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Book Summary and Reviews of Major Farran's Hat by David Cesarani

Major Farran's Hat by David Cesarani

Major Farran's Hat

The Untold Story of the Struggle to Establish the Jewish State

by David Cesarani

  • Published:
  • Aug 2009, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In May 1947 a sixteen-year-old Jewish activist named Alexander Rubowitz was abducted in broad daylight from the streets of Jerusalem. At the abduction scene, a gray hat was found, purportedly belonging to Major Roy Farran, a decorated World War II officer who was in charge of British counterterrorism in Palestine. As evidence mounted against Farran, the Zionist underground swore vengeance. The episode precipitated a series of nail-biting twists and turns that had far-reaching consequences.

An engaging mix of true crime and polemical narrative history, peopled by a cast of luminaries including Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Menachem Begin, and Golda Meir, Major Farran’s Hat investigates shady violence, scandalous cover-ups, and political expediency. It also explores why Britain lost Palestine, as well as how its counterinsurgency and diplomatic strategies collided so disastrously. By exposing Britain’s legacy in the Middle East, this historical thriller echoes today’s war on terror and pointedly illustrates the circumstances surrounding the birth of the State of Israel.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[A] dense but cogent work...sound, sober historical documentation." - Kirkus Reviews

"Starred Review. Cesarani reveals the surprising existence of Jewish terrorist networks in Europe while offering a masterful and persuasive account of an ugly episode in British colonial history." - Publishers Weekly

This information about Major Farran's Hat was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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