Badr [Paperback]

C Foertmeyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2007

Marlin Goldburg, a forty-year-old Jewish realtor living in the United States, is killed in a terrible traffic accident. Later that day, in Sarsarif, Iraq, Abdul-Halim is blessed with the birth of his first son, whom he names, Badr. What can the two events have in common? As the years go by, Badr is taught at home, hate for the rich American Jews that finance Israel’s existence in Arab lands. His father and uncles teach him to hate all infidels, especially the American infidels who have now invaded his country and hometown. But, as the lessons in hate began, so did Badr’s dreams of pale white hands, always held together, as if in prayer. The praying, pale white hands, obviously those of an infidel, seem to be in direct contrast to his family’s teachings. So, whose hands are they, and what are they trying to tell Badr, who has now grown up to be “Lone Wolf”, the most deadly of Iraqi insurgents? Is Marlin Goldburg speaking to Badr from the grave? But how, and why?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

C. H. Foertmeyer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1949, the eldest of four children. After graduating from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, he returned to Cincinnati to pursue a career in his hometown. Today, Mr. Foertmeyer divides his time between a full-time job and fiction writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (March 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595438571
• ISBN-13: 978-0595438570
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,209,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

C.H. Foertmeyer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1949, and the eldest of four children. After graduating from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, he returned to Cincinnati to pursue his career in the paint coatings industry. He married in 1978 and raised two wonderful stepchildren and a lovely daughter, Jennifer, in his Lockland home. Today, Mr. Foertmeyer divides his time between web authoring and fiction writing. He now resides in Forest Park, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. His daughter lives in nearby Greenhills, Ohio and is the inspiration of his writing, inspiring him to write his first novel at age fifty-three.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful story, well told, April 15, 2007

By 

Laurel Johnson (Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Badr (Paperback)

C. H. Foertmeyer's stories are always a pleasing surprise. Each of his twelve novels has a suspenseful plot with intriguing twists, real-life characters -- common folk struggling against overwhelming odds -- and an underlying message of hope. Badr just may be his best book yet.

Marlin Goldburg is a quiet, sensible man who enjoys the solitary peace of working in his gardens. As the book begins, Marlin fears he may be losing touch with reality. Odd visions come and go unpredictably while working in the garden, during breakfast, even while driving on the interstate that cuts through Cincinnati. Without warning, Marlin is transported to another time and place. He sees tan hands and a forearm marked with a distinctive tattoo. The hands are digging in sand, burying bombs. Marlin and his wife Anne research the tattoo because they feel it is key to his visions. The tattoo is a red Star of David pierced by a black scimitar. The mystery of his visions dies with Marlin in an accident on the interstate on May 13, 1986.

Badr is born in Iraq on May 13, 1986. As soon as he is old enough to think for himself, Badr hates Americans and American Jews in particular. As a young man he funnels that powerful hate into surreptitious acts of violence against the American soldiers occupying his land. He avoids joining jihadist groups and works alone, earning the name Lone Wolf. Neither the soldiers nor his people know Lone Wolf's true identity. Badr masquerades as a friend to the Americans, earning their trust. His goal is to move to America, become a citizen, and sacrifice himself in one horrendous act. From childhood, Badr has been haunted by frightening visions of pale-skinned hands digging in rich dirt, planting flower bulbs.

Marlin's God and Badr's Allah work in mysterious ways. Badr does reach American soil with his hate and plans intact, but is Allah on his side? Does Allah honor a young man with murderous hate in his heart? That's where several delicious, suspenseful plot twists come in. You'll have to read the book to learn the answer. If you enjoy a suspenseful story, well told, Badr is highly recommended.