From esteemed Israeli journalist and historian Tom Segev, the first fully documented biography of Simon Wiesenthal, revealing the fascinating truth behind this simultaneously admired, despised, and feared hunter of Nazis.
Simon Wiesenthal was the legendary “Nazi hunter” played by Ben Kingsley and Laurence Olivier on film, a Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to the punishment of Nazi criminals. A hero in the eyes of many, he was also attacked for his unrelenting pursuit of the past, when others preferred to forget.
For this definitive biography, Tom Segev has obtained access to Wiesenthal’s hundreds of thousands of private papers and to sixteen archives, including records of the U.S., Israeli, Polish, and East German secret services. Segev is able to reveal the intriguing secrets of Wiesenthal’s life, including his stunning role in the capture of Adolf Eichmann, his controversial investigative techniques, his unlikely friendships with Kurt Wald heim and Albert Speer, and the nature of his rivalry with Elie Wiesel.
Tom Segev has written a brilliant character study of the “hunter” who was driven by his own memories to ensure that the destruction of European Jewry never be forgotten.
About the Author
TOM SEGEV, who writes a weekly column in Ha’aretz, Israel’s leading daily newspaper, is the author of The Seventh Million, The Israelis and the Holocaust, and other groundbreaking books, including One Palestine, Complete, which was named one of the ten best books of 2000 by the New York Times. He lives in Jerusalem.
More information here.
