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The Seven Lives of Colonel Patterson: How an Irish Lion Hunter Led the Jewish Legion to Victory
In this first-ever biography of Colonel John Patterson, Denis Brian reveals his subject to be a diverse composite of identities. An Irishborn soldier, lion hunter, bridge builder, East African game warden, author, and Zionist, Patterson’s life is a fascinating story, and Brian’s well-researched account gives a revealing look into the ebb and flow of circumstances that produced such a colorful character. Brian begins the narrative with Patterson’s assignment in East Africa,where lion attacks are terrorizing workers on a railroad project. With a storyteller’s breathtaking tone, he details accounts of Patterson quelling the rebellion and killing the lions himself. The colonel’s indomitable energy and courage become a consistent theme in the book as the author traces Patterson’s life from his days as a British socialite to his recruitment of the Jewish Legion of volunteers who helped drive the Turks out of Palestine. Patterson spent most of his later years as an ardent Zionist,working for the creation of a Jewish homeland until his death in 1947, a year before the birth of the state of Israel. Drawing on an impressive range of sources, Brian’s biography of this “Righteous Gentile” is an incisive portrait of a key figure in both Israeli and colonial British history.
266 pages, Hardcover
First published June 30, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 9, 2013
What a great read and way to lean abut the life of a man. That the only thing I knew for sure was that he haunting down two of the deadliest man eating lions. That he went on and fought in two wars and helped bring on the state of Israel is mind blowing!
July 1, 2018
A great adventurer, hunter, leader and Zionist!
Parts of John Henry Patterson’s life have been made into movies (the parts relating to the lion hunting), but in fact his life is so interesting and inspiring to merit a whole mini-series. After spending time in India, Africa, and fighting in the Boer War, Patterson played a key role in making the Zionist dream a reality by leading the WWI Zion Mule Corps and the the Jewish Legion. Subsequently he devoted himself to the Zionist cause making endless speeches and writing letters of appeal. He spent much of his later years trying to expose and fight the the British Palestinian administration’s hostility to Zionist goals and their attempts to undermine the efforts. Sadly much like his friend Ze’ev Jabotinsky he died before seeing his dream of a Jewish state become a reality.
Parts of John Henry Patterson’s life have been made into movies (the parts relating to the lion hunting), but in fact his life is so interesting and inspiring to merit a whole mini-series. After spending time in India, Africa, and fighting in the Boer War, Patterson played a key role in making the Zionist dream a reality by leading the WWI Zion Mule Corps and the the Jewish Legion. Subsequently he devoted himself to the Zionist cause making endless speeches and writing letters of appeal. He spent much of his later years trying to expose and fight the the British Palestinian administration’s hostility to Zionist goals and their attempts to undermine the efforts. Sadly much like his friend Ze’ev Jabotinsky he died before seeing his dream of a Jewish state become a reality.
April 22, 2019
Denis Brian has done an excellent job of telling the story of John Henry Patterson beyond the lion-hunting in Tsavo for which he is best known. I had no idea about Patterson's involvement with the Zionist movement or his key role in the raising of primarily Jewish units in the Entente and Allied armies in both world wars.
The old line about taking the rebel out of Ireland seems to hold true for Patterson who seeks out a seemingly hopeless cause and trains men to fight to make that cause a reality. Since the book was written Patterson's ashes have been re-interred in Israel, highlighting his importance to the state of Israel.
Brian does his best to explore the mysteries about the man which persist to this day while telling the parts of the Patterson story we do know clearly and interestingly. A fascinating story, well told, of a man who deserves to be better remembered...
The old line about taking the rebel out of Ireland seems to hold true for Patterson who seeks out a seemingly hopeless cause and trains men to fight to make that cause a reality. Since the book was written Patterson's ashes have been re-interred in Israel, highlighting his importance to the state of Israel.
Brian does his best to explore the mysteries about the man which persist to this day while telling the parts of the Patterson story we do know clearly and interestingly. A fascinating story, well told, of a man who deserves to be better remembered...
September 7, 2020
I had known of Patterson’s exploits regarding the “The Man-eaters of Tsavo”. But this book shed additional light on his exciting and interesting life. While it may drag a bit through the Zionist chapters, it was still interesting and worth the read.
April 4, 2015
Probably the story related here I was most familiar with was the story of the man eating lions (as portrayed in the film, The Ghost in the Darkness) where the author led the way to killing mankind eating lions stopping a railway building project. He wrote a book about the experience that became very popular. Teddy Roosevelt read it and loved it.
Colonel Patterson also led a contingent of Jewish troops in WWI who performed bravely in the Gallipoli debacle and saw action in Palestine. He argued that the Jews did as much or more as the Arab in helping the British against the Turks in the Middle East but received much less press and popular acclaim. His experience led to his involvement in the Zionist movement leading towards the creation of Israel as a nation.
Colonel Patterson also led a contingent of Jewish troops in WWI who performed bravely in the Gallipoli debacle and saw action in Palestine. He argued that the Jews did as much or more as the Arab in helping the British against the Turks in the Middle East but received much less press and popular acclaim. His experience led to his involvement in the Zionist movement leading towards the creation of Israel as a nation.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews