In A Mighty Heart, an astonishingly courageous woman tells the terrifying and unforgettable story of her husband's life and death. For five weeks the world watched and worried about Danny Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan. And then came the news of his shocking and brutal murder. Danny's reasons for being in Karachi, the complete story of his abduction, and the intense effort to find him are told here for the first time.
Mariane and Danny Pearl were working in South Asia, as they had been elsewhere in the world, because they believed that good reporting is essential to our understanding of ethnic and religious conflict around the globe. They knew the risks inherent in the life they chose and took conscientious precautions.
The courage of Danny and Mariane is extraordinary, yet we are dependent on brave journalists everywhere to produce news coverage that educates us. There are many mighty hearts in the Pearl story, many brave people who helped Mariane in her search for her abducted husband. This account is riveting, illuminating, and heartbreaking. We learn, through the urgent tracing of Danny's last movements, about the terrorists' methods, ideologies, and ruthless violence. As soon as Pearl was discovered missing, a global effort began to locate him and identify his captors -- a race against the clock that spanned the dangerous fissures of culture and politics and language that separate Islamic terrorists and America.
Only one person can tell this story: Danny Pearl's wife, Mariane, for it was she who initiated and helped direct the urgent search for her husband and she who can paint a moving portrait of a marriage built on the ideals of truth, justice, and love. Intensely suspenseful despite the known outcome, uplifting at the last, A Mighty Heart is essential reading for our time.
Most people were unfamiliar with Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl before his kidnapping and murder in Pakistan. In A Mighty Heart, his widow Mariane introduces us to Danny as he was when he was alive while also providing a heart-breaking first person account of his disappearance and death. There are plenty of endearing details about Danny--his insistence on moving his favorite Barcalounger with him around the world, his love of playing mandolin, his private conversations with his unborn son--but the more remarkable portrait that emerges is one of extraordinary bravery. Danny placed himself in post-9/11 Pakistan, realizing full well that region's inherent dangers, because of his courageous dedication to getting the truth about attempted shoe bomber Richard Reid and other terrorist activity. When he is kidnapped and pictures are e-mailed to his wife, she notices that he's slyly showing the peace or victory sign with one hand and flipping the kidnappers off with the other. And while clues to his fate are still being pieced together, Mariane's story, until now, has not been widely told. Realizing Danny has been abducted, she must navigate underworld politics, the international spotlight, and her own shattered nerves in a race against time to save her husband. Along the way, with the broad array of people and agencies assisting the cause, clues are gathered about the kidnappers' identity and the intricate machinations of the international terrorist community. When his fate is finally learned, the spotlight does not abate even as she is devastated and awaiting the couple's first child. Mariane Pearl's candor is remarkable and her courage, along with that of her late husband, serve to make A Mighty Heart, despite Danny Pearl's death, an uplifting story. --John Moe
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Personalizing Terrorism With Honesty and Passion...Sadly True:
Even after seeing Michael Winterbottom's compelling 2007 film adaptation starring Angelina Jolie, I cannot imagine the unrelenting nightmare Mariane Pearl, five months pregnant, must have felt for those endless weeks back in early 2002 when her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was being held hostage by radical Islamic terrorists in Karachi. It is a tribute to her as both investigative reporter and grieving widow that she has written such a moving and cogent book about her husband's... more info
A Mighty Heart:
This book is absolutely amazing! It's very well written and the movie doesn't do it justice.
Poetic Writing:
"I signal to Danny to take the first (cab) since he is in the greater hurry. After he tosses his bag in, he cups my neck with his free hand, pulls me to him, and kisses my cheek." "In a matter of seconds, Danny is gone." Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl was kidnapped then murdered by terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan, in February 2002. The person he kissed was his wife Mariane Pearl, co-author (with Sarah Crichton)of A MIGHTY HEART. I call this writing pure poetry. "There might be... more info
Very sad:
A very sad story. It also makes the anger towards these terrible people come out. I wish that Bush would stop being a sissy and go after these people. I also lost my husband but to an auto accident. Nevertheless, the pain is the same. I would hope that her story will stop people from going to these countrys for any reason. The US also needs to be more militant in going after the hostage takers.
Privacy policy: we don't collect information
about visitors except for the standard technical server logs. We don't send unsolicited emails. We don't
sell the information that we don't collect about you to anyone. When you follow
links to other sites, their privacy policies apply. Thanks for visiting!
