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Orde Wingate
A biography of Orde Wingate
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
575 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 26, 2016
A thorough biography of a thoroughly extraordinary man , an eccentric genius who distinguished himself as a hero of the re-establishment of Israel , who crated special units of Jewish fighters during the Arab pogroms against Jews in the Holy Land in the 1930s. And also one of the great military commanders of the Second World War.
Christopher Sykes follows Wingate's life from his childhood in England where he spent his first twelve years socializing primarily with his siblings. In rather austere upbringing in England in a Puritanistic household. There was no outings with others who were not of their family, nmo childrens parties , no juvenile dances, no football, no cricket, no sight of the human world beyond their family gates. . Wingate ans his sisters had a fantasy world. He and his siblings created a fantasy world full of romance, conspiracy and battle called 'Lodolf' , similar to the fantasy worlds of the childhoods of great writers like the Brontes, Robert Louis Stevenson and JRR Tolkien
He made no special distinction at university and military training and was not popular with his peers. He did distinguish himself as a soldier in the Sudan among the British forces in the 1920s.
Orde Wingate then after marrying a girl 14 years his junior named Lorna, went to the then Palestine Mandate where he developed a strong affinity for the Jews and Zionism.
After witnessing the terror of the pogroms of the so called Arab Revolt which swept Palestine in the 1930s, sponsored by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy where Arab mobs swept the holy Land murdering Jews and British soldiers - in one place the book recounts in 1936 a Jewish cinema crowd was fired on, in another nurses in a Jewish clinic were shot with their patients and there were murders of Jewish children.
In many places the bands of Arab peasants set out by night to destroy the crops and orange groves of the Jewish pioneers.
the British army did little to help the Jews fearing greater Arab wrath. but wingate made acquaintances with many Jewish pioneers and he and his wife spent time on the Jewish kibbutzim, He urged the Jews of pre-state Israel to greater activism and militancy even exhorting them to defy the British colonial authorities.
His key role in command, his distinction in leading nascent Jewish forces in battle such as The Battle of Dabburiya where amongst other places he rooted and off Arab bands intent on slaughter and plunder.
At Tiberius in 1938 the forces of the German ally, the Syrian Fawzi al Kaukji,carried out a massacre where they murdered nineteen Jews, mainly young children, the victims being burned alive after having been stabbed.
Histories of Palestine at the time often give shrt shrift tot eh massacres carried out againbst Jews in Palestine by arabs during the Arab Revolt.
It was Wingate's enthusiasm for the Zionist cause, much to the chagrin of the British colonial authorities that led him to being exiled from the Land of Israel. much to his displeasure Wingate was dubbed as the Lawrence of Judea (displeasure because wingate despised the Arabist TE Lawrence to whom he was related by blood)
When serving in Abyssinia in 1941-1942 he distinguished himself against as a great commander against eh occupying Italians. He showed a passion for Ethiopian independence and was instrumental in driving the Italian out of Ethiopia.
He is best known for his organization of bands of Chindit fighters to in Burma resisting the Japanese attacks on that country, where he met his death in 1944 in an airplane accident.
This book while it can be long winded in places, thoroughly explores the psyche and motivations of this great character. Published in 1959 it was the first real biography of Orde Wingate and an instrumental resource on compilation of subsequent biographies.
Christopher Sykes follows Wingate's life from his childhood in England where he spent his first twelve years socializing primarily with his siblings. In rather austere upbringing in England in a Puritanistic household. There was no outings with others who were not of their family, nmo childrens parties , no juvenile dances, no football, no cricket, no sight of the human world beyond their family gates. . Wingate ans his sisters had a fantasy world. He and his siblings created a fantasy world full of romance, conspiracy and battle called 'Lodolf' , similar to the fantasy worlds of the childhoods of great writers like the Brontes, Robert Louis Stevenson and JRR Tolkien
He made no special distinction at university and military training and was not popular with his peers. He did distinguish himself as a soldier in the Sudan among the British forces in the 1920s.
Orde Wingate then after marrying a girl 14 years his junior named Lorna, went to the then Palestine Mandate where he developed a strong affinity for the Jews and Zionism.
After witnessing the terror of the pogroms of the so called Arab Revolt which swept Palestine in the 1930s, sponsored by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy where Arab mobs swept the holy Land murdering Jews and British soldiers - in one place the book recounts in 1936 a Jewish cinema crowd was fired on, in another nurses in a Jewish clinic were shot with their patients and there were murders of Jewish children.
In many places the bands of Arab peasants set out by night to destroy the crops and orange groves of the Jewish pioneers.
the British army did little to help the Jews fearing greater Arab wrath. but wingate made acquaintances with many Jewish pioneers and he and his wife spent time on the Jewish kibbutzim, He urged the Jews of pre-state Israel to greater activism and militancy even exhorting them to defy the British colonial authorities.
His key role in command, his distinction in leading nascent Jewish forces in battle such as The Battle of Dabburiya where amongst other places he rooted and off Arab bands intent on slaughter and plunder.
At Tiberius in 1938 the forces of the German ally, the Syrian Fawzi al Kaukji,carried out a massacre where they murdered nineteen Jews, mainly young children, the victims being burned alive after having been stabbed.
Histories of Palestine at the time often give shrt shrift tot eh massacres carried out againbst Jews in Palestine by arabs during the Arab Revolt.
It was Wingate's enthusiasm for the Zionist cause, much to the chagrin of the British colonial authorities that led him to being exiled from the Land of Israel. much to his displeasure Wingate was dubbed as the Lawrence of Judea (displeasure because wingate despised the Arabist TE Lawrence to whom he was related by blood)
When serving in Abyssinia in 1941-1942 he distinguished himself against as a great commander against eh occupying Italians. He showed a passion for Ethiopian independence and was instrumental in driving the Italian out of Ethiopia.
He is best known for his organization of bands of Chindit fighters to in Burma resisting the Japanese attacks on that country, where he met his death in 1944 in an airplane accident.
This book while it can be long winded in places, thoroughly explores the psyche and motivations of this great character. Published in 1959 it was the first real biography of Orde Wingate and an instrumental resource on compilation of subsequent biographies.
January 1, 2021
A balanced and thoughtful look at this complex and troubled man whose flawed genius and restless passion caused men to either admire or hate him. Wingate was remarkably free of many of the deep prejudices of his time and his passion for the freedom of the people's whose cause he embraced bought him into direct conflict with the deeply cynical and corrupt elite of a dying Empire who viewed his independence in thought and action with the deepest suspicion and hostility. His passionate embrace of Zionism and commitment to the fate of the Jewish people at a time when the Holocaust was unfolding and his keen awareness of the injustice of Ethiopia's betrayal by the Western powers following the Fascist invasion and his role in restoring the Emperor Haile Selassie to his throne set him apart from many men of his class and time. Wingate's heroism and incredible exploits came at great cost to himself and those around him consumed by the intensity of the flame that burned in him. The verdict is still out on whether his genius for the promotion of the causes he embraced was devoid of any element of self promotion but his deep moral conflicts that led to his attempted to his attempted suicide suggest a man driven by demons much more powerful than mere ambition. His early death means that we will never know how he would have dealt with real fame and public acclaim - a good read about a fascinating man.
July 4, 2021
Actually started this two years ago after getting the book from the library. Read about half then, but got distracted by other things. Then a month or so ago found the book at a bookstore for $10. Grabbed and picked it up a couple weeks ago to finish it. Here's my review:
https://eelsbutnohovercraft.blogspot....
https://eelsbutnohovercraft.blogspot....
February 7, 2022
像温盖特这样一个性格偏执但极富感染力、怪癖多多却不乏纯粹和天真的奇才，这么一个以犯上作乱为天职、带给上司和同僚的折磨不下于带给敌人的麻烦的军人，必然是一个争议人物。
而这本传记的最大不足，恰恰在于它距离温盖特所身处的时代太近了。它涉及的人物绝大部分都还在世，难以畅所欲言；它既承担着对传主家人的实际义务，也需要顾及他们的内心感受；它最迫切的任务则是回应同时代的人们对于温盖特的无数误解、批评和敌意。
所以在整本书里，作者都显得束手束脚、谨小慎微。他对很多在当时看来或许重要的细节着墨颇多，对很多后世读者更关心的问题却是草草带过。为温盖特带来巨大声誉和非议的是他的“钦迪特远征”，但给我们如今这个世界带来更持久影响的，可能还是他建立“夜间别动队”的这段经历。本书的作者无法预见到这一点，但无疑错并不在他。
而这本传记的最大不足，恰恰在于它距离温盖特所身处的时代太近了。它涉及的人物绝大部分都还在世，难以畅所欲言；它既承担着对传主家人的实际义务，也需要顾及他们的内心感受；它最迫切的任务则是回应同时代的人们对于温盖特的无数误解、批评和敌意。
所以在整本书里，作者都显得束手束脚、谨小慎微。他对很多在当时看来或许重要的细节着墨颇多，对很多后世读者更关心的问题却是草草带过。为温盖特带来巨大声誉和非议的是他的“钦迪特远征”，但给我们如今这个世界带来更持久影响的，可能还是他建立“夜间别动队”的这段经历。本书的作者无法预见到这一点，但无疑错并不在他。
July 13, 2014
A thorough biography of a thoroughly extraordinary man , an eccentric genius who distinguished himself as a hero of the re-establishment of Israel , who crated special units of Jewish fighters during the Arab pogroms against Jews in the Holy Land in the 1930s. And also one of the great military commanders of the Second World War.
Christopher Sykes follows Wingate's life from his childhood in England where he spent his first twelve years socializing primarily with his siblings. In rather austere upbringing in England in a Puritanistic household. There was no outings with others who were not of their family, nmo childrens parties , no juvenile dances, no football, no cricket, no sight of the human world beyond their family gates. . Wingate ans his sisters had a fantasy world. He and his siblings created a fantasy world full of romance, conspiracy and battle called 'Lodolf' , similar to the fantasy worlds of the childhoods of great writers like the Brontes, Robert Louis Stevenson and JRR Tolkien
He made no special distinction at university and military training and was not popular with his peers. He did distinguish himself as a soldier in the Sudan among the British forces in the 1920s.
Orde Wingate then after marrying a girl 14 years his junior named Lorna, went to the then Palestine Mandate where he developed a strong affinity for the Jews and Zionism.
After witnessing the terror of the pogroms of the so called Arab Revolt which swept Palestine in the 1930s, sponsored by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy where Arab mobs swept the holy Land murdering Jews and British soldiers - in one place the book recounts in 1936 a Jewish cinema crowd was fired on, in another nurses in a Jewish clinic were shot with their patients and there were murders of Jewish children.
In many places the bands of Arab peasants set out by night to destroy the crops and orange groves of the Jewish pioneers.
the British army did little to help the Jews fearing greater Arab wrath. but wingate made acquaintances with many Jewish pioneers and he and his wife spent time on the Jewish kibbutzim, He urged the Jews of pre-state Israel to greater activism and militancy even exhorting them to defy the British colonial authorities.
His key role in command, his distinction in leading nascent Jewish forces in battle such as The Battle of Dabburiya where amongst other places he rooted and off Arab bands intent on slaughter and plunder.
At Tiberius in 1938 the forces of the German ally, the Syrian Fawzi al Kaukji,carried out a massacre where they murdered nineteen Jews, mainly young children, the victims being burned alive after having been stabbed.
Histories of Palestine at the time often give shrt shrift tot eh massacres carried out againbst Jews in Palestine by arabs during the Arab Revolt.
It was Wingate's enthusiasm for the Zionist cause, much to the chagrin of the British colonial authorities that led him to being exiled from the Land of Israel. much to his displeasure Wingate was dubbed as the Lawrence of Judea (displeasure because wingate despised the Arabist TE Lawrence to whom he was related by blood)
When serving in Abyssinia in 1941-1942 he distinguished himself against as a great commander against eh occupying Italians. He showed a passion for Ethiopian independence and was instrumental in driving the Italian out of Ethiopia.
He is best known for his organization of bands of Chindit fighters to in Burma resisting the Japanese attacks on that country, where he met his death in 1944 in an airplane accident.
This book while it can be long winded in places, thoroughly explores the psyche and motivations of this great character. Published in 1959 it was the first real biography of Orde Wingate and an instrumental resource on compilation of subsequent biographies.
Christopher Sykes follows Wingate's life from his childhood in England where he spent his first twelve years socializing primarily with his siblings. In rather austere upbringing in England in a Puritanistic household. There was no outings with others who were not of their family, nmo childrens parties , no juvenile dances, no football, no cricket, no sight of the human world beyond their family gates. . Wingate ans his sisters had a fantasy world. He and his siblings created a fantasy world full of romance, conspiracy and battle called 'Lodolf' , similar to the fantasy worlds of the childhoods of great writers like the Brontes, Robert Louis Stevenson and JRR Tolkien
He made no special distinction at university and military training and was not popular with his peers. He did distinguish himself as a soldier in the Sudan among the British forces in the 1920s.
Orde Wingate then after marrying a girl 14 years his junior named Lorna, went to the then Palestine Mandate where he developed a strong affinity for the Jews and Zionism.
After witnessing the terror of the pogroms of the so called Arab Revolt which swept Palestine in the 1930s, sponsored by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy where Arab mobs swept the holy Land murdering Jews and British soldiers - in one place the book recounts in 1936 a Jewish cinema crowd was fired on, in another nurses in a Jewish clinic were shot with their patients and there were murders of Jewish children.
In many places the bands of Arab peasants set out by night to destroy the crops and orange groves of the Jewish pioneers.
the British army did little to help the Jews fearing greater Arab wrath. but wingate made acquaintances with many Jewish pioneers and he and his wife spent time on the Jewish kibbutzim, He urged the Jews of pre-state Israel to greater activism and militancy even exhorting them to defy the British colonial authorities.
His key role in command, his distinction in leading nascent Jewish forces in battle such as The Battle of Dabburiya where amongst other places he rooted and off Arab bands intent on slaughter and plunder.
At Tiberius in 1938 the forces of the German ally, the Syrian Fawzi al Kaukji,carried out a massacre where they murdered nineteen Jews, mainly young children, the victims being burned alive after having been stabbed.
Histories of Palestine at the time often give shrt shrift tot eh massacres carried out againbst Jews in Palestine by arabs during the Arab Revolt.
It was Wingate's enthusiasm for the Zionist cause, much to the chagrin of the British colonial authorities that led him to being exiled from the Land of Israel. much to his displeasure Wingate was dubbed as the Lawrence of Judea (displeasure because wingate despised the Arabist TE Lawrence to whom he was related by blood)
When serving in Abyssinia in 1941-1942 he distinguished himself against as a great commander against eh occupying Italians. He showed a passion for Ethiopian independence and was instrumental in driving the Italian out of Ethiopia.
He is best known for his organization of bands of Chindit fighters to in Burma resisting the Japanese attacks on that country, where he met his death in 1944 in an airplane accident.
This book while it can be long winded in places, thoroughly explores the psyche and motivations of this great character. Published in 1959 it was the first real biography of Orde Wingate and an instrumental resource on compilation of subsequent biographies.
March 29, 2015
This is nearly an incomparable tale, although Wingate has ample competition among British military personages and assorted adventurers, e.g. T.E. Lawrence, Chinese Gordon, Lord Nelson, Livingston, Stanley, & Churchill himself, to name a few.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews