The Last Jihad
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4.3 • 8 Ratings
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
A gripping and prescient novel from New York Times bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg. "... The Last Jihad absolutely crackles with high energy and a chilling premise--what if the war on terror goes nuclear." -- Rush Limbaugh
Jon Bennett is a top Wall Street strategist turned senior White House advisor. But nothing has prepared him for the terror that he will face. Saddam Hussein dispatches his top hit men to assassinate the President of the United States. Iraqi terrorists spread carnage throughout London, Paris, and Riyadh . . . and the Butcher of Baghdad has a nuclear ace in his hand that he has not yet played.
Only a solid Arab-Israeli coalition against Iraq can keep the U.S.--and other Western nations--from certain devastation. And only Bennett and his beautiful partner, Erin McCoy, can make that happen. Their secret project--a billion-dollar oil deal off the coast of Gaza--could be the basis for an historic peace treaty and enormous wealth for every Israeli and Palestinian. But just before a treaty can be signed, Israeli commandos foil an Iraqi Scud missile launch, recovering a nuclear warhead and evidence that the next attack will level Washington, New York and Tel Aviv.
Now, the Israeli Prime Minister gives the American President an ultimatum: Melt down Baghdad within one hour . . . or Israel will do it herself. From Jerusalem, Bennett and McCoy must summon all their stealth and savvy to save themselves--and the world--from absolute destruction.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Timeliness adds considerable juice to Rosenberg's frenzied political thriller, set a couple of years in the future. In the wake of September 11, popular American president James MacPherson has spearheaded an international effort to destroy terrorist training camps in the Middle East and North Africa. Osama bin Laden has been killed, but Saddam Hussein continues to plot against the West. The novel opens with a coordinated international terrorist attack, in which Paris and London and several sites in the United States are bombed. Quick-thinking agents deflect an assassination attempt on the president, but MacPherson is gravely wounded. The reader follows the crisis through the eyes of Jon Bennett, a Wall Street strategist putting together a stock deal in Israel when the terrorists strike. Bennett once worked closely with MacPherson on Wall Street. After a tortuous interrogation at the Jerusalem airport on his way back to the U.S., Bennett passes out, expecting to be killed. When he awakes, he finds that he has passed a crucial test and is now a member of President MacPherson's inner circle of advisers. So far, Rosenberg (Not Quite Scaramouche, etc.) keeps a lot of narrative balls in the air with lean writing and breakneck pacing, but at this midway point the novel loses focus and urgency. Rosenberg's failure to give the characters dimension is exposed when the story slows down and moves away from dramatic scenes of action. Intelligence reports indicate that Saddam may be planning a nuclear attack, and the advisers engage in a lengthy heated discussion about a first strike. Though the characters in this debate come off like talking heads, the energy and scope of the dispute breathes new life into the last half of the novel and hints at greater things from the author.
