The Messenger

months after 9/11, with Saudi Arabia besieged by inquiries about its role in the attacks, state-run Saudi television broadcast a telethon that raised more than $100 million to support “Palestinian martyrs,” the euphemism for suicide bombers from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The telecast featured remarks by Sheikh Saad al-Buraik, a prominent government-sanctioned Saudi cleric, who described the United States as “the root of all wickedness on earth.” The Islamic cleric went on to say: “Muslim brothers in Palestine, do not have any mercy, neither compassion on the Jews, their blood, their money, their flesh. Their women are yours to take, legitimately. God made them yours. Why don’t you enslave their women? Why don’t you wage jihad? Why don’t you pillage them?”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    This novel, like the previous books in the Gabriel Allon series, could not have been written without the assistance of David Bull, who truly is among the finest art restorers in the world. Several Israeli and American intelligence officers gave me guidance along the way, and for obvious reasons I cannot thank them by name. Jean Becker, known to her legion of admirers as “the center of the universe,” and not without good reason, opened many doors for me. My copy editor, Jane Herman, saved me much embarrassment. Louis Toscano made countless improvements to the manuscript, as did my trusted friend and literary agent, Esther Newberg of ICM in New York. I consulted hundreds of books, articles, and Web sites, far too many to cite here, but I would be remiss if I did not mention the extraordinary scholarship of Dore Gold, Laurent Murawiec, Gerald Posner, and Derek Fell, whose analysis of Vincent van Gogh’s final days at Auvers inspired Marguerite Gachet at Her Dressing Table. It goes without saying that none of this would have been possible without the support of the remarkable team of professionals at Putnam: Ivan Held, Marilyn Ducksworth, and especially my editor, Neil Nyren.
    We are blessed with many friends, who, at critical points during the writing year, provide much needed perspective and laughter, especially Betsy and Andrew Lack, Elsa Walsh and Bob Woodward, Michael and Leslie Sabourin, and Andrew and Marguerita Pate. My wife, Jamie Gangel, served as a trusted sounding board for my ideas and skillfully edited my early drafts, including some I did not like. She saw the essence of the story, even when it eluded me. Without her care, support, and devotion, The Messenger might never have taken flight.