The Commander

Revered by some as the Arab Garibaldi, maligned by others as an intriguer and opportunist, Fawzi al-Qawuqji manned the ramparts of Arab history for four decades, leading or helping to lead Arab forces in nearly every significant military conflict from 1914 to 1948. When an effort to overthrow the British rulers of Iraq failed, he moved to Germany, where he spent much of the Second World War battling his fellow exile, the Mufti of Jerusalem, who had accused him of being a British spy. In 1947, Qawuqji made a daring escape from Allied-occupied Berlin, and sought once again to shape his regions history. In his most famous role, he would command the Arab Liberation Army in the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.In this well-crafted, lively and definitive biography, Laila Parsons tells Qawuqjis dramatic story and sets it in the full context of his turbulent times. Following Israels decisive victory, Qawuqji was widely faulted as a poor commander with possibly dubious motives. Parsons shows us that the truth was more complex: although he doubtless made some strategic mistakes, he never gave up fighting for Arab independence and unity, even as those ideals were undermined by powers inside and outside the Arab world.