A Safe Haven - by Ronald Radosh & Allis Radosh (Paperback)

About the Book

"[This] revelatory account of Truman's vital contributions to Israel's founding. . .is told. . . with an elegance informed by thorough research." --Wall Street Journal

"Even knowing how the story ends, A Safe Haven had me sitting on the edge of my seat." --Cokie Roberts

A dramatic, detailed account of the events leading up to the creation of a Jewish homeland and the true story behind President Harry S. Truman's controversial decision to recognize of the State of Israel in 1948, drawn from Truman's long-lost diary entries and other previously unused archival materials.

Book Synopsis

"[This] revelatory account of Truman's vital contributions to Israel's founding. . .is told. . . with an elegance informed by thorough research."
--Wall Street Journal

"Even knowing how the story ends, A Safe Haven had me sitting on the edge of my seat."
--Cokie Roberts

A dramatic, detailed account of the events leading up to the creation of a Jewish homeland and the true story behind President Harry S. Truman's controversial decision to recognize of the State of Israel in 1948, drawn from Truman's long-lost diary entries and other previously unused archival materials.

From the Back Cover

On May 14, 1948, under the stewardship of President Harry S. Truman, the United States became the first nation to recognize the State of Israel -- just moments after sovereignty had been declared in Jerusalem. But it was hardly a foregone conclusion that America would welcome the creation of this new country. While acknowledging this as one of his proudest moments, Truman also admitted that no issue was "more controversial or more complex than the problem of Israel."

Impeccably researched and brilliantly told, based on never-before-used archival material, A Safe Haven is a suspenseful, moment-by-moment re-creation of this crossroads in U.S.-Israeli relations and Middle Eastern politics.

Review Quotes

"The story of Truman's integral role in the birth of Israel. . . . Truman's remarkable perseverance is recounted by the Radoshes in readable prose, with good anecdotal color, a general sense of fair-mindedness . . . and impressive detail. . . . The creation of Israel remains a remarkable, odds-defying story that bears retelling from different angles. And at a time when Washington and Jerusalem find themselves at odds and some are questioning the future of the alliance, it's worth recalling how the relationship began, and the role of the straight-talking haberdasher from Missouri who worked so had to make it happen." - New York Times Book Review
"A thorough, powerful, and often surprising account of a fascinating political history, covering everything from diplomacy at the highest levels to the backroom machinations of left-wing Manhattan. It is one of the great stories in modern history, with a seemingly unlikely but steadfast hero in Truman--a book which will absorb anyone who cares about how the world we know came to be." - Sean Wilentz, Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor of History at Princeton University, and author of The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln and The Age of Reagan: A History
"Details by the ton. . . . Given the key role of Arab-Israeli hostility in today's Islamist terror, background is useful." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"This is an excellent examination of a presidential decision that has had immense historical consequences." - Booklist
"[A] revelatory account of Truman's vital contributions to Israel's founding. . . . The story of how President Truman resisted pressures both in and out of government to ignore or undermine the aborning state of Israel is told by the Radoshes with an elegance informed by thorough research. In particular, A Safe Haven brings vividly to life the parlous status of Jews around the world in the aftermath of World War II. . . . The Radoshes recount with admirable precision the intricacies of the battle over these 100,000 displaced persons." - Wall Street Journal
"[A] revelatory account of Truman's vital contributions to Israel's founding. . . . Told by the Radoshes with an elegance informed by thorough research." - Wall Street Journal
"Even knowing how the story ends, A Safe Haven had me sitting on the edge of my seat watching Harry Truman weigh the arguments of his friends and advisors in the months, then weeks, then days leading up to his recognition of Israel. This widely researched account, filled with new information from previously unpublished letters and diaries, puts you inside the room as the new president made his often emotional decisions about a Jewish homeland, and watched in dismay as the state department went its own way." - Cokie Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of The Ladies of Liberty
"Even knowing how the story ends, A SAFE HAVEN, had me sitting on the edge of my seat watching Harry Truman weigh the arguments of his friends and advisors in the months, then weeks, then days leading up to his recognition of Israel." - Cokie Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of The Ladies of Liberty
"The Radoshes . . . have journeyed carefully through what must have been a mountain of archives and have put together an easily digested and moving account." - Commentary Magazine
" A Safe Haven, is an outstanding achievement. This is certain to become an essential work for students, journalists, and statesmen---indeed, anyone interested in understanding Israel's origins." - Michael Oren, author of Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present, and Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East.
"In their deeply engaging study of Truman and the foundation of Israel, the Radoshes capture the dramatic intersection of momentous millennial aspirations and the thrilling intricacies of political intrigue with remarkable narrative skill. " - Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler and The Shakespeare Wars