Praise for Anonymous
Soldiers:
1.
“A gripping narrative
history . . . Its major contribution is to demonstrate that the Irgun-led
insurgency played a larger role in paving the way for Israel’s founding than we
previously believed . . . A pathbreaking book.” – Michael Doran, The
Wall Street Journal
2.
“Riveting and deeply researched . . .
Something remarkable . . . Hoffman excels at describing the complex
internal politics of the terrorists, the Yishuv, and the British
administration, which were constantly evolving . . . Extensive detail . .
. Anonymous Soldiers does a wonderful job of elucidating this
enormously complex and important period in Jewish history.” —Adam Kirsch, Tablet
3.
“Riveting . . .
Terrorism may work, as Hoffman suggesting in this thought-provoking book . . .
Hoffman writes skillfully.” —Tom Segev, The New York Times Book Review
4.
“A magisterial history that is indispensable to
anyone wishing to understand how and why the State of Israel came into
existence… More than most insurgent groups in history, the “anonymous soldiers”
of Hoffman’s history left behind a legacy of accomplishment, as well as of
terror—a conclusion as remarkable as the story that he has told so well.” —Eliot
A. Cohen, Foreign Affairs
5.
“Gripping detail . . . Anonymous Soldiers
can be seen as a corrective to the understatements and misstatements about the
role of the Revisionist movement in the history of Zionism and, especially, the
creation and defense of the Jewish state . . . An even-handed work of history
that is, at the same time, a morally illuminating and challenging.” —Jonathan
Kirsch, Jewish Journal
6.
“[Bruce Hoffman] presents a detailed chronicle
of the guerrilla war waged by the Irgun, the Stern gang (also known as Lehi)
and occasionally the Haganah against the British authorities . . . A valuable
contribution . . . Hoffman is the first scholar of the subject to fully utilize
the many thousands of British intelligence documents from the 1940s that have
been declassified in recent years . . . Revealing.” —Rafael Medoff, Haaretz
7.
“An authoritative, sweeping, important
history that shows how terrorism ‘is neither irrational nor desperate but
instead entirely rational and often carefully calculated and choreographed.’”
—Kirkus (starred review)
8.
“Drawing on prodigious research and
employing fine narrative pacing, Hoffman has produced a first-rate work on the
‘endgame’ in the Zionist struggle to establish a Jewish state.” —Publishers
Weekly (starred)
9.
“Well-sourced, exhaustive . . . Those interested
in the Arab-Israeli conflict will want this book in their library. Hoffman has
written it without using the kind of accusatory language that often is the
hallmark of such books . . . Written in an interesting style, and richly
footnoted based on the author’s access to declassified British, Israeli and
American documents.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
10.
“Terror works – at least sometimes – and there
is no better proof than the success of the Israeli underground during the
British Mandate in Palestine. In Anonymous Soldiers, Bruce Hoffman,
the dean of counterterrorist scholars, explores the history and methods that
would become the template for terrorist movements of the present day. This
book will become a classic on the shelf of those who seek to understand and
fight against non-state actors, who were themselves inspired by the Israeli
example.” —Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower and
Thirteen Days in September
11.
“This is the most
important book for years on the prehistory of the state of Israel. Based to a
large extent sources not tapped hitherto. At the same time it is an invaluable
contribution to the history of political violence and counterterrorism,
shedding new light on conditions in which terrorism succeeds and when it fails.”
—Walter Laqueur, author of A History of Zionism
12.
“Anonymous Soldiers
is the best comprehensive study of the Jewish extremists' terror\guerrilla
campaign against the British in Palestine in the years 1939-1947. It is also a
fine case study of a modern insurgency and counter-insurgency, with lessons for
all students of terrorist\urban guerrilla wars around the globe. Hoffman is
properly mindful of what motivated both the Jews and the British and of the
decision-making processes at each turn in the bloody saga. And it is based on a
very thorough trawl through the British and American archives, making it a
lasting contribution to the historiography of British Mandate Palestine.
Henceforward, few will be able to avoid the conclusion that the extremists'
bloodletting was a primary cause of Britain's decision to leave, indeed,
abandon, Palestine.” —Benny Morris, author of Righteous Victims
13.
“This is Bruce Hoffman’s
magnum opus. Hoffman asks an uncomfortable question: ‘Does terrorism
work?’ And he provides an uncomfortable answer in this
deeply researched account of the Jewish terrorists who forced the
British out of Palestine: Sometimes it does. Hoffman brings great analytic
rigor to a history that is based on a deep dive into the relevant
archives, many of which were hitherto secret and have been
recently declassified. This is the definitive account of one of
the key factors in the formation of Israel.” — Peter Bergen, author
of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad
14.
“Hoffman, who has studied and written
extensively on terrorism in the Middle East, asserts that terrorist activities
by the Jewish underground played an essential role in forcing Britain to
abandon its mandate in Palestine, leading to the establishment of Israel in
1947. . . Well-researched and highly detailed . . . Thorough and well argued .
. . [With] important implications.” —Jay Freeman, Booklist
15.
“[An] exhaustive detailed history of British
Mandate Palestine . . . A must read for anyone interested in the origins
of the State of Israel.” —Joel Neuberg, Library Journal
About the Author
BRUCE HOFFMAN is the director
of the Center for Security Studies and director of the Security Studies Program
at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is
also a senior fellow at the U.S. Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Center.
His previous books include Inside Terrorism and The Failure of
British Military Strategy within Palestine, 1939–1947.
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