NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!
In fall 2025, Fighting Back: Stan Andrews and the Birth of the Israeli Air Force was released in paperback.
Fighting Back: Stan Andrews and the Birth of the Israeli Air Force is the story of Stan Andrews, an assimilated American Jew and World War II veteran who became one of the first fighter pilots in the history of the Israeli Air Force.
In 1948, Stan Andrews left a comfortable postwar life in Los Angeles to travel to the war-torn Middle East, where a four-front Arab invasion threatened to destroy the newly-declared State of Israel. There he joined the Israeli Air Force and became one of its first fighter pilots. Andrews was an unexpected volunteer for the fight for a Jewish state. He was many things—an artist, writer, assimilated Jew, ladies’ man, pilot, and combat veteran of the Pacific War. He had previously been aloof from the struggle for Jewish independence but found himself so roused by the anti-Semitism of 1940s America that he decided to go to Israel and risk everything. Stan made the most of his time in Israel, serving in fighter and bomber squadrons and leaving his mark on an Israeli Air Force that has since become the stuff of legend
PURCHASE TODAY
"Progressing at the taut pace of an espionage novel, Fighting Back is the engrossing biography of a defiant, passionate Jewish American soldier.”
— CLARION REVIEWS
”Impressively informative, exceptionally well written, thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, Fighting Back is an inherently riveting read from cover to cover.”
— MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
"Jeffrey and Craig Weiss have uncovered the story of a Jewish hero in the mold of a Leon Uris character. Readers will enjoy trying to keep up with Stan Andrews—a typical Jewish New Yorker turned daring combat pilot—as he chases history from the air force planes of the United States and the nascent state of Israel."
— DAN SENOR
New York Times bestselling co-author of Start Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle
"Jeff and Craig have once again done a great job in presenting this incredible and exhilarating piece of history. They have succeeded in bringing to life the multi-faceted character of Stan Andrews-his passions, his personality, his ambivalence, his layered motivations… You will love him and you will love his story."
— NANCY SPIELBERG
Movie Producer, Above and Beyond, On the Map, Who Will Write Our History
"Fighting Back gives a nuanced glimpse into a fascinating and poignant moment in time. Stan Andrews is one of a small group of people who subtly made history. The Weiss brothers' research is meticulous. They develop their characters responsibly and tell their story beautifully."
— TAL KEINAN
Lt. Col. (ret.) Israel Air Force and author of God Is in the Crowd: Twenty First Century Judaism