Isaac's Army - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1781851107 ISBN 13: 9781781851104

Publisher: ONLYBOOK S.L

Synopsis

1930s Warsaw was a thoroughly cosmopolitan, even swinging city. Larger than Chicago, it was host to a rich Jewish cultural life. It seemed inconceivable that all this was about to be swept away, but then came the dark events of September 1939. As the Nazi invasion of Poland began, a ragtag army calling itself the Jewish Resistance Force fell into shape around the handsome, quick-witted Isaac Zuckerman. Impossibly daring, the JRF held out until the end of the war, by which time fewer than 100 of its members survived. ISAAC'S ARMY is the thrilling tale of the fortunes of the JRF's main participants, told in vivid prose that brilliantly creates an atmosphere febrile with danger, heroism and ingenuity - like Babel's Odessa Tales crossed with the Great Escape. In amongst the tragedy, ISAAC'S ARMY manages to be touching, entertaining, and even very funny, and ultimately a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit.

About this title

About the Author

Matthew Brzezinski is an author and journalist. He worked for the NYT in Warsaw in the early 1990s, and was Moscow correspondent for the WSJ. He is the author of CASINO MOSCOW (2002) and FORTRESS AMERICA (2004).

From Booklist

Much has been made of supposed Jewish passivity in the face of escalating Nazi terror. This ignores the thousands of Jews who fought the Nazis as members of various broader resistance groups across occupied Europe. But in Poland, the locus of genocide, Jews created their own resistance group. Brzezinski, a gentile of Polish ancestry with a Jewish wife and children, tells the story of these heroic men and women in an unvarnished, often grim, but inspiring chronicle. At the center of the narrative is Isaac Zuckerman, who with his blond hair and powerful physique could have been mistaken for an Aryan poster boy. Only 24 when Hitler invaded Poland, Zuckerman was both a Polish patriot and a dedicated Zionist. As head of the Jewish Fighting Organization, he led a mostly young group of Jews as they smuggled others to safety, gathered arms, plotted attacks, and eventually helped create the nation of Israel. This is not a tale of romantic glory. To survive, these fighters had to be ruthless and sometimes brutal, since torture and execution were guaranteed if they were caught. Still, this is an outstanding tribute to these men and women who chose to resist a monstrous tyranny. --Jay Freeman

About this edition

• Publisher: ONLYBOOK S.L
• ISBN 10: 1781851107
• ISBN 13: 9781781851104
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1