Synopses & Reviews
It is the final weeks of World War II. His Majesty's Jewish Brigade, the only all-Jewish fighting unit in the war, goes into combat against the Nazis. In one glorious battle they push the Nazis back and emerge victorious only to be pulled from the front days later. This is when the Brigade's real struggle beings. Amidst the chaos of post-war Europe, and under the noses of the occupying Allied armies, the young men of the Brigade mastermind one clandestine operation after another, forming secret vengeance squads to assassinate Nazi officers in hiding, and engineering the rescue and transportation of Holocaust survivors to Palestine. Told from the point of view of three principal characters Israel Carmi, Johanan Peltz, and Arie Pinchuk The Brigade, while certain to make headlines and provoke debate about the moral elements of justice, is at its core a personal drama of three remarkable men who set out to fight a war and in the process help create a nation.
Review
“Blum...presents the material masterfully, building suspense and carefully documenting all the action.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“An action-packed, real-life drama….All will be pleased.” Kirkus
Review
“Remarkable....The Brigade [is] an illuminating addition to the annals of World War II.” New York Times Book Review
Review
“[In] The Brigade ... Blum has written a powerful wartime saga that is also a meditation on morality.” Washington Post
Review
“One of the most moving accounts of the war to appear in many decades.” Washington Post
Synopsis
In November, 1944, World War II still raged, but the tide was beginning to shift. The Allies had made significant advances in Europe, and the Battle of the Bulge was about to irreparably harm the German military. At this time, the British government agreed to send a brigade of five thousand Jewish volunteers from Palestine to Europe to join the fight.
At the war's end, the Palestinian brigade witnessed the horrors suffered by their fellow Jews, and embarked on a campaign of vengeance. But a chance encounter turned the soldiers away from violence and towards a more peaceful mission -- rescuing Jewish war orphans. The Brigade is a thrilling historical adventure about how a Jewish army proved they could be victorious in both war and peace.
Howard Blum is the bestselling author of five critically acclaimed nonfiction books, including Wanted The Search for Nazis in America, Gangland, and The Gold of Exodus. As a reporter for the New York Times, Howard Blum was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Currently he is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. Mr. Blum lives with his wife and three children in Connecticut.
"Howard Blum's remarkably written and documented The Brigade is more than a story about memory, justice and vengeance; it is a moving evocation of events and people whose tears and dreams will continue to haunt humanity for centuries to come." -- Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and author of Night
--Kirkus
Synopsis
November 1944. The British government finally agrees to send a brigade of 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Palestine to Europe to fight the German army. But when the war ends and the soldiers witness firsthand the horrors their people have suffered in the concentration camps, the men launch a brutal and calculating campaign of vengeance, forming secret squads to identify, locate, and kill Nazi officers in hiding. Their own ferocity threatens to overwhelm them until a fortuitous encounter with an orphaned girl sets the men on a course of action—rescuing Jewish war orphans and transporting them to Palestine—that will not only change their lives but also help create a nation and forever alter the course of world history.
About the Author
Howard Blum is the author of the New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award winner American Lightning, as well as Wanted!, The Gold of Exodus, Gangland, and The Floor of Heaven. Blum is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. While at the New York Times, he was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He is the father of three children, and lives in Connecticut.