Rebel and Statesman

First time in Paperback. This two-volume work by Joseph B. Schectman, constitutes the definitive biography of Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Many historians call Jabotinsky a great Jewish patriot and statesman, but to others he was an opportunist. A man whose memory commands both reverent loyalty and fierce hatred at the same time, he is most certainly one of the giants of modem Jewish history, and one whose life story reads like a history of the creation of the State of Israel. Jabotinsky comes alive in this biography as a political thinker and leader, poet, orator, diplomat, linguist, and freedom fighter for whom the liberation of Palestine became a consuming passion. Volume One, Rebel and Statesman, delves into his background as a journalist in Russia, creator of the Jewish Legion that fought with the British in World War I, soldier who fought in the liberation of Palestine from the Turks, and organizer of the defense of Jerusalem against Arab pogroms-to show the development of character that would drive him to become a political prisoner of the British, member of the Zionist World Executive, and eventually founder of the Jewish military underground. This volume closes with his resignation in 1923 from the World Zionist Organization in protest against the views of its leaders-a time of deep disillusionment for him, and a turning point in both his career and his life.