This post's subject: David 'Mickey' Marcus
Those of us who saw Cast a Giant Shadow might be surprised to learn that no academic-level bio (based on archival documents) has been written on the first 'Aluf' (Major-General) in the IDF. Other than the popular book of the same name, written more than three decades ago, no-one else has tried their hand at studying the man and his times. This is a shame, because many, if not most, of the documentary material for such a study is now available to researchers in the IDF and Israel state archives, as well as US archives. The controversial subject of the battle of Latrun in which Marcus was involved, has already been the subject of a number of studies. Many people who were acquainted with Marcus, such as Shlomo Shamir, and Yigal Allon, have had their chance to tell their side of the story. Marcus deserves no less. Those of you with a knowledge of the period and a passion for biography are invited to take up the challenge of telling the story of Marcus' travails with the Haganah, Palmach and later the IDF. Many questions remain about Marcus await uncovering - Why is he barely mentioned in unit or official histories? Was his relationship with the Palmach really as rosy as Allon and Rabin later tried to claim? What was his contribution to the defense of Israel? What was his real relationship with David Ben-Gurion? Good Luck and Happy Hunting! AIWAC
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