Reviews
Advance praise for Anonymous Soldiers: "An authoritative, sweeping, important history that shows how terrorism 'is neither irrational nor desperate but instead entirely rational and often carefully calculated and choreographed.'" --Kirkus (starred review) "Terror works - at least sometimes - and there is no better proof than the success of the Israeli underground during the British Mandate in Palestine. In Anonymous Soldiers , Bruce Hoffman, the dean of counterterrorist scholars, explores the history and methods that would become the template for terrorist movements of the present day. This book will become a classic on the shelf of those who seek to understand and fight against non-state actors, who were themselves inspired by the Israeli example." --Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower and Thirteen Days in September "This is the most important book for years on the prehistory of the state of Israel. Based to a large extent sources not tapped hitherto. At the same time it is an invaluable contribution to the history of political violence and counterterrorism, shedding new light on conditions in which terrorism succeeds and when it fails." --Walter Laqueur, author of A History of Zionism " Anonymous Soldiers is the best comprehensive study of the Jewish extremists' terror\guerrilla campaign against the British in Palestine in the years 1939-1947. It is also a fine case study of a modern insurgency and counter-insurgency, with lessons for all students of terrorist\urban guerrilla wars around the globe. Hoffman is properly mindful of what motivated both the Jews and the British and of the decision-making processes at each turn in the bloody saga. And it is based on a very thorough trawl through the British and American archives, making it a lasting contribution to the historiography of British Mandate Palestine. Henceforward, few will be able to avoid the conclusion that the extremists' bloodletting was a primary cause of Britain's decision to leave, indeed, abandon, Palestine." --Benny Morris, author of Righteous Victims "This is Bruce Hoffman's magnum opus. Hoffman asks an uncomfortable question: 'Does terrorism work?' And he provides an uncomfortable answer in this deeply researched account of the Jewish terrorists who forced the British out of Palestine: Sometimes it does. Hoffman brings great analytic rigor to a history that is based on a deep dive into the relevant archives, many of which were hitherto secret and have been recently declassified. This is the definitive account of one of the key factors in the formation of Israel." -- Peter Bergen is the author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad, Advance praise for Anonymous Soldiers: "Terror works - at least sometimes - and there is no better proof than the success of the Israeli underground during the British Mandate in Palestine. In Anonymous Soldiers , Bruce Hoffman, the dean of counterterrorist scholars, explores the history and methods that would become the template for terrorist movements of the present day. This book will become a classic on the shelf of those who seek to understand and fight against non-state actors, who were themselves inspired by the Israeli example." --Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower and Thirteen Days in September "This is the most important book for years on the prehistory of the state of Israel. Based to a large extent sources not tapped hitherto. At the same time it is an invaluable contribution to the history of political violence and counterterrorism, shedding new light on conditions in which terrorism succeeds and when it fails." --Walter Laqueur, author of A History of Zionism " Anonymous Soldiers is the best comprehensive study of the Jewish extremists' terror\guerrilla campaign against the British in Palestine in the years 1939-1947. It is also a fine case study of a modern insurgency and counter-insurgency, with lessons for all students of terrorist\urban guerrilla wars around the globe. Hoffman is properly mindful of what motivated both the Jews and the British and of the decision-making processes at each turn in the bloody saga. And it is based on a very thorough trawl through the British and American archives, making it a lasting contribution to the historiography of British Mandate Palestine. Henceforward, few will be able to avoid the conclusion that the extremists' bloodletting was a primary cause of Britain's decision to leave, indeed, abandon, Palestine." --Benny Morris, author of Righteous Victims
