"A stirring and well-researched remembrance of a tragic but heroic mission." --Kirkus "Powerful . a gripping account." --Jewish Review of Books "Propulsive and insightful. both stunning and inspiring--especially his plumbing of the psychological depths and troubled backgrounds of his doomed, conflicted subjects." --Commentary "I'll read anything Matti Friedman writes, knowing his work will not only engage and enlighten, but transform me. Out of the Sky is the story of a woman who became a legend--and of the eternal interplay between human lives and history, how our stories, taken together, become the record of who we are." --Jonathan Safran Foer "Thrilling, terrifying, and awe-inspiring.

" --Simon Sebag Montefiore "An absolutely captivating story where the reality that Friedman has uncovered is far more fascinating than the myth. This is a book, in every sense, about the distance between heaven and earth, and the courage it takes to cross it." --Dara Horn, author of People Love Dead Jews "Gripping . Out of the Sky is at once an eloquent inquiry into heroism, a wrenching chronicle of bravery and betrayal, and a poignant evocation of a generation hurled from innocence into the maw of history." --Benjamin Balin, author of Kafka's Last Trial " Out of the Sky is a riveting story of Jewish resistance. For years I looked exactly for this book, for a textured and nuanced portrait of Hannah Senesh, Haviva Reich, and their fellow parachutists. In resurrecting this remarkable historical moment, Matti Friedman not only sheds light on an underdiscussed period but wisely hints at how this heroic narrative has helped shape modern Jewish identity." --Judy Batalion, author of The Light of Days "In this hauntingly beautiful book, Matti Friedman sets out to recover the story of Hannah Senesh and her fallen companions from the shadowland of myth and fading memory.

Friedman movingly gathers up the sparks of his Jewish heroes' brief lives, their biblical dreams, European nightmares, and above all the hope, imagination, and youthful daring that could not save Europe's Jews but continue to inspire the old-new country whose rebirth is Friedman's true subject." --Jonathan Rosen, author of The Best Minds.