Product Description

Laura Blumenfeld's father was shot in Jerusalem in 1986 by a member of a rebel faction of the PLO responsible for attacks on several tourists. Her father survived, but Blumenfeld's desire for revenge haunted her. This is her story -- and a fascinating study of the mechanics and psychology of vengeance.

While plotting to infiltrate her father's shooter's life, Blumenfeld travels the globe gathering stories of other avengers. Through interviews with Yitzhak Rabin's assassin; members of the Albanian Blood Feud Committee; the chief of the Iranian judiciary; the mayor of Palermo, Sicily; the Israeli prime minister; priests; sports fans; fifth-grade girls; prostitutes; and more, she explores the dynamics of hate -- and the fine line that sometimes separates it from love.

Ultimately, Blumenfeld's target is more complex than the stereotypical terrorist she'd long imagined. In a surprising twist, she gets revenge, but not according to traditional expectations. She discovers a third way, a choice beyond "turn the other cheek" or "an eye for an eye." And with it she answers the age-old question: what is the best revenge?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #561090 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.com Review
In 1986, a Palestinian terrorist shot author Laura Blumenfeld’s father. More than a decade later, Blumenfeld, a reporter for The Washington Post, decided to find the man who tried to kill her dad; she also wanted to learn about vengeance. “I was looking for the shooter, but I also was looking for some kind of wisdom,” she writes. “I wanted to master revenge.” Blumenfeld interviews a variety of people, from religious figures to assassins, about the meaning of revenge. The heart of the book, though, is her own journey to find the man who pulled the trigger. First she locates his family and learns vivid details about his life--he was a standout in his public-relations course at the University of Bethlehem. Blumenfeld’s own emotions aren’t far from the surface of this narrative. When she meets the shooter’s own father, for instance, she asks herself: “Am I supposed to shoot him now?” Finally she begins a creepy correspondence with the gunman, who is in prison. Their letters back and forth are oddly compelling--at first the shooter doesn’t know her real identity, though she eventually reveals it. In the end, Blumenfeld says her quest helped her find hope in a dangerous world, even as the final words of her book reflect upon September 11 and its immediate aftermath, when so many other Americans longed for their own vengeance. --John Miller

From Publishers Weekly
At its heart, this remarkable tale is a rite-of-passage story, an intense and deeply personal journey. For newlywed and successful Washington Post reporter Blumenfeld in 1998, life appeared to be just about perfect. But she had a score to settle. In 1986, the same year her mother declared she wanted a divorce, her father was shot by a Palestinian terrorist while visiting Israel. Fortunately, the young man had poor aim. But the impact on Blumenfeld was dramatic. That year, as a college student, she wrote a poem in which she addressed the shooter: "this hand will find you/ I am his daughter." In 1998, the shooter was released from prison. Blumenfeld saw her chance and grabbed it. She traveled to such places as Bosnia, Sicily and Iran, and interviewed both perpetrators and victims of violence to determine the rituals and rites of revenge. She tracked down and spent hours with the shooter's family, telling them only that she was American journalist working on a book. She and the shooter became pen pals. The book's only flaw, and it's minor, is a sense of detachment, though Blumenfeld is an able and expressive writer and is not sparing when it comes to personal revelations. The climax is astonishingly powerful a masterfully rendered scene, crackling with the intensity of which great, life-changing drama is made. (Apr. 4)Forecast: Needless to say, a book about revenge against terrorism could not be better timed, and aided by powerful writing and an excerpt in the New Yorker, this has bestseller potential.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
When her father was shot in Jerusalem, this prize-winning Washington Post journalist sought revenge the smart way: she talked to other avengers, from Rabin's assassin to the Albanian Blood Feud Committee to Palermo's mayor.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Three stories: Two exciting + one boring =a worthwhile book
Laura Blumenfeld book REVENGE is really three stories. It is the story of her family and its interactions, It is the story of her desire for Revenge, and it is the story of her searching from culture to culture, from the land of my ancestors (Sicily), to Albania, to Iran for justification for the revenge she craves for the attempted murder of her father.

The encounters with the various cultures was great reading, The Iranian cleric who saw a difference between a Jew born in the Holy Land, a tourist and a European who moved there in terms of their right for revenge was incredible.

Her encounters with the family of the shooter and those who ordered it was riviting, particularly since they not knowing who she really was, were willing to lie to her face concerning the shooting, perhaps they were lied to as well, who knows? It was drama and a page turner.

Her own family situation frankly couldn't compare. I understand that to each person their own situation is what drives them, but I found myself rushing through that stuff to get to the other, however I don't think I could see the book working without them. The dispute over the Greek Temple, to me was the defining moment of those encounters.

It is a very relevent book and one of the most worthwhile reads I've had. It combines history, current events and cultural values in a way that no history book or cultural text could. Its weaknesses are unable to push it down to three stars for me. Read it.

A Daring Bit of Journalism
Laura Blumenfeld writes beautifully. But people looking for an objective or scholarly treatise on revenge, or a monograph on the situation in the Middle East, should go elsewhere. This book is a personal journey of discovery and adventure, filled with emotional truths and some shocking surprises. In the end, the author exposes herself in a way few writers would dare. I loved this book. But even if you don't, you have to admire it.

a view form outside the box
This book transcends the partisan politics of the Middle East conflicts to present a deeply moving look at one person's experiences of the same. Not for tiny minds hungry for nothing but entertainment, but a useful read for anyone interested in remaining human in this increasingly complicated and violent world.