In the Moment of Greatest Calamity: Terrorism, Grief, and a Victim's Quest for Justice (Hardcover)

by Susan F. Hirsch (Author) "ON AUGUST 7, 1998, two truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously at U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania..." (more)
Key Phrases: jihad job, embassy bombings trial, embassy bombings case, United States, East African, Officer Pepe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Susan Hirsch has turned [her] experience into a powerful book, one fully engaged with her experience of grief and loss but equally so with analysis of these questions of justice, and with how the pursuit of justice interacted with her status as a victim, a survivor, a widow, an anthropologist.
(Daily Kos )

In the Moment of Greatest Calamity stands as by far the most thorough examination of the embassy bombings and the subsequent trial of four of the perpetrators. An American anthropologist with long personal and professional involvement in Kenya and Tanzania, Hirsch is uniquely equipped to bridge the divide separating her American readers from her East African subject matter.
(Kevin J. Kelley The East African )

Review
In the Moment of Greatest Calamity is a profoundly moving and illuminating testament to a victim's need for understanding and justice-not vengeance or retaliation-in the wake of a devastating terrorist attack. With extraordinary wisdom and insight, Hirsch makes a compelling case that, whether the victim of terrorism is, like herself, an individual whose spouse has been killed, or, like the post-September 11th United States, a country that has been attacked, healing will not be brought about by a unilateral lashing out at a poorly understood enemy, but, rather, only by a patient, thoughtful, and judicious response that does not compromise our humanity or lose sight of our respect for life.
(Susan J. Brison, author of "Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self" )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; illustrated edition edition (September 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691121362
• ISBN-13: 978-0691121369
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #809,106 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and timely view on Justice!, December 3, 2006

By	Jeremy A. Rinker "PHD Candidate Conflict Anal... (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Susan Hirsch's new book "In the Moment of Greatest Calamity: Terrorism, Grief, and a Victim's Quest for Justice" is a unique and vital introspection into the role justice can play in coping with political violence. Written from the authoratative position of being a participant in one moment of greatest calamity, while simultaneously focusing an analytical eye towards the legal anthropology this moment creates the book provides a remarkable blend of what social scientists often call the subjective and objective approaches to understanding social reality. Hirsch does a comendable job of weaving her personal story of loss together with insightful and honest analysis of what justice means in the aftermath of such calamity. Teasing out the distinctions of justice as determined by past culpability for actions AND by future projections of the good, Hisrch's work is an accessible read for both scholar and lay alike. This is a book that you will find hard to put down! If you are not captured by her story, then her analytical scholarship will surely draw you in.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Susan Hirsch, In the Moment of Greatest Calamity, May 12, 2007

By	Carroll S. Seron - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very powerful nd readable book. I highly recommend it and hope it comes out in paperback for students to read.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Book, December 5, 2006

By	Guy Barnhart "a book kinda guy" (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews

This book I heard on an NPR story. A few years ago, I also heard the author, Dr Hirsch, interviewed after the US Embassy attacks in Africa. In which she lost her husband, and then attended the consequent trials of the alleged terorists, part of the then little known group, Al-Queda.

She is a smart and articulate person, and her book is very imformative in today's sensationalist driven media. She is a voice of reason, offers clear and stunning analysis on contemporary culture and ethics.

She is a Cultural Anthropologist, and actually focused her studies on Law. I highly recomend this book to anyone interested in modern culture and the growing tension between Islam and the West.