoulders in the center of Jewish history. The men who would don British uniforms would fight for a myriad of purposes: out of anger against the unspeakable evil of the Holocaust, from an awareness that they were living rebukes to the notion that Jews served as deseerving recipients of passive suffering, with a sense of their historical purpose of establishing a Jewish homeland and becoming ironic adversaries of the very nation (Britain) which enlisted their service. Though "The Brigade" nobly treats the themes of Jewish armed resistance, vengeance and ultimate salvation, this memorable history above all signals the profound development of a renewed Jewish identity, forged in battle against the background of genocide and ruin, tested by personal sorrow and fortified by a messianic vision of a Jewish homeland for the shattered remnants of European Jewry. The Jewish fighters are proud, heroic and consecrated to their vision; they become increasingly aware of their role in a Jewish future. Initially consumed by rage and the obvious need to crush their German enemy, the three members of The Brigade on whom this history focuses evolve morally. From muderous avengers of the crime of mass murder, these men ultimately perceive their role as guardians of those Jews who survived the Holocaust, especially the children, as central to their lives' meaning. Rich in specific military detail, "The Brigade" is at its best when depicting the personal transformation of its three featured soldiers. Each comprehends a remarkable epiphany during Passover in 1945; each becomes acutely aware of his Jewishness, his place in the enormous task confronting him. The aloof, aristocratic Johanan Peltz discovers his "inescapable and defining" bond with common Jews. "He could neither hide from nor deny it...He was another Jew walking down a long corridor toward a communal destiny." Studious and devoted to his family, Arie Pinchuk finds the moral strength to reconsecrate himself to the search for his family. The contentment of Passover contrasts painfully with that which "had been taken from him," and he resolves that only by redeeming and reclaiming his family could he once again recapture the peace of the holiday. Israel Carmi, a brilliant tactician and resourceful leader of the Jewish Palestinian underground, celebrates the Passover under fire. Yearning for his family in Palestine, Carmi is struck with the awareness "that this makeshift seder in a trench crowded with Jewish soldiers was making all the future seders possible." Blum also deftly interstitches the remarkable story of Leah Pinchuk, Arie's sister. Leah's survival quietly and convincingly emerges as a methaphor of the Holocaust. She is a living embodiment of the modern state of Israel. Mr. Blum is also capable of eloquence as well. His description of Carmi and Peltz's encounter with Jewish survivors of Mauthausen devastates the reader. The survivors "found it easier to imagine that angels, not Jewish soldiers, were standing in front of them." When one weak, old man steps towards Peltz and touches "the tip of his finger tentatively to the skin of Peltz's outstretched hand," it is as if time and history stop. "Bound by their deep shared sorrow," the men embrace and mourn together. "The Brigade" is an especially important history given the peril of Israel's existence today. At a time when Holocaust denial and distortion are perniciously used against Israel, at a time when many in the world are still profoundly ignorant of the moral imperative of that beleaguered nation and at a time when much of the world is more comfortable with Jews who suffer than Jews who fight back, "The Brigade" serves as a reminder of Jewish strength, resolve and hope.
Rating:
Summary: stirring history of WW II Jewish military valor, redemption
Review: Rarely does a history interweave compelling personal histories and enormous social/moral themes as does Howard Blum's moving and convicing "The Brigade." This work does far more than describe the formation, engagements and ultimate triumphs of the first organized Jewish armed forces in two millenia; it firmly places the five thousand Jewish Palestinian volunteers who fought with the Star of David proudly placed on their shoulders in the center of Jewish history. The men who would don British uniforms would fight for a myriad of purposes: out of anger against the unspeakable evil of the Holocaust, from an awareness that they were living rebukes to the notion that Jews served as deseerving recipients of passive suffering, with a sense of their historical purpose of establishing a Jewish homeland and becoming ironic adversaries of the very nation (Britain) which enlisted their service. Though "The Brigade" nobly treats the themes of Jewish armed resistance, vengeance and ultimate salvation, this memorable history above all signals the profound development of a renewed Jewish identity, forged in battle against the background of genocide and ruin, tested by personal sorrow and fortified by a messianic vision of a Jewish homeland for the shattered remnants of European Jewry. The Jewish fighters are proud, heroic and consecrated to their vision; they become increasingly aware of their role in a Jewish future. Initially consumed by rage and the obvious need to crush their German enemy, the three members of The Brigade on whom this history focuses evolve morally. From muderous avengers of the crime of mass murder, these men ultimately perceive their role as guardians of those Jews who survived the Holocaust, especially the children, as central to their lives' meaning. Rich in specific military detail, "The Brigade" is at its best when depicting the personal transformation of its three featured soldiers. Each comprehends a remarkable epiphany during Passover in 1945; each becomes acutely aware of his Jewishness, his place in the enormous task confronting him. The aloof, aristocratic Johanan Peltz discovers his "inescapable and defining" bond with common Jews. "He could neither hide from nor deny it...He was another Jew walking down a long corridor toward a communal destiny." Studious and devoted to his family, Arie Pinchuk finds the moral strength to reconsecrate himself to the search for his family. The contentment of Passover contrasts painfully with that which "had been taken from him," and he resolves that only by redeeming and reclaiming his family could he once again recapture the peace of the holiday. Israel Carmi, a brilliant tactician and resourceful leader of the Jewish Palestinian underground, celebrates the Passover under fire. Yearning for his family in Palestine, Carmi is struck with the awareness "that this makeshift seder in a trench crowded with Jewish soldiers was making all the future seders possible." Blum also deftly interstitches the remarkable story of Leah Pinchuk, Arie's sister. Leah's survival quietly and convincingly emerges as a methaphor of the Holocaust. She is a living embodiment of the modern state of Israel. Mr. Blum is also capable of eloquence as well. His description of Carmi and Peltz's encounter with Jewish survivors of Mauthausen devastates the reader. The survivors "found it easier to imagine that angels, not Jewish soldiers, were standing in front of them." When one weak, old man steps towards Peltz and touches "the tip of his finger tentatively to the skin of Peltz's outstretched hand," it is as if time and history stop. "Bound by their deep shared sorrow," the men embrace and mourn together. "The Brigade" is an especially important history given the peril of Israel's existence today. At a time when Holocaust denial and distortion are perniciously used against Israel, at a time when many in the world are still profoundly ignorant of the moral imperative of that beleaguered nation and at a time when much of the world is more comfortable with Jews who suffer than Jews who fight back, "The Brigade" serves as a reminder of Jewish strength, resolve and hope.
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