The Woman Who Fought an Empire: Sarah Aaronsohn and Her Nili Spy Ring

by Gregory J. Wallance

Overview

Though she lived only to twenty-seven, Sarah Aaronsohn led a remarkable life. The Woman Who Fought an Empire tells the improbable but true odyssey of a bold young woman—the daughter of Romanian-born Jewish settlers in Palestine—who became the daring leader of a Middle East spy ring. 

Following the outbreak of World War I, Sarah learned that her brother Aaron had formed Nili, an anti-Turkish spy ring, to aid the British in their war against the Ottomans. Sarah, who had witnessed the atrocities of the Armenian genocide by the Turks, believed that only the defeat of the Ottoman Empire could save the Palestinian Jews from a similar fate. Sarah joined Nili, eventually rising to become the organization’s leader. Operating behind enemy lines, she and her spies furnished vital information to British intelligence in Cairo about the Turkish military forces until she was caught and tortured by the Turks in the fall of 1917. To protect her secrets, Sarah got hold of a gun and shot herself. The Woman Who Fought an Empire, set at the birth of the modern Middle East, rebukes the Hollywood stereotype of women spies as femme fatales and is both an espionage thriller and a Joan of Arc tale.



 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612349435
Publisher:	Potomac Books
Publication date:	03/01/2018
Pages:	328
Sales rank:	699,538
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Gregory J. Wallance is a lawyer and writer in New York City, a former federal prosecutor, and a longtime human rights activist. He is the author of Papa’s Game, nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award; America’s Soul in the Balance: The Holocaust, FDR’s State Department, and the Moral Disgrace of an American Aristocracy; and the historical novel Two Men before the Storm: Arba Crane’s Recollection of Dred Scott and the Supreme Court Case That Started the Civil War. For more information about the author visit https://www.gregorywallance.com/.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
A Note on Terminology
Major Characters
Introduction
1. I Will Be Really Happy When I Am Home
2. Two Cannot Take Three Places—What Is Missing Is Missing
3. Don’t You Feel That a New Generation Is Born?
4. What Sights Her Eyes Have Seen
5. They Must Attack Immediately
6. The Wait
7. Aaron Aaronsohn’s Journey
8. One of Your Men Came across the Desert
9. What about Avshalom?
10. Black Nights
11. What I Have Done, I Have Done Purely for My People and My Country
12. To Sarah
13. We Are Watched by a Thousand Eyes
14. Everywhere I Turn I Feel His Absence
15. The Situation Is Getting Worse
16. She Is Worth a Hundred Men
17. The Boys Will Turn into Green Crowned Date Palms
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Wallance vividly conveys the logistical challenges and daily intrigue of operating a spy ring in that time and place."—Jeff Fleischer, Foreword

Foreword - Jeff Fleischer

"A remarkable story, well told."—A. A. Nofi, Strategy Page

Strategy Page - A. A. Nofi

"The story of how a multilingual Sarah presided over a circle of information gatherers and provided information to the English intelligence service that resulted in the defeat of the Turks is a riveting narrative."—Aron Row, Seattle Book Review

Seattle Book Review - Aron Row

“A solid, well-researched biography of a remarkable woman.”—Ronald Florence, author of Lawrence and Aaronsohn: T. E. Lawrence, Aaron Aaronsohn, and the Seeds of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Ronald Florence

"Wallance also reminds the reader that these were not just spies, but bright, ambitious twenty-somethings with their own desires, both personal and professional. The dynamics of the group provide a fascinating undercurrent to the plot. It was a tight group, but certainly not without its drama, romantic and otherwise."—Amy Oringel, Jewish Book Council

Jewish Book Council - Amy Oringel

"In order to prevent further Turkish atrocities, Aaronsohn and her Nili ring of spies began offering the British, who were fighting the Turks in battles in Egypt, information from behind Ottoman lines. Wallance paints a portrait of a complex woman who performed heroic work during difficult times. For those looking for a book about espionage that has real human lives at stake, this little-known story is a tremendous read."—Lorraine Berry, Signature Reads

Signature Reads - Lorraine Berry

"Wallance's saga is a fascinating, entirely readable entry into the history of the Nili spy ring, a group of Jews who spied for the British in hopes of aiding in the overthrow of the Ottoman Empire in Palestine. Aaronsohn, the leader of the operation, was motivated by witnessing the Armenian genocide on her way from Constantinople to her hometown of Zichron Ya'acov. She feared a similar fate would befall Jews under the Ottomans, and set out to do her part to influence regime change. . . . Wallance leaves readers marveling at her accomplishments and wondering, intentionally or not, what more she could have accomplished with colleagues more like herself."—Ariane Mandell, Jerusalem Post

Jerusalem Post - Ariane Mandell

"Wallance's narrative allows Sarah to step out of the shadow of her famous brother and her headstrong colleagues, showcasing her intense focus and sense of duty to her fellow Jews."—Amy Newman Smith, Jewish Review of Books

Jewish Review of Books - Amy Newman Smith

“Gregory J. Wallance’s beautifully written and meticulously researched account of Sarah Aaronsohn’s leadership of the Nili spy network during World War I casts a long overdue spotlight on one of the most fascinating personalities of the early Zionist era and should be required reading for anyone interested in modern Jewish history.”—Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress

Ronald S. Lauder