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Major Farran's Hat: The Untold Story of the Struggle to Establish the Jewish State
 
 

Major Farran's Hat: The Untold Story of the Struggle to Establish the Jewish State [Kindle Edition]

David Cesarani
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Kirkus Reviews, 7/1/09
“A pointedly argued account of the relentless violence by both British and Jewish groups that brought about the end of the British rule in Palestine. In this…cogent work, the author demonstrates how the British ‘special squads’ descended into criminality-and were matched in their militancy by Jewish groups such as the Irgun. Sound, sober, historical documentation.”

Booklist
“This is a necessary reminder about the underside of empire and the creation of nations.”

Washington Times
“A soundly researched history of an event worth remembering…A book worth having and referring to when contemplating the critical postwar years of the Palestine Mandate.”

Forbes.com
“Riveting and dramatic”

Washington Jewish Post
“Cesarani resurrects a long-forgotten murder of a young Jewish boy in Jerusalem that may have lessons for us today.”

The Jerusalem Post
“A wonderful book…riveting, persuasive”

New York Post, 9/13
“Cesarani dons his thriller cap to tell how Britain’s use of violent and extralegal activities helped hasten losing its mandate in Palestine.”

Jewish Book World, Spring 2010
“A gripping, suspenseful account of a government’s intentional perversion of justice. Treating the Rubowitz case as a microcosm of the struggle for a Jewish state sheds new light on these world-historical events as well as on the case itself.”

Multicultural Review, Spring 2010
“A highly recommended and fascinating book…Readers interested in British or Jewish history and crime will find this book very intriguing… [with] important lessons for Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Review

Kirkus Reviews, 7/1/09
“A pointedly argued account of the relentless violence by both British and Jewish groups that brought about the end of the British rule in Palestine. In this…cogent work, the author demonstrates how the British ‘special squads’ descended into criminality-and were matched in their militancy by Jewish groups such as the Irgun. Sound, sober, historical documentation.”

Booklist
“This is a necessary reminder about the underside of empire and the creation of nations.”

Washington Times
“A soundly researched history of an event worth remembering…A book worth having and referring to when contemplating the critical postwar years of the Palestine Mandate.”

Forbes.com
“Riveting and dramatic”

Washington Jewish Post
“Cesarani resurrects a long-forgotten murder of a young Jewish boy in Jerusalem that may have lessons for us today.”

The Jerusalem Post
“A wonderful book…riveting, persuasive”

New York Post, 9/13
“Cesarani dons his thriller cap to tell how Britain’s use of violent and extralegal activities helped hasten losing its mandate in Palestine.”


Product Details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 1471 KB
  • Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 11, 2009)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B002IT1AY6
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #486,598 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "THE ABDUCTION & MURDER OF ALEXANDER RUBOWITZ UNDERMINED BRITISH PRESTIGE & AUTHORITY IN PALESTINE", August 16, 2009
On May 6, 1947 sixteen-year-old Alexander Rubowitz left his home in northern Jerusalem and was abducted... tortured... and murdered... by a "secret British counterterrorism squad" that was headed by Major Roy Farran a decorated World War II, veteran. Alexander's only "crime" was that he hung up posters for the Stern Gang... a very effective Jewish terrorist group... which was one of many such groups "fighting to end British rule in Palestine and establish a Jewish state." Major Farran's group was established by higher ups in the British military and government under clandestine directives. They wore civilian clothes and drove civilian cars... and tried to fit in with the landscape. They had no rules... and the British command denied they existed. When they snatched young Rubowitz off the street... they took him to a deserted area and tied him to a tree and beat him... and he still wouldn't talk. Then Farran smashed Alex multiple times in the head with a rock and he died. The British squad then stabbed the body multiple times to make it seem like he was attacked by bandits or militant Palestinian Arabs. They burned the clothing and scattered the remains in the hopes the blood would attract jackals... and left the scene.

Unfortunately for Farran's squad... a couple of kids witnessed the abduction... and also found a hat that fell on the ground during the initial struggle to get Rubowitz in the car. The grey felt hat "had a name written in ink on the sweatband. Even though it was worn and smudged they could make out FAR-AN." The hat was eventually turned over to the police who were intertwined with the secret squad... and they denied that it belonged to anyone they knew. The missing... and eventually... believed to have been murdered Rubowitz... became a rallying point for not only all the Palestinian Jews... but Jews throughout the world. The author then flashes back in excruciating detail... through Farran's entire military history... leaving not one detail unreported. Concurrently the history of Jewish "terrorism" against the unwanted... and at times... anti-Semitic British rule... is meticulously presented with in depth analysis of Irgun and the official Jewish militia, the Hagana... along with the Stern Gang and other "dissidents". The early part of the story recounting Farran's military history drags at times... but from the time that British authorities finally acquiesce... that yes... a crime has been committed... the reader will be dumbfounded... as to the charges... that are... and are not filed. There are multiple escapes... when Farran is "guarded" by his peers... asylum in Syria... and legal snafu's... that will make you glad you persevered. Without giving too much away... it is despicable at times... who the world considers heroes.

The author should have very few doubters... as he has included one of the most in depth... professionally verified documentation... that an everyday reader could ask for. The story is two-hundred-eighteen-FULL-pages long... and the NOTES... SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY... PICTURE CREDITS... ACKNOWLEDGMENTS... and INDEX are seventy-two pages long.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An important and well documented work of history, February 26, 2010
By 
J. A Magill (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
Occasionally a work of history comes along that elucidates across interests and disciplines. David Cesarani's "Major Farran's Hat" is surely such a book, offering insights into areas ranging from the birth of Israel, the decline of the British Empire, and the history of modern counter insurgency. Indeed, I often found myself regretting that Cesarani wrote this after the US war in Iraq, as it might have served as a warning to not repeat a number of the British mistakes, which the American army did, with little thought given to the consequences.

Cesarani writes well and does a fine job maintaining the drama inherent in the story of Major Farran's crime and the trial that followed. Perhaps the works only short coming is that it expects readers to come to the table with a fair background in the subject. Thus, someone unfamiliar with British politics post-WWII, not to mention the years leading up to the Israeli War of Independence, may at times become confused and will almost certainly miss some of the story's nuance. Nonetheless, this is a must read for anybody with a serious interest in the topic.
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Enjoyable and Edifying, October 5, 2009
By 
Howard M. Raymond (Valrico, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
My friend, for whom I bought this book, read it almost in one sitting. He enjoyed it very much. He then lent it to me to read. I will read it after I get my new glasses(cautionary tale: make sure your Ophthalmologist will prescribe glasses!!).
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