Her father lived, but Blumenfeld's desire for revenge haunted her. Revenge: A Story of Hope is her story.Traveling to Europe, America, and the Middle East, Blumenfeld gathers stories and methods of avengers worldwide as she plots to infiltrate the shooter's life. Through interviews with Yitzhak Rabin's assassin; with members of the Albanian Blood Feud Committee; the chief of the Iranian judiciary; the mayor of Palermo, Sicily; an Egyptian heroin smuggler; the Israeli prime minister and the military chief of staff; priests; sports fans; fifth-grade girls; and prostitutes, among others, she explores the mechanics and the psychology of vengeance.

In the end, her target turns out to be more complex -- and in some ways more threatening -- than the stereotypical terrorist she'd long imagined.

A rare, ambitious, personal, and intellectual tour of dark urges often denied, Revenge: A Story of Hope is a beautifully written story about family, loyalty, and home, about the personal passions behind public events, and about the thin line between love and hate.

Acclaim for Laura Blumenfeld and Revenge: A Story of Hope:

"A vitally important story...Revenge is written with such forcefulness and immediacy that by the end of her story [Blumenfeld] has carried the reader through an intellectual transformation akin to her own." -Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"I was just swept away with it, by it, with the beauty of the writing and the drama of the tale." -Richard Cohen, The Washington Post

"A gripping read. Rich, graceful, intimate, and absorbing." -Kirkus Reviews

"Laura Blumenfeld has the eye of a journalist, the soul of a novelist and the passion of an activist. She brings all three to bear superbly in this gripping and haunting first book. It is a sure winner.” -Thomas L. Friedman

"Read this book, not only because it is well-written and thoroughly enjoyable, but because Laura's is a message that needs to be spread." -The Harvard Crimson

"Well-written, with a sharp and lively style." - Jerusalem Post

Laura has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show, Prime Time Live, Charlie Rose, Oprah, NewsNight with Aaron Brown, and The O'Reilly Factor, among others. She has been interviewed extensively on NPR, the BBC and other radio shows. Her story has been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines from The New Yorker to Jewish Week to People magazine.

Laura is currently on the national staff of the Washington Post, where she is covering presidential politics and homeland security, among other subjects.

Laura Blumenfeld holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and has been a staff writer at The Washington Post since 1992. She has also written for The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, and The Los Angles Times. She has reported extensively from the Middle East, including Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Israel and the west bank, and speaks Arabic and Hebrew.

Entertainers, Celebrity