Trial and error; the autobiography of Chaim Weizmann

by Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Weizmann’s autobiography is a highly personal account of his life in the Zionist movement. Book One, completed in 1941, covers the years 1874-1917 and Book Two covers the years 1918-1948. Weizmann describes the Russian shtetl where he was born in 1874, his schooling in Pinsk and his university studies in Berlin, Geneva and Freiburg (Switzerland) where he received his PhD in chemistry in 1899 before moving to Manchester in 1904. He portrays many leading Zionists such as Theodor Herzl, Achad Ha-am, Max Nordau, Shmarya Levin, Ussishkin, Jabotinsky, Ruppin. He describes the opposition by assimilationist Jews (like Edwin Montagu) to Zionism, and internal debates within the Zionist movement, such as the defeat of Herzl’s Uganda plan — bitterly opposed by Weizmann — at the 6th Zionist Congress (1903) and his frictions with the American Zionists led by Brandeis. Weizmann describes how, during World War I, his work on acetone brought him into contact with British political leaders such as Lloyd George, Arthur Balfour and Winston Churchill and facilitated the Balfour Declaration which, in 1917, paved the way for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. Weizmann recounts his role in the creation of what would become Israel’s leading scientific institutions, the Hebrew University, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Technion, including his fundraising efforts in Europe and in the United States on their behalf and for other Zionist initiatives. He became the first President of Israel, and died in office in 1952. “... one of the important historical documents of our time.” — Orville Prescott, The New York Times (January 19, 1949) “[Trial and Error] is likely to be read for many years to come as an authoritative exposition of the Zionist movement ... records eye-witness accounts of so many crucial events and reflects so many deep insights that it is certain to become of permanent value to the scholar and a delight to the general reader.” — Salo Baron, The New York Times (January 23, 1949) “There are four angles from which one can approach this book. One can take it as a history of Zionism during the last seventy years... a record of personal endeavour triumphant over obstacles and dissension... a sad commentary upon human achievement, when eventual triumph comes at a date, and in circumstances, which rob it of its full savour... the self-portrait of a most remarkable man.” — Harold Nicolson, The Observer (March 27, 1949) “Notable in this intellectually candid record is the fact that [Weizmann] embraced and propagated Jewish nationalism because he regarded it as a positive good, not merely a negative escape from gentile persecution. This intensely human book, which in a sense is the story of modern Zionism, constitutes one of the indispensable sources for the history of our times.” — Robert Gale Woolbert, Foreign Affairs (July 1949) “[Weizmann’s] autobiography ... is an astonishingly objective and life-like narrative, without a trace of dramatization, exaggeration, vanity, self-pity, self-justification; it conveys his authentic, richly and evenly developed, autonomous, proud, firmly built, somewhat ironical nature, free from inner conflict, in deep, instinctive harmony with the forces of nature and society, and therefore possessed of natural wisdom, dignity and authority.” — Sir Isaiah Berlin, Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory, Oxford University (November 19, 1957) “Ranks between Churchill’s war memoirs and those of Nehru, Masaryk and Trotzky, among the founders’ own stories ...

Genres: Biography, History

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1949

Reviews

[Trisha M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very curious to say, but there is not one mention in this book about the holocaust.

[Niveen hashash · Rating 3 out of 5]

لازم اقرا النسخه الانجليزيه لانو لا اعتقد ان هذه ترجمة مذكراته وإنما تجميع لمعلومات عن حياته
ولكن من خلال هذا الكتاب نعرف اننا عندما لا ندرس تاريخنا ولا نقرا ما يكتبون لن نتقدم
نحن لا ندافع نحن في مستنقع اكاذيب علينا العمل بجد مثلهم وبدهاءهم لازم نستنسخ تجاربهم للفوز
تغير اللاعبين مثل غسان كنفاني ما بيحكي
كتاب مع تجميع المعلومات ولكن يعطيك زخم من المعرفه

[Ian Major · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Begins with all the flavour of 'Fiddler On The Roof' but in real lives; insights into the thinking and actions of so many important figures in Jewish and World history; especially informative on the progress of 20th Century Zionism.

Full of powerful observations and reflections, for example, on the absence of pogroms of his area:
'It is a melancholy reflection on human relationships when the absence of murder must be noted as a special circumstance which calls for gratitude.' p20.

From its c.600 pages I've extracted some 40 quotes that particularly struck me.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The autobiography of Chaim Weizmann, a seminal figure in world zionism and the first president of Israel. A noted chemist, he was the driving force behind the Balfour Declaration which eventually paved the way for the creation of the state of Israel. A massive and masterful work giving an astonishing behind the scenes insight into diplomacy and statecraft at the highest levels. Churchill and Balfour come out of it well, while Chamberlain and Bevan are exposed as closet Anti-semites. Absorbing

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

It tappers off a bit in the last third. I can understand due to the personal tragedy President Weizmann suffered but it does make the descriptions less vivid and interesting than the first 2/3.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting about how the Jewry was not that homogeneous back in these days. The contrast between the ones in the Pale settlement and the ones who are more assimilated in France, Germany and England is strong.

Very interesting to read that Chaim and most of the people of the communities in the Pale were educated with the Talmud and other readings by Maimonide. Both of these writings mention that non-gentiles are worth as much as animals and can be lied to and treated as slaves.

[Jon Paul Jones]

Is this autobiography a piece of propaganda? or really just a story of a man who understood power, and reflected that precisely in the way he wrote. It is brilliantly written, but not because of what it says, but because of what it does not. The silence that falls on the pages, when one starts to understand that the reader is a pawn, is truly deafening.

Perhaps this autobiography is meant to be forgotten, but the question is, by who?

[Sefi Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weizmann writes quite honestly in a way that gives the reader a good understanding of the author's character. Interestingly enough, the book (written days after the UN declaration of the partition of Palestine) mentions Ben Gurion only once(!), in passing.

[Walaa megahid · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب مؤلم للغاية
يشرح كيف ضاعت فلسطين؟ وكيف تكالبت عليها الدول الغربية في بادئ الأمر حتى وقعت في الفخ واصبحت ملكًا لليهود بعد انهاء الانتداب البريطاني.
يوضح كيف كان لبريطانيا نصيب الأسد من صفقة وهب أرض فلسطين للصهاينة.
وبالنسبة لصاحب المذكرات فقد بذل جهدًا خرافي في مساعيه للحصول على أرض فلسطين وضع أرض فلسطين هدفًا نصب عينيه وحققه.

يمكن قرائته 😥

[Mawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

أربع نجوم لهذه المذكرات ! أربع نجوم لأكثر من 20 عاماً من المؤامرات والعمل الدؤوب المتواصل لإنشاء وطن قومي لليهود!
أربع نجوم لتوثيق تاريخ أسود مظلم منيل بستين نيلة!

تقييم إضافات المترجم
اللافت في ترجمة الكتاب أن المترجم -مشكوراً- قام بتقديم تعريف لمعظم المفاهيم المتعلقة باليهود والصهيونية وهذا كان شيئا جيدا
لكنه قام بذكر ملخص لحياة وإنجازات وايزمان في ما يقارب المئة صفحة! وكأن الترجمة الأصلية ليست لسيرته الذاتية! كما كرر مقطعا ملخصا عن وايزمان أكثر من ثلاث مرات! هذا كان ما أزعجني في الترجمة. أما بقية المذكرات والكتاب فكلها إزعاج في إزعاج..
لكن الترجمة بشكل عام جيدة ولم تؤثر سلباً على النص.
تقييم المذكرات
إعلان قيام دولة إسرائيل عام 1948 لم يكن نتيجة يوم وليلة.. بل كان نتيجة عمل كبير وجهد متواصل لأكثر من 20 عاما
الكتاب يعطينا عبرة رئيسية؛ أفضل طريقة لتحصيل المكاسب هي العمل السياسي المستمر والدؤوب مع معرفة السياسيين المهمين وأصحاب التأثير والقرار
معرفة من أين تؤكل الكتف!
يعرض الكتاب الكثير من مراحل هجرة واستقرار اليهود في فلسطين و العمل وراء الكواليس لإتمام الصفقات والعقود

أعتقد أننا يجب أن نتوقف عن ندب حظنا لعدم وجود صلاح الدين الأيوبي في هذا الزمن، ونبدأ بندب حظنا على أنه لا يوجد حاييم وايزمان مسلم في هذا الزمن!

الكتاب مستفز جدا و بجميع المقاييس
اقتباسات
"وقد أجبتهم أنا بصراحة، وفي تحد لا حيطة فيه بقولي لهم:

أنا لا أضارب بمليم واحد في بورصة أسطورة قوة العرب، واليهود في فلسطين سيعلنون استقلالهم التام يوم ينتهي فيه الانتداب، وهم على حق في ذلك. "
"وجاءني بعد ممثل فرنسا، وحاول إقناعي بقبول الوصاية ، فجاوبته أنا:

يا قوم! أعطونا نحن اليهود نصف فرصة! نصف فرصة فقط ونحن نكشف للعالم أن حكاية قوة العرب تماسك العرب و نفوذ العرب هي حكاية كلها كذب في كذب في كذب "
وقد كان محقا في هذه !

[Janne Lissa, MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The country [Palestine] should be Jewish in the same way that France is French and Britain is British."

Prof. Chaim Weizmann was one of the leading figures in the late 19th and early 20th century Zionist movement. Eventually becoming Israel's first President, his life is a fascinating story of the dedication, hard work and vision that characterized the early Zionist movement.

I personally was able to pick up a first-edition copy of the book, which highly added to the experienced historical significance of the work. The autobiography is written in a poetic but clear voice, meandering through pre-war Eastern-Europe, Western-Europe and the Palestinian Mandate. Prof. Weizmanns life was one of dedication and in his work he beautifully reflects upon his work, without ever giving an air of arrogance or self-admiration.

As may be expected from a work that has already appeared in 1949 as first edition, the work doesn't necessarily translate to the historical course of events and it's key persons involved as we look back on history today. Some chapters may therefore appear as somewhat dry or not completely relevant in the broader course of history. However, overall, the book is definitely worth a read for anyone that wishes to broaden the knowledge about Zionism, building of the Israeli state, or European-Jewish politics around both World Wars of the 20th Century.

[Saad · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب غني جدا بالمعلومات والحقائق التاريخية.
فقراءة وجهة النظر الأخرى للتاريخ والدين والجغرافيا قد يسبب بعض العصف الذهني خصوصا لمن تعود أن يقرأ حيث يدعم أفكاره واراءه المسبقة وليس ما يخالفها.

[Turki · Rating 3 out of 5]

عندما تقرأ هذا الكتاب تستغرب من قوة إصرارهم على اغتصاب أرض فلسطين الحبيبة، كتاب مثير ومليء بالوجع لكل مسلم عربي.