First published 2019
Julie Salamon examines the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship and the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled Jewish passenger celebrating his 36th wedding anniversary. The book traces how four Palestinian fedayeen took control of the Italian luxury liner on October 7, shot Klinghoffer in the head, and threw his body overboard in his wheelchair. Salamon draws on interviews with nearly all surviving participants, including one of the hijackers, to reconstruct the hijacking and its consequences. She follows the international manhunt, diplomatic negotiations between the United States, Egypt, Italy, and Israel, and the search for justice. The narrative also explores the tragedy's impact on multiple families: the Klinghoffers grieving their loss, the family of Palestinian mastermind Abu al-Abbas, and relatives of Alex Odeh, a Palestinian-American killed in Los Angeles in retaliation. Salamon covers the controversial opera based on the incident and the culture war it sparked. The book reveals how this single act of terrorism created lasting reverberations across personal lives and international politics.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, terrorism, crime, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: based-on-true-events, investigative-journalism
Setting: Achille Lauro, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Los Angeles, United States
Period: 1985, 1980s
368 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: death, violence