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For Immediate Release

THEY PLOTTED REVENGE AGAINST AMERICA

By

ABE F. MARCH

In the latest release form ALL THINGS THAT MATTER PRESS, an American attack on Baghdad leaves heartbroken and angry survivors. Two families, one Muslim and one Christian, are wiped out; their young adult progeny are determined to avenge the loss of their loved ones. David Levy, an Israeli Secret Service Agent with a grudge of his own, knows just how to tap into the vulnerabilities that grief leaves, and organizes the training of select individuals whose desire for vengeance is strong enough to consider a deadly covert mission in America. Trainees will learn to blend in, disappear in the multicultural mix of the US and then infest the food and water supply with a deadly flu virus capable of mutating and infecting the human population. The antidote - if it works - will only be revealed under strict demands.
Some team members come to realize that they could ultimately be responsible for millions of innocent deaths. Their actions could break the stalemate between the Israelis and Palestinians - or bring on unparalleled tragedy.

They Plotted Revenge is an intriguing read, and one that left the hair on the back of my neck standing up. It's one thing to think of a war "over there" that is more out of sight and out of mind than we care to admit. It's another thing altogether to realize that the actions that have led us to this point in history could actually be unstoppable. This story - part fiction and a whole lot of real - is about an attack set to take place in the US, right under our noses. It isn't about bombs going off, or folks firing guns and rockets at one another. This is about getting at the very foundation of our own survival. Iraqi youths from different backgrounds within their own country are recruited as covert operators of a frightening army. They are trained to blend in, become part of the society that they are preparing to unravel. They are tasked with infecting America's food and water with a deadly virus that can mutate to humans, and for which there may not be a ready cure in time, or at a price that we can afford. Working for someone who turns out to be a double agent, at first glance they seem just like young couples anywhere, and all of them are prepared to give up their lives for their cause. As they get to know the Americans that they hide among however, some of them lose heart and decide not to go through with the plan, but in the world that we live in, there will always be someone that will see a project through to the end, even after the battle has ended. Author Abe F. March provides us with a safe haven - a good book - to read, discuss and explore what's really happening, and this is a book you'll want to make time for

 By Pam Robertson, Ph.D. Author of "Marching Across the Heart," and the newly published short story Catch You Later.

*****

Abraham F. March is an international business consultant and author, living near Landau, Germany with his wife Gisela. An active retiree, he enjoys hiking and exploring the local vineyards and can also be heard singing with a regional men's choir. Mr. March's career has taken him around the world to work in many areas from his birthplace in the USA to Canada, Europe and the Middle East.
His first book, To Beirut and Back - An American in the Middle East was published in 2006, and is a memoir of his adventures that took him to Lebanon in the 1970s. Mr. March grew up in York County, Pennsylvania on the family farm, and he served in the USAF from 1957-61.

The following is the Article that was published in "Die Rheinpfalz", a German newspaper, on December 6, 2006.

Click here for an English translation.

Ein Geschäftsmann und Globetrotter

----Göcklingen:  Der Amerikaner "Abe" March hat seine Erinnerungen an seine Jahre in Nahost als Buch veröffentlicht

Von unserer Mitarbeiterin Elke Paretovi

  Wie lebt ein US-Amerikaner, der als internationaler Geschäftsmann jahrelang mit seiner Familie um die Welt gereist ist, jetzt im Ruhestand im beschaulichen Weindorf Göcklingen bei Landau? "Quiet" – ruhig -, sagt der 67-jährige Buchautor Abraham Firestone March lachend, den seine Freunde "Abe" nennen.  Mit seinem im Mai 2006 auf Englisch erschienenen Buch "To Beirut and Back – An American In The Middle East" (Nach Beirut und zurück – ein Amerikaner im Nahen Osten) ist er, zumindest in seiner Heimat, zu einiger Berühmtheit gelangt.

Vor wenigen Wochen erst ist der aus York in Pennsylvania stammende Wahlpfälzer von einer Lesereise aus den USA zurückgekehrt, war dort auch Gast in einer Fernsehsendung des NBC.  In seinem autobiografischen Bericht schildert March das bewegte Auf und Ab zwischen 1969 und 1976, als er mit seiner aus dem pfälzischen Waldfischbach stammenden Ehefrau Gisela und den Kindern Christine, Caroline und Duane in den USA, Kanada, Deutschland, Griechenland und dem Libanon lebte.  Als selbstständiger Kaufmann war er für einen Kosmetikvertrieb tätig.

  "Eigentlich habe ich meine Erlebnisse nur für unsere Familienchronik aufgeschrieben", sagt March.  Begonnen hat er damit 1976 in den USA gleich nach Rückkehr der Familie aus Beirut.  Nicht einmal im Traum habe er daran gedacht, seine Erlebnisse zu veröffentlichen.  Bis seine Tochter Caroline ihn vergangenes Jahr um das Manuskript bat, dieses heimlich an einen Verlag schickte, der es postwendend drucken wollte.  "Darüber war ich anfangs gar nicht glücklich", gesteht March. In wenigen Monaten habe er seine Aufzeichnungen nochmals überarbeitet, umformuliert, ergänzt.  Entstanden ist ein anschauliches Bild jener Zeit.

   Vor allem das Leben in der arabischen Welt hat March bis heute geprägt.  "Mein Herz hängt immer noch am Libanon, das war für unsere ganze Familie die beste Zeit", erinnert er sich an die geschäftlich sehr erfolgreiche Zeiten Mitte der 70er Jahre vor dem Bürgerkrieg zwischen Israel und dem Libanon.  "Ich habe im Libanon eine faszinierende Kultur kennengelernt, unkomplizierte, gastfreundliche Menschen, neuen Geschäftsideen gegenüber immer aufgeschlossen."

   Dabei beschreibt sein Buch auch dramatische Situationen: Wie er in Beirut nur knapp einem Kugelhagel entkam, sein Hab und Gut verlor, mit seiner Frau von Bewaffneten entführt wurde, den Libanon schließlich ohne einen Cent in der Tasche verlassen und in den USA bei Null anfangen musste.  Die aktuelle politische Lage im Libanon, der im Kreuzfeuer zwischen Israel und den Hisbollah-Kämpfern steht, spült täglich Erinnerungen hoch.  Eine Botschaft windet sich wie ein roter Faden durch Marchs Buch:  Alles ist möglich, gib niemals auf, riskiere etwas, es ist nie zu spät für einen Neubeginn.

   In Göcklingen fühlen sich der Globetrotter und seine Ehefrau jetzt rundum wohl.  March singt im Männerchor, wo er mit seinen 67 Jahren zum Nachwuchs zählt, er engagiert sich im örtlichen Sportverein und gibt im Gespräch bereitwillig seine Pfälzischkenntnisse zum Besten: "Die Sunn scheint schun schää."  Seine längst erwachsenen Kinder wohnen heute in Neustadt, Pirmasens und in den USA.  Die Zeit als Geschäftsreisender will er dennoch nicht missen.  "Durch das Leben auf verschiedenen Kontinenten, das Erlernen mehrerer Sprachen und die Einblicke in fremde Kulturen hat die ganze Familie eine differenzierte Sichtweise auf das Geschehen in der Welt bekommen", ist er sich sicher.

______

INFO

"To Beirut and Back: An American in the Middle East", ISBN: 1-4241-3853-1, Verlag PublishAmerica Baltimore; www.freewebs.com/abemarch

The York Daily Record (York, Pennsylvania, USA) has published an article about To Beirut and Back

A personal view of Beirut
Former county resident's book tells of his escape from, and return to, Lebanon in the 1970s

The book includes his family's travels through Canada, Greece, Germany and finally to Lebanon. While there, he was robbed and kidnapped during a civil war. He left the country in 1974 because of financial trouble but returned a year later.

March's story starts with his excitement, determination and admiration for the beauty of his surroundings. But fear of the unknown was also an underlying emotion.

With Lebanon now in the crossfire of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah fighters, March, now living in Germany, agreed to a question-and-answer session via e-mail:

Q. When did you begin writing the book?

A. I started in 1976 after my return from Beirut. I was unemployed with time on my hands and began writing while things were fresh in my mind. It was originally intended as a family chronicle.

Q. How long did it take to complete?

A. I worked on it intermittently for several years and then it lay dormant. Last year my daughter Caroline asked to review my manuscript, and then suggested that I contact a publisher.

Q. Your inner drive and determination are very apparent throughout the book. Were you raised to be determined and take risks?

A. No. I was not raised that way. I had read about and studied successful people, and realized that risk and determination were necessary to succeed. And to sustain that drive, there had to be a driving force - goal oriented. I guess, maybe, I wanted to do something extraordinary.

Q. There are several emotional descriptions throughout the book. Was this a difficult book to write?

A. Yes, it was like reliving it. I felt the frustration of not being able to do anything to affect a change. And, what I wrote at that time was never intended for public consumption.

Q. Why was it important for you to write this book?

A. It was important at the time to just get everything off my mind. Later, I felt that my family would benefit from a better understanding of our emotions and the hazards that we lived through. It would also provide a record of actual events that formed our opinions/emotions of the people and of the politics of the region.

Q. "Beirut was finished and I realized that I was as well." You write of depression during this time of your life, under these circumstances. How did you get through that?

A. I got through it by going to the "end of the line" so to speak. Having lost everything I had, my depression took me to the brink of self-destruction. A realization that life is too precious to throw away and that material possessions are not the answer to happiness; that love and life itself is more important.

Q. Do you follow news reports of the conflict in the Middle East now?

A. It brings back vividly many memories. When I tried to get help from the US Embassy, none was given. I had to get help from my brother-in-law, Harry Miller of Red Lion, to wire money to me via the State Department so I could leave Lebanon. Now the US Government is evacuating American citizens without them having to pay. And, I agree with that. I empathize with the foreigners trying to leave and understand their fears and dilemma. I also feel for those who have no means to leave and must endure the hardships to come and the daily fear for their lives.

Q. Do you believe Lebanon will ever be peaceful?

A. I doubt it in the sense of lasting peace, at least not in the foreseeable future. However, within a short period of time, you will hear the Lebanese talking optimistically about getting back to normal. The Lebanese are the most optimistic people I have ever met. But what is normal for Lebanon? Keep in mind that nowhere in history has it ever been recorded that Lebanon was an aggressor in a war. They have always been defenders. Yet they have been overrun by the Egyptians, by the Greeks, by the Romans and by the Turks, just to name a few, not to speak of being occupied by the French, and the southern part most recently by the Israelis. Always having a big heart, it took in refugees: Armenians, Kurds, and more recently, Palestinians. Now once again Lebanon is being bombarded.

Q. What profession/ business are you in today?

A. I'm retired. My last job was as a procurement manager for an aircraft company. I now enjoy retirement in a small wine village on the edge of the Palatine Forest. I'm a member of the Men's Choir and the Protestant Church Choir. I keep busy helping with the grape harvest and I'm also involved as grounds keeper for the local soccer team.

About him

Abraham Firestone March, 67, was raised in the Dover area and graduated from West York Area High School in 1957.

His son and daughter attended schools in York County, and his son Duane graduated from West York high. His sister, an aunt, an uncle and cousins still live in York County.

His book "To Beirut and Back: An American In The Middle East" is available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, from PublishAmerica, and other book outlets.