The Price of Terror

How the Families of the Victims of Pan Am 103 Brought Libya to Justice

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, International
Cover of the book The Price of Terror by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler, HarperCollins e-books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler ISBN: 9780061750335
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books Publication: October 13, 2009
Imprint: HarperCollins e-books Language: English
Author: Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
ISBN: 9780061750335
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Publication: October 13, 2009
Imprint: HarperCollins e-books
Language: English

President Bill Clinton called it "an attack against America," but after Libyan agents planted a bomb aboard Pan Am Flight 103, killing 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground, America did not strike back. Instead, the grieving relatives of the victims did the unthinkable—as mere civilians-and tried to force Libya to pay for its crime. Lawyers told the families that they could never sue Libya in American courts, and they were right. This would require changing a bedrock principle of international law—a change that every government in the world feared and fought, including the United States itself.

Working virtually alone at first, Allan Gerson, a former diplomat and prosecutor of Nazi war criminals, took on the case and spent the next eight years on the families’ quest for justice. In this high-stakes game of international power politics and legal maneuvering, there were friendships, jobs, and reputations lost, but a precious principle—that of accountability under the law—was strengthened and preserved. Now Gerson and his co-author, Newsweek writer Jerry Adler, follow the threads of this extraordinary tale back to that deadly night over Lockerbie, Scotland—and forward into a new era of international justice, when terrorists will learn to fear the righteous retribution of their own victims.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

President Bill Clinton called it "an attack against America," but after Libyan agents planted a bomb aboard Pan Am Flight 103, killing 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground, America did not strike back. Instead, the grieving relatives of the victims did the unthinkable—as mere civilians-and tried to force Libya to pay for its crime. Lawyers told the families that they could never sue Libya in American courts, and they were right. This would require changing a bedrock principle of international law—a change that every government in the world feared and fought, including the United States itself.

Working virtually alone at first, Allan Gerson, a former diplomat and prosecutor of Nazi war criminals, took on the case and spent the next eight years on the families’ quest for justice. In this high-stakes game of international power politics and legal maneuvering, there were friendships, jobs, and reputations lost, but a precious principle—that of accountability under the law—was strengthened and preserved. Now Gerson and his co-author, Newsweek writer Jerry Adler, follow the threads of this extraordinary tale back to that deadly night over Lockerbie, Scotland—and forward into a new era of international justice, when terrorists will learn to fear the righteous retribution of their own victims.

More books from HarperCollins e-books

Cover of the book Eternal Echoes by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Fury by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book The Missing by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Snow Place to Die by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Temptation of a Proper Governess by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Making Sense of Adoption by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Beyond Reengineering by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Site Unseen by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Wonderful World by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book The Yacoubian Building by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book The Man Who Loved China by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book The Sky Is Falling by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Wife for a Day by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Whistle by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
Cover of the book Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Allan Gerson, Jerry Adler
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy