“Tanenbaum is one lawyer who can write with the best of them.” —Joseph Wambaugh, New York Times bestselling author of Hollywood Hills “Tanenbaum is one hell of a writer.” —New York Post “He has become a master of this genre, and Act of Revenge may be his most exciting and best effort to date.” —Vincent Bugliosi, New York Times bestselling author of Helter Skelter A classic, pulse-pounding thriller from the legendary Robert K. Tanenbaum, Act of Revenge plunges the popular author’s long-running series protagonists, New York City Chief Assistant District Attorney Butch Karp and family, into the lethal heart of a bloody turf war between the Mafia and ruthless Chinese gangsters. An elite member of America’s contemporary crime fiction and thriller royalty—a master whose work stands tall among the novels of John Sanford, Lee Child, Robert Crais, and Brad Meltzer—Tanenbaum entertains magnificently, displaying true storytelling muscle with Act of Revenge.

We call it justice—the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the incarceration of corrupt politicians or financiers like Rod Blagojevich and Bernard Madoff, and the climactic slaying of cinema-screen villains by superheroes. But could we not also call it revenge? We are told that revenge is uncivilized and immoral, an impulse that individuals and societies should actively repress and replace with the order and codes of courtroom justice. What, if anything, distinguishes punishment at the hands of the government from a victim’s individual desire for retribution? Are vengeance and justice really so very different? No, answers legal scholar and novelist Thane Rosenbaum in Payback: The Case for Revenge—revenge is, in fact, indistinguishable from justice. Revenge, Rosenbaum argues, is not the problem. It is, in fact, a perfectly healthy emotion. Instead, the problem is the inadequacy of lawful outlets through which to express it. He mounts a case for legal systems to punish the guilty commensurate with their crimes as part of a societal moral duty to satisfy the needs of victims to feel avenged. Indeed, the legal system would better serve the public if it gave victims the sense that vengeance was being done on their behalf. Drawing on a wide range of support, from recent studies in behavioral psychology and neuroeconomics, to stories of vengeance and justice denied, to revenge practices from around the world, to the way in which revenge tales have permeated popular culture—including Hamlet, The Godfather, and Braveheart—Rosenbaum demonstrates that vengeance needs to be more openly and honestly discussed and lawfully practiced. Fiercely argued and highly engaging, Payback is a provocative and eye-opening cultural tour of revenge and its rewards—from Shakespeare to The Sopranos. It liberates revenge from its social stigma and proves that vengeance is indeed ours, a perfectly human and acceptable response to moral injury. Rosenbaum deftly persuades us to reconsider a misunderstood subject and, along the way, reinvigorates the debate on the shape of justice in the modern world.

Case seen on 20/20 "Everybody Loved John. . ." Mary Jean Pearle and John Battaglia's marriage seemed picture perfect from the outside. With their two young daughters, Faith and Liberty, they made their home in a wealthy Dallas suburb. John was handsome, charming, and successful--but behind his mask of normality lay a vicious, violent abuser who'd brutally beaten his first wife--and who made Mary Jean the new target of his irrational rages. After nine hellish years, she divorced Battaglia. "I Never Thought He'd Hurt The Children. . ." On Christmas Day, 1999, during a court-ordered family visit, he attacked her in front of their daughters. For the next two years, he threatened, harassed and stalked her. Mary Jean feared for her life, but not for the lives of the children, with whom Battaglia was never anything less than caring, loving, and gentle. "No, Daddy, Don't!" But in spring, 2001, when Faith and Liberty were visiting their father, Mary Jean received a message to call her daughters. Helpless, horrified, she heard her older daughter's pleading cries. Then came the sound of gunshots--followed by silence. What evil impulses had driven a seemingly devoted father the ultimate act of violence and betrayal. . .and how would justice be served? Includes Sixteen Pages Of Shocking Photos

When terrorists attack Boston, Louis Massina races against time to save the city with a high-tech counteroffensive . . . On Easter Sunday morning, the city of Boston is struck by a widespread and coordinated series of terrorist attacks: an explosion in the T, a suicide bomber at Back Bay Police Station, and heavily armed gunmen taking hostages at the Patriot Hotel. For robotics innovator Louis Massina, aka the Puppet Master, this is far more personal than a savage act of political terrorism. Boston is his city—and one of his employees, Chelsea Goodman, is among the hostages facing certain death. As Chelsea fights from the inside, Massina leads his team of tech geniuses at Smart Metal to deploy every bot, drone, and cyber weapon at their disposal to defeat the fanatics and save his city and friend. That's step one. Step two: Find the twisted mastermind behind the attacks and make him pay.

Why is revenge such a pervasive and destructive problem? How can we create a future in which revenge is less common and forgiveness is more common? Psychologist Michael McCullough argues that the key to a more forgiving, less vengeful world is to understand the evolutionary forces that gave rise to these intimately human instincts and the social forces that activate them in human minds today. Drawing on exciting breakthroughs from the social and biological sciences, McCullough dispenses surprising and practical advice for making the world a more forgiving place. Michael E. McCullough (Miami, Florida), an internationally recognized expert on forgiveness and revenge, is a professor of psychology at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where he directs the Laboratory for Social and Clinical Psychology.

One spring day in 1994 Houston, Dr. Jim Bob Brady witnesses his neighbor's ten-year-old son killed by a hit-and-run driver. An accident, or an act of murder? After the death, Brady enlists the help of his son J. J. and his wife Mary Louise in chasing down clues that take them deeper and deeper into a Houston he never imagined existed.

"In the course of his study of vengeance as a moral concept, French exposes important distinctions between types of moral theories (karmic and non-karmic) and between people who are morally handicapped and those who are morally challenged. He examines concepts relevant to vengeance, such as honor, moral authority, and evil, and issues such as the rationality of revenge and proportionality in punishment."--BOOK JACKET.

The archaic context of vengeance -- Vengeance in the Odyssey: tisis as narrative -- Three narratives of divine vengeance -- Odysseus' terrifying revenge -- The multiple meanings of Odysseus' triumphs -- The end of the Odyssey.

We all know what it's like to want revenge, but where does that urge come from? Why is it so hard to give up? And why can some people only satisfy it through extreme and brutal acts? In her new book, RADICAL REVENGE, Renée Danziger draws on psychoanalytic thinking to offer a fresh perspective on revenge. Examining some of the most egregious examples of revenge in contemporary society Danziger discusses and develops the concept of radical revenge. Deliberating mass shootings, internet trolling, revenge porn, and contemporary populist politics, she draws on psychoanalytic ideas about shame, envy, and thin-skinned narcissism to discuss why some people feel compelled to engage in destructive acts of radical revenge. Linking revenge to an instinct for self-preservation, the book suggests that the urge for revenge relates to the need to protect one's sense of self. Noting paediatrician and psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott's observation of a crude form of revenge in young infants, the book examines the idea that what starts out as a body-based sense of self becomes more complex as the infant develops into a child and then adult.

A professor of social psychology explores the history of execution in America, weighing its social costs, discussing its potential benefits and problems, and building a new model for understanding the politics behind the death penalty.