Preview
  • Jabotinsky

  • A Life (Jewish Lives)
  • By: Hillel Halkin
  • Narrated by: Peter Lerman
  • Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (5 ratings)

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Jabotinsky

By: Hillel Halkin
Narrated by: Peter Lerman
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Publisher's summary

Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880–1940) was a man of huge paradoxes and contradictions and has been the most misunderstood of all Zionist politicians—a first-rate novelist, a celebrated Russian journalist, and the founder of the branch of Zionism now headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. This biography, the first in English in nearly two decades, undertakes to answer central questions about Jabotinsky as a writer, a political thinker, and a leader. Hillel Halkin sets aside the stereotypes to which Jabotinsky has been reduced by his would-be followers and detractors alike.

Halkin explains the importance of Odessa, Jabotinsky’s native city, in molding his character and outlook; discusses his novels and short stories, showing the sometimes hidden connections between them and Jabotinsky’s political thought, and studies a political career that ended in tragic failure. Halkin also addresses Jabotinsky’s position, unique among the great figures of Zionist history, as both a territorial maximalist and a principled believer in democracy. The author inquires why Jabotinsky was often accused of fascist tendencies though he abhorred authoritarian and totalitarian politics, and investigates the many opposed aspects of his personality and conduct while asking whether or not they had an ultimate coherence. Few figures in twentieth-century Jewish life were quite so admired and loathed, and Halkin’s splendid, subtle book explores him with empathy and lucidity.

The book is published by Yale University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2014 Hillel Halkin (P)2024 Redwood Audiobooks
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Critic reviews

“A beautifully written short biography of an exceedingly interesting man...” (New York Review of Books)

“A revelatory exploration of Vladimir Jabotinsky.” (Jewish Chronicle)

“A well-written, passionate survey of Jabotinsky’s life and contributions to political Zionism.” (Los Angeles Review of Books)

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Superb history, of Jabotinsky and times.

Given the never-ending chaos and polarizations relating to Zionism as we are clearly seeing, the monumental importance of men like Jabotinsky is increasingly vital. This was a superb book not only covering Jabotinsky's life but how the surrounding ideas and circumstances shaped his views and oh so much more. Great history of Zionism and related players as well. Just one of the best history books I've come across in general. A hidden gem.

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