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The Reckoning: Death and Intrigue in the Promised Land
One of Britain's most renowned military historians revisits a controversial that of Zionist leader Avraham Stern, head of Israel's notorious Stern Gang, in Tel Aviv during WWII.
Militant Zionist Avraham Stern believed he was destined to be the Jewish liberator of British Palestine. As the ringleader of the infamous Stern Gang, also known as Lehi, he masterminded a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in pursuit of his dream. On the run from British authorities who'd put a bounty on his head, Stern was hiding in an attic in Tel Aviv when he was killed by Assistant Superintendent Geoffrey Morton, a British colonial policeman assigned to capture him.
Morton claimed Stern was trying to escape. But witnesses insisted he was executed in cold blood. His controversial death inspired a cult of martyrdom that gave new life to Lehi, helping to destroy hopes of a detente between the British, the Arabs, and the Jews.
The Reckoning is the story of Patrick Bishop's quest to discover the truth. Based on extensive research—including access to Morton's private archive and eyewitness interviews—it recounts this seismic event in full, without bias, placing it within the context of its turbulent time. Bishop's gripping, groundbreaking narrative brings to life two men similar in ambition and dedication, chronicles the events that led to their fatal meeting, and explores how the impact of Stern's death reverberated through the final years of British rule and the birth of Israel.
Militant Zionist Avraham Stern believed he was destined to be the Jewish liberator of British Palestine. As the ringleader of the infamous Stern Gang, also known as Lehi, he masterminded a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in pursuit of his dream. On the run from British authorities who'd put a bounty on his head, Stern was hiding in an attic in Tel Aviv when he was killed by Assistant Superintendent Geoffrey Morton, a British colonial policeman assigned to capture him.
Morton claimed Stern was trying to escape. But witnesses insisted he was executed in cold blood. His controversial death inspired a cult of martyrdom that gave new life to Lehi, helping to destroy hopes of a detente between the British, the Arabs, and the Jews.
The Reckoning is the story of Patrick Bishop's quest to discover the truth. Based on extensive research—including access to Morton's private archive and eyewitness interviews—it recounts this seismic event in full, without bias, placing it within the context of its turbulent time. Bishop's gripping, groundbreaking narrative brings to life two men similar in ambition and dedication, chronicles the events that led to their fatal meeting, and explores how the impact of Stern's death reverberated through the final years of British rule and the birth of Israel.
325 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 27, 2014
29 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Bishop
73 books67 followersPatrick Bishop was born in London in 1952 and went to Wimbledon College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Before joining the Telegraph he worked on the Evening Standard, the Observer and the Sunday Times and in television as a reporter on Channel Four News. He is the author with John Witherow of a history of the Falkands War based on their own experiences and with Eamon Mallie of The Provisional IRA which was praised as the first authoritative account of the modern IRA. He also wrote a memoir the first Gulf War, Famous Victory and a history of the Irish diaspora The Irish Empire, based on the TV series which he devised.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 26, 2015
This is a gem of a book, beautifully written and engrossing. While highlighting the duel between two determined characters one upholding the law the other an inveteterate nationalist who will use violence -- though he refrains from perpetrating it personally preferring to send his disciples on the murderous ventures -- it enlightens the reader on how the present mess and discord in Israel/Palestine came about or the seeds were sown. The irony is that in death as a young man like many others - for cinema read James Dean, for poetry perhaps Keats -- it only enhanced Stern's standing whilst Geoffrey Morton became not quite an embarrassment but his refusal to see the 'political' picture and enforce the law whether they be Arab or Jew became inconvenient. Whether it was 'murder' or justified Bishop presents both sides but it would appear to be very much the latter. Bishop portrays life in Palestine at the time vividly, the upside as well as the largely nervy negative and febrile atmosphere. Also his description of the 'realpolitik' as the British had to weigh up what was happening to the Jews in Europe with allowing mass immigration is brilliantly observed. A moral conundrum that even Solomon would have had trouble deciding on let alone a foreign ruler such as Britain or its leader in place Harold MacMichael. There is a salutary note too for the present day Israelis in their declaring the Palestinians terrorists as two of their future Prime Ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Menachem Begin were exactly that indeed Shamir sided with Stern even when they tried to do a deal with the Nazis -- a fascinating anecdote which I had no idea about prior to reading this tome -- for as Stern said tthe British were the 'enemy' and the Germans the 'oppressors'. Bishop has a beautiful turn of phrase and his research has been exhaustive there is a lovely remark made by Morton"'s headmaster at St Olave's (Stogs as the alumni were called) regarding his somewhat distracted pupil when he left "He can't smile a path to success." Bishop has produced a blinding game of chess here in a sublime checkmate move. This is a timeless book but one I would heartily recommend to all. Magical.
February 8, 2015
While this book has been marketed as nonfiction written like a novel, the book is much more interesting for a different reason. The coverage of the hunt for Avraham Stern is haphazard, and inconsistent, but then again, so was the hunt. The area where the book really succeeds is the coverage of the shifting political dynamics in the Palestine Mandate that changed the allegiances and priorities of the Jewish community, the British administration, and especially “revisionist” groups like the Irgun and Lehi (Stern Gang). Unlike other histories of the Middle East, the author gives much more detailed reasoning behind the target selection, and guerilla campaigns, of the Irgun and Lehi.
January 2, 2015
As Israel approaches new elections in March, the Palestinian Authority calls for further recognition in the United Nations, and Hamas still struts their weapons in Gaza, we find ourselves asking what is next for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. According to Amos Oz, the Israeli novelist, “there is a growing sense that Israel is becoming an isolated ghetto, which is exactly what the founding fathers and mothers hoped to leave behind them forever when they created the state of Israel…Unless there are two states—Israel next door to Palestine—and soon, there will be one state. If there will be one state, it will be an Arab state. The other option is an Israeli dictatorship, probably a religious nationalist dictatorship, suppressing the Palestinians and suppressing its Jewish opponents.”* Is this the vision that Israel’s founders saw in 1948? If we examine the ideological splits in Zionism at the time there were groups that favored the concept of some sort of Israeli government excluding Palestinians in Palestine. This ideology was part of the belief system of Abraham Stern, a Jewish freedom fighter and/or terrorist depending if you were Jewish refugee escaping the Nazis, or a member of the British mandate government in Palestine. In his new book, THE RECKONING: DEATH AND INTRIGUE IN THE PROMISED LAND, Patrick Bishop examines the death of Stern by British police in 1942 and its impact on those individuals and groups who were bent on the creation of an Israeli state following the Holocaust.
The core of Bishop’s narrative centers on the personal conflict between Abraham Stern and Geoffrey Morton, the British Assistant Superintendent of the Palestine Police Force. For Morton, Stern was a terrorist who was responsible for political assassinations of British officials, the murder of innocent Arabs, as well as Jews who became collateral damage. The issue for Morton became personal, when Stern’s group killed his close friend and second in command, Wally Medler. From Stern’s perspective, Morton represented a government that blocked the immigration of Jewish refugees in Europe who were trying to flee Nazi persecution, and stood in the way of the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Stern had evolved from a career as a promising poet in Poland, to an aspiring Zionist theorist, to an underground fighter. By 1942 he saw himself as a warrior prophet who believed that England was the main enemy of the Jews and the chief obstacle to a Jewish state in Palestine. For Morton, Stern and his followers were causing major difficulties for his government at a time when things in Europe were not going well, the Battle of Britain was in full swing, and Rommel’s Afrika Corps were approaching Palestine. When Stern reached out to Italy as a source of weapons, it became clear to Morton that Stern could be a conduit for a “fifth column” for Nazis in the region.
Bishop provides biographical information for all of his characters and takes the reader through the politics on both sides. The rupture between the Yishuv (the Jewish Agency that governed Palestine for the Jews, who at the outset felt working with the British would be beneficial in the long run), its military wing the Haganah, the Irgun (the revisionist group under the leadership of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, who rejected gradualism in dealing with the British), and the Stern group (that eventually broke with the Irgun and pursued a policy of violence) is examined in detail. Bishop also explores the different factions within the British government, some who favored greater leniency toward the Jews because of their plight, and those like Morton who wanted to enforce the law as it was written and did not want to compromise. The reader is taken behind the scenes reflecting solid research for each group and witnesses how decisions were reached and operations were planned. Bishop keeps the reader aware of events in Europe and how they impacted the region to promote further understanding of all sides. We meet all the major characters, those who hunted Stern and his cohorts, and those who carried out Stern’s plans and hid him from British authorities.
Bishop discusses the major actions taken by the Stern Group as it became known and its results. He details the British response to the violence and how it finally was able to kill Stern in February, 1942. It is the killing of Stern that forms a major focus of the book and the controversy that ensued. Was Stern killed while escaping a friend’s apartment, or was he murdered as he was unarmed and trying to flee through a window in an area that was sealed off by British police. Both points of view are given and to this day the controversy remains as to how Stern died. The problem for British authorities was that the controversy over Stern’s death made him a martyr to the Zionist cause and was used to rally Jews against the British. Following his death, Stern’s remaining followers worked out a Modus Vivendi with the Irgun, and the Haganah to continue the fight against the British mandate government in Palestine.
Bishop tries to present his narrative as a detective story designed to capture the reader’s interest and keep them on the edge of their seats. A sub title of the book states, “a true detective story.” Here I think the book fails. In trying to take a historical monograph that describes so many different characters, ideologies, and government edicts it is very difficult to try and fit it into the parameters of detective non-fiction. From the outset of the book, Bishop drops numerous hints as to his plot line and the coming death of Stern. His repeated clues about Stern’s demise are better left out, and what Bishop should have done is let the story, an interesting an important one in light of current events, play out. There are a number of important findings that Bishop emphasizes, particularly Stern’s attempts to come to agreement with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany for weapons and support as an ally against the British. This component of the book reflects Stern’s obsession for the ultimate goal of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and his tunnel vision in that he would work with anyone to achieve it. This did cause opposition in his “gang,” but ultimately they remained together. Further findings dealing with Morton’s motivations in dealing with Stern and the Jewish problem and his rationalizations are important as well as his removal by British authorities who felt he had gone too far.
The book is very timely and it points out the influence Stern had on two future Prime Ministers of Israel, Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir. Some might also argue that elements of Stern’s beliefs still exist in Israeli politics, particularly among right-wingers as we approach the Israeli elections in two months. The book is a useful addition to the vast bibliography that deals with the creation of Israel, but it does itself a disservice by trying to create a historical mystery.
*”What Will Israel Become?” by Roger Cohen, New York Times, December 20, 2014.
The core of Bishop’s narrative centers on the personal conflict between Abraham Stern and Geoffrey Morton, the British Assistant Superintendent of the Palestine Police Force. For Morton, Stern was a terrorist who was responsible for political assassinations of British officials, the murder of innocent Arabs, as well as Jews who became collateral damage. The issue for Morton became personal, when Stern’s group killed his close friend and second in command, Wally Medler. From Stern’s perspective, Morton represented a government that blocked the immigration of Jewish refugees in Europe who were trying to flee Nazi persecution, and stood in the way of the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Stern had evolved from a career as a promising poet in Poland, to an aspiring Zionist theorist, to an underground fighter. By 1942 he saw himself as a warrior prophet who believed that England was the main enemy of the Jews and the chief obstacle to a Jewish state in Palestine. For Morton, Stern and his followers were causing major difficulties for his government at a time when things in Europe were not going well, the Battle of Britain was in full swing, and Rommel’s Afrika Corps were approaching Palestine. When Stern reached out to Italy as a source of weapons, it became clear to Morton that Stern could be a conduit for a “fifth column” for Nazis in the region.
Bishop provides biographical information for all of his characters and takes the reader through the politics on both sides. The rupture between the Yishuv (the Jewish Agency that governed Palestine for the Jews, who at the outset felt working with the British would be beneficial in the long run), its military wing the Haganah, the Irgun (the revisionist group under the leadership of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, who rejected gradualism in dealing with the British), and the Stern group (that eventually broke with the Irgun and pursued a policy of violence) is examined in detail. Bishop also explores the different factions within the British government, some who favored greater leniency toward the Jews because of their plight, and those like Morton who wanted to enforce the law as it was written and did not want to compromise. The reader is taken behind the scenes reflecting solid research for each group and witnesses how decisions were reached and operations were planned. Bishop keeps the reader aware of events in Europe and how they impacted the region to promote further understanding of all sides. We meet all the major characters, those who hunted Stern and his cohorts, and those who carried out Stern’s plans and hid him from British authorities.
Bishop discusses the major actions taken by the Stern Group as it became known and its results. He details the British response to the violence and how it finally was able to kill Stern in February, 1942. It is the killing of Stern that forms a major focus of the book and the controversy that ensued. Was Stern killed while escaping a friend’s apartment, or was he murdered as he was unarmed and trying to flee through a window in an area that was sealed off by British police. Both points of view are given and to this day the controversy remains as to how Stern died. The problem for British authorities was that the controversy over Stern’s death made him a martyr to the Zionist cause and was used to rally Jews against the British. Following his death, Stern’s remaining followers worked out a Modus Vivendi with the Irgun, and the Haganah to continue the fight against the British mandate government in Palestine.
Bishop tries to present his narrative as a detective story designed to capture the reader’s interest and keep them on the edge of their seats. A sub title of the book states, “a true detective story.” Here I think the book fails. In trying to take a historical monograph that describes so many different characters, ideologies, and government edicts it is very difficult to try and fit it into the parameters of detective non-fiction. From the outset of the book, Bishop drops numerous hints as to his plot line and the coming death of Stern. His repeated clues about Stern’s demise are better left out, and what Bishop should have done is let the story, an interesting an important one in light of current events, play out. There are a number of important findings that Bishop emphasizes, particularly Stern’s attempts to come to agreement with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany for weapons and support as an ally against the British. This component of the book reflects Stern’s obsession for the ultimate goal of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and his tunnel vision in that he would work with anyone to achieve it. This did cause opposition in his “gang,” but ultimately they remained together. Further findings dealing with Morton’s motivations in dealing with Stern and the Jewish problem and his rationalizations are important as well as his removal by British authorities who felt he had gone too far.
The book is very timely and it points out the influence Stern had on two future Prime Ministers of Israel, Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir. Some might also argue that elements of Stern’s beliefs still exist in Israeli politics, particularly among right-wingers as we approach the Israeli elections in two months. The book is a useful addition to the vast bibliography that deals with the creation of Israel, but it does itself a disservice by trying to create a historical mystery.
*”What Will Israel Become?” by Roger Cohen, New York Times, December 20, 2014.
June 21, 2025
This is the story of the killing of Avraham “Yair” Stern, the leader of the Jewish underground group in Palestine that bore his name, by a British police officer in Tel Aviv in 1942. Patrick Bishop is an accomplished historian and this book is exceptionally well-written and well-researched.
It is a very difficult subject to tackle, as it deals with conflicting narratives. From the point of view of the British, Stern was a “Chicago gangster” who needed to be “liquidated”. To his followers, Stern was a freedom fighter. One of those followers, Yitzhak Shamir, eventually became Israel’s prime minister and over time, Stern increasingly came to be seen as one of the country’s founding heroes. There is a state museum in his honour, and streets are named after him.
Patrick Bishop is not a big fan of Stern, to put it mildly, and this becomes increasingly clear as the book progresses. He describes Stern as something of a dandy, down to his silk socks, a negligent husband, vain, arrogant and a personal coward (he never seems to have fired a weapon and never took part in the operations carried out by his group). The British police officer, Morton, who killed him is portrayed as his opposite: a good, honest family man. The contrast could not be more striking.
The portrayal of Stern as entirely evil and Morton as entirely good falls apart in the final pages of the book. For more than 200 pages one is led to believe that Morton, like the mythological George Washington, could never tell a lie. The story he told was that Stern attempted to escape and was possibly going to trigger a bomb that would have killed everyone in the room. When this story was challenged by various historians, Morton sued them for libel — and all his suits were successful.
And yet more than four decades after Stern’s killing, one of the policemen in the room when Morton shot Stern came forward with a different narrative — one in which Morton deliberately killed the defenceless and unarmed Stern in cold blood.
The entire narrative about Morton’s spotlessly clean record fell apart as I read those final passages in the book. Well done to Patrick Bishop for fearlessly including evidence that undermines a simplistic view of the two men, Stern and Morton, who confronted each other on that fateful day.
It is a very difficult subject to tackle, as it deals with conflicting narratives. From the point of view of the British, Stern was a “Chicago gangster” who needed to be “liquidated”. To his followers, Stern was a freedom fighter. One of those followers, Yitzhak Shamir, eventually became Israel’s prime minister and over time, Stern increasingly came to be seen as one of the country’s founding heroes. There is a state museum in his honour, and streets are named after him.
Patrick Bishop is not a big fan of Stern, to put it mildly, and this becomes increasingly clear as the book progresses. He describes Stern as something of a dandy, down to his silk socks, a negligent husband, vain, arrogant and a personal coward (he never seems to have fired a weapon and never took part in the operations carried out by his group). The British police officer, Morton, who killed him is portrayed as his opposite: a good, honest family man. The contrast could not be more striking.
The portrayal of Stern as entirely evil and Morton as entirely good falls apart in the final pages of the book. For more than 200 pages one is led to believe that Morton, like the mythological George Washington, could never tell a lie. The story he told was that Stern attempted to escape and was possibly going to trigger a bomb that would have killed everyone in the room. When this story was challenged by various historians, Morton sued them for libel — and all his suits were successful.
And yet more than four decades after Stern’s killing, one of the policemen in the room when Morton shot Stern came forward with a different narrative — one in which Morton deliberately killed the defenceless and unarmed Stern in cold blood.
The entire narrative about Morton’s spotlessly clean record fell apart as I read those final passages in the book. Well done to Patrick Bishop for fearlessly including evidence that undermines a simplistic view of the two men, Stern and Morton, who confronted each other on that fateful day.
September 14, 2017
This book got better the more I got into it. Part of the problem was that the history of terrorism in pre-state Israel was already well known to me (and much better done in Anonymous Soldiers that came out a year or two later). So other than the biographical material on the two adversaries, Stern and Morton, the first third of the book was a bit boring. The details of the manhunt for Stern, his killing, and the aftermath, was new information to me and thus held my attention better.
June 20, 2015
Interesting look at pre-48 Israel
October 3, 2018
Patrick Bishop's The Reckoning: Death and Intrigue in the Promised Land is a crisp, controversialist biography of Avraham Stern, the notorious leader of the Zionist Lehi (Stern Gang) which constituted the extreme fringe of the Israeli independence movement. Bishop's analysis is clear-eyed yet damning, cutting away the layers of myths and apologetics to show Stern as an unsettling combination of sincere idealist and fascist gangster, willing to use any unsavory tactics to achieve his goal. Bishop doesn't spare the reader accounts of Lehi's misdeeds, from bombings and assassinations (whose recklessness alienated even the Irgun) to their attempted alliance with Hitler and Mussolini. All the same, Bishop shows that how the British authorities connived at, and covered up Stern's assassination, while demonstrating how both British and Israeli historians distorted Stern's legacy for their own ends. A gripping read about a still-touchy historical figure.
June 20, 2020
Vu les critiques, je suis déçu par le livre. L'auteur fait une description trop factuelle des événements conduisant à la capture de Stern, sans prendre assez de hauteur pour expliquer les enjeux. Peut-être n'y a-t-il pas assez de matière pour en faire un livre entier...
August 2, 2017
Great account of the struggle for a Jewish state.
March 4, 2020
One man's terrorist is another freedom fighter. A simpler time when this was still valid to some extent. his methods and philosophy were deplorable but time has smoothed the jagged edges
December 10, 2016
Pretty good book but WOW did I took too long to read it! My bad!
November 12, 2014
Today's review is on The Reckoning: Death and Intrigue in the Promised Land by Patrick Bishop. It is 352 including notes and an index and is published by HarperCollins publishing. The cover has a picture of the victim on it circled in red. The intended reader is someone who likes detective stories, and historical nonfiction. There is no sex, some mild language, and lots of violence in this book. The story is told journalistically with interviews, letters, and reports to add favor. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- Militant Zionist Avraham Stern believed he was destined to be the Jewish liberator of British Palestine. As the ringleader of the infamous Stern Gang, also known Lahi, he masterminded a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in the pursuit of his dream. On the run from British authorities who'd put a bounty on his head, Stern was hiding in an attic in Tel Aviv when he was killed by Assistant Superintendent Geoffrey Morton, a British colonial policeman assigned to capture him.
Morton claimed Stern was trying to escape. But witnesses insisted he was executed in cold blood. His controversial death inspired a cult of martyrdom that gave new life to Lehi, helping to destroy hopes of a détente between the British, the Arabs, and the Jews.
The Reckoning is the story of Patrick Bishop's quest to discover the truth. Based on extensive research- including access to Morton's private archive and eyewitness interviews- it recounts this seismic event in full, without bias, placing it within the context of its turbulent time. Bishop's gripping, groundbreaking narrative brings to life two men similar in ambition and dedication, chronicles the events that led to their fatal meeting, and explores how the impact of Stern's death reverberated through the final years of British rule and birth of Israel.
Review- This book was okay. It never really grabbed me and I disagree with some of the claims of the blurb. I do not feel that this book is unbiased. I could be wrong but I felt from the very beginning all the way to the end of the book that Bishop believed that Stern was murdered and he was out to prove it. Now that said, Bishop does talk about all the problems with the witnesses, researching this fifty years on, and other problems. I do not know what happened in that room. I think that Morton could have shot him but I also think that Stern could have tried to run. Stern was not a brave man, as everything in the book will tell you but Morton was no killer either. The writing style is not bad but it is not easy to read. As I was reading it I needed to in a place where I had little to no distractions around me or I could not concentrate on the story. If you know something about this story I am sure that you will enjoy this book and will learn more about it. But if you do not then I really not think that this book is interesting enough to attract the casual reader.
I give this book a Two out of Five stars. I get nothing for my reviews and I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review by HarperCollins.
November 5, 2014
I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins.
In 1917, the Balfour Declaration laid the groundwork for Great Britain's presence in Palestine, an area previously under Ottoman rule. In effect, the British declared that "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object" (9). Not only would this create a home for the Jews, but it would also help Britain create a land bridge "to the oil-producing areas of Iraq, which now held great potential strategic importance" (9).
However, the existing Arabic communities in Palestine were violently opposed to the influx of thousands of Jews into their homeland, leading to outbreaks of violence throughout the country. This difficulty was compounded by the impending second world war, when Jews began to pour out of Germany. In the midst of these struggle for control over Palestine, Avraham Stern grew to power as the leader of the infamous Stern Gang, intent on liberating British Palestine. Stern was intent on "liquidating" or killing anyone he saw as standing in the way of Palestine becoming a home for the Jews. That is, until he was shot by Geoffrey Morton, a British policeman.
There are conflicting accounts of Stern's death. Some witnesses claim that Morton shot him down in cold blood. Morton insisted until his death that Stern was dangerous and was attempting to escape, thus requiring him to shoot him.
This book purports to be an exhaustive inside look at the truth behind Stern's killing. However, in reality, the majority of this book instead deals with the minutiae of the politics in Palestine, the activity of the Stern gang, and the personal lives of Stern and Morton. For a book that was described as a work of detective non-fiction, there's little new truths uncovered. Stern's killer was never a secret; rather the necessity to shoot him on the scene has been called into question. Although I appreciated learning about the history of Palestine during World War II, I was expecting a different story going into this book. Furthermore, at times I found the organization and flow of this book confusing; it was difficult for me to keep characters separate and to understand the exact sequence of events. However, in the author's defense, this could also be because I'm not terribly knowledgeable about this time and place in history.
There's little doubt that Stern was the mastermind behind multiple violent acts, including various bombings and the killing of both political figures and innocent bystanders. He clearly deserved his status as a wanted man and was rightly apprehended by the police. Yet in both scenarios of his death, Morton clearly shot down an unarmed man that was already in custody. Given that this book was touted as an investigative look at Stern's death, I was disappointed that Bishop's final conclusion that "the truth will, in all likelihood, remain enigmatic and elusive" (256).
In 1917, the Balfour Declaration laid the groundwork for Great Britain's presence in Palestine, an area previously under Ottoman rule. In effect, the British declared that "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object" (9). Not only would this create a home for the Jews, but it would also help Britain create a land bridge "to the oil-producing areas of Iraq, which now held great potential strategic importance" (9).
However, the existing Arabic communities in Palestine were violently opposed to the influx of thousands of Jews into their homeland, leading to outbreaks of violence throughout the country. This difficulty was compounded by the impending second world war, when Jews began to pour out of Germany. In the midst of these struggle for control over Palestine, Avraham Stern grew to power as the leader of the infamous Stern Gang, intent on liberating British Palestine. Stern was intent on "liquidating" or killing anyone he saw as standing in the way of Palestine becoming a home for the Jews. That is, until he was shot by Geoffrey Morton, a British policeman.
There are conflicting accounts of Stern's death. Some witnesses claim that Morton shot him down in cold blood. Morton insisted until his death that Stern was dangerous and was attempting to escape, thus requiring him to shoot him.
This book purports to be an exhaustive inside look at the truth behind Stern's killing. However, in reality, the majority of this book instead deals with the minutiae of the politics in Palestine, the activity of the Stern gang, and the personal lives of Stern and Morton. For a book that was described as a work of detective non-fiction, there's little new truths uncovered. Stern's killer was never a secret; rather the necessity to shoot him on the scene has been called into question. Although I appreciated learning about the history of Palestine during World War II, I was expecting a different story going into this book. Furthermore, at times I found the organization and flow of this book confusing; it was difficult for me to keep characters separate and to understand the exact sequence of events. However, in the author's defense, this could also be because I'm not terribly knowledgeable about this time and place in history.
There's little doubt that Stern was the mastermind behind multiple violent acts, including various bombings and the killing of both political figures and innocent bystanders. He clearly deserved his status as a wanted man and was rightly apprehended by the police. Yet in both scenarios of his death, Morton clearly shot down an unarmed man that was already in custody. Given that this book was touted as an investigative look at Stern's death, I was disappointed that Bishop's final conclusion that "the truth will, in all likelihood, remain enigmatic and elusive" (256).
September 22, 2014
Bishop who is one of Britain’s best known military historians wrote this book with the additional title of a ‘true detective story’. In pre-independence Israel, there were three main liberation armies: the Palmach, the Haganah and the Irgun. The Irgun was the most militant of the three. Stern was originally part of Irgun, but left to form a more radical retaliatory group. Stern believed that the only way to win independence was to make it too difficult for the British to stay.
As part of this strategy, Stern’s Group planted bombs, robbed banks and murdered Arabs and British Officers. The detective story relates to the controversial death of Avraham (Avi) Stern, former member of the Irgun and head of the ‘Stern Group’ (later known as Lehi) in Tel Aviv before and during WWII. Avi Stern believed he was destined to be the Jewish liberator of British Palestine. He was known by most Jews for his poetry written in Hebrew.
As the leader of the Stern Group, later known as Lehi, he masterminded a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in this pursuit, becoming more militant as Britain shut down immigration to Palestine in the 1930s. Having been in post-WW 1 Poland, and with the rise of the Nazis in Germany, he knew of the danger to the Jewish people of Eastern Europe. Hunted by the Palestine Police Force (PPF), he had a bounty on his head. Stern was living in an attic apartment, in Tel Aviv when he was killed by Assistant Superintendent Geoffrey Morton, a British colonial policeman assigned to capture him.
Morton claimed Stern was shot trying to escape (sounds familiar). But witnesses insisted he was executed in cold blood. He was unarmed, the building was surrounded, there were four cops in the room and there was no way out. His death/murder radicalized many in Israel and inspired a cult of martyrdom. It was the straw that helped to destroy any hopes the British had of working out a compromise between, the Arabs, and the Jews.
This is the story of Bishop’s quest to discover the truth about Stern’s death. Intensely researched, including access to Morton’s private archive and eyewitness interviews, it reconstructs the event. It is an even-handed account, placed within the context of the times. Using a timeline type structure, Bishop documents the events that lead-up to the meeting on the building roof, and described the impact of Stern’s legacy on modern Israel.
Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com
As part of this strategy, Stern’s Group planted bombs, robbed banks and murdered Arabs and British Officers. The detective story relates to the controversial death of Avraham (Avi) Stern, former member of the Irgun and head of the ‘Stern Group’ (later known as Lehi) in Tel Aviv before and during WWII. Avi Stern believed he was destined to be the Jewish liberator of British Palestine. He was known by most Jews for his poetry written in Hebrew.
As the leader of the Stern Group, later known as Lehi, he masterminded a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in this pursuit, becoming more militant as Britain shut down immigration to Palestine in the 1930s. Having been in post-WW 1 Poland, and with the rise of the Nazis in Germany, he knew of the danger to the Jewish people of Eastern Europe. Hunted by the Palestine Police Force (PPF), he had a bounty on his head. Stern was living in an attic apartment, in Tel Aviv when he was killed by Assistant Superintendent Geoffrey Morton, a British colonial policeman assigned to capture him.
Morton claimed Stern was shot trying to escape (sounds familiar). But witnesses insisted he was executed in cold blood. He was unarmed, the building was surrounded, there were four cops in the room and there was no way out. His death/murder radicalized many in Israel and inspired a cult of martyrdom. It was the straw that helped to destroy any hopes the British had of working out a compromise between, the Arabs, and the Jews.
This is the story of Bishop’s quest to discover the truth about Stern’s death. Intensely researched, including access to Morton’s private archive and eyewitness interviews, it reconstructs the event. It is an even-handed account, placed within the context of the times. Using a timeline type structure, Bishop documents the events that lead-up to the meeting on the building roof, and described the impact of Stern’s legacy on modern Israel.
Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com
December 1, 2025
A slow book in the beginning, it really picks up in the middle of the book when Mr. Bishop goes into what the Stern gang did and how he was caught. I feel that the end of the book could have been condensed, but it still was a good recap as to how Mr. Stern's legacy grew and how it still has a hold on Israel today. Good book overall. I would recommend it.
December 22, 2014
The parts I liked, I really liked. The rest I was on the verge of skimming through. The "True Detective Story" was more of a description of (era of mandate) British police in Palestine trying to track down a radical Jewish terrorist. And then conflicting accounts of his death at the hands of same police.
The more interesting part of the book was the politics of Palestine in the 30's and during WW II. If you're interested in that (sadly) never-ending conflict you'll want to pick up this book.
The more interesting part of the book was the politics of Palestine in the 30's and during WW II. If you're interested in that (sadly) never-ending conflict you'll want to pick up this book.
October 13, 2015
This book tells the true story of Abraham Stern, leader of the Stern Gang, a Zionist underground violent movement in British-controlled Palestine during World War II. I'd heard of the group, but didn't know much about it, so this book was a good introduction. The author was very detailed, so the book would probably be most interesting to someone who already knew the basics of history in mandatory Palestine. However, the book is well-researched and well-written, and provides a lot of information for a beginner.
February 12, 2015
I think this book starts badly because it opens with a fugitive in hiding. We're sympathetic to him and the risks people are taking for him. Then we learn that he's actually the bad guy, hiding from the police who are trying to bring him to justice. And then we head off to England to learn more about the policeman who's chasing the fugitive, and it is not interesting at all.
Great title. Book doesn't live up to it.
Great title. Book doesn't live up to it.
February 15, 2015
dry as dust & not half so interesting
May 25, 2015
This was OK but not outstanding.
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January 21, 2015Review by Miriam Bradman Abrahams for the Jewish Book Council.
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