Executive Power [Hardcover]

Vince Flynn (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Atria Books; 1St Edition edition (2003)
• ISBN-10: 0743475909
• ISBN-13: 978-0743475907
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,595,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The fifth of seven children, Vince Flynn was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1966. He graduated from the St. Thomas Academy in 1984, and the University of St. Thomas with a degree in economics in 1988. After college he went to work for Kraft General Foods where he was an account and sales marketing specialist. In 1990 he left Kraft to accept an aviation candidate slot with the United States Marine Corps. One week before leaving for Officers Candidate School, he was medically disqualified from the Marine Aviation Program, due to several concussions and convulsive seizures he suffered growing up. While trying to obtain a medical waiver for his condition, he started thinking about writing a book. This was a very unusual choice for Flynn since he had been diagnosed with dyslexia in grade school and had struggled with reading and writing all his life.
Having been stymied by the Marine Corps, Flynn returned to the nine-to-five grind and took a job with United Properties, a commercial real estate company in the Twin Cities. During his spare time he worked on an idea he had for a book. After two years with United Properties he decided to take a big gamble. He quit his job, moved to Colorado, and began working full time on what would eventually become Term Limits . Like many struggling artists before him, he bartended at night and wrote during the day. Five years and more than sixty rejection letters later he took the unusual step of self-publishing his first novel. The book went to number one in the Twin Cities, and within a week had a new agent and two-book deal with Pocket Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint.
Term Limits hit the New York Times bestseller list in paperback and started a trend for all of Flynn's novels. Since then, his books have become perennial bestsellers in both paperback and hardcover, and he has become known for his research and prescient warnings about the rise of Islamic Radical Fundamentalism and terrorism. Read by current and former presidents, foreign heads of state, and intelligence professionals around the world, Flynn's novels are taken so seriously one high-ranking CIA official told his people, "I want you to read Flynn's books and start thinking about how we can more effectively wage this war on terror."
October 2007 marked another milestone in Flynn's career when his ninth political thriller, Protect and Defend, became a #1 New York Times bestseller. A few months later, CBS Films optioned the rights for Flynn's Mitch Rapp character with the intention of creating a character-based, action-thriller movie franchise. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who previously launched the Harry Potter and Matrix films as head of production at Warner Bros., and Nick Wechsler (We Own the Night, Reservation Road) will produce the films.
Flynn lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and three children.
Works by Flynn include Transfer of Power, The Third Option, Separation of Power , Executive Power , Memorial Day, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, and Extreme Measures.
Influences: Ernest Hemingway, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Gore Vidal, and John Irving
Transfer of Power The Third Option Separation of Power Executive Power Influences:Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Gore Vidal and John Irving

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Executive Power Proves That Flynn Is A Master, May 9, 2003

By 

Rob Kramer (Sebring, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Executive Power (Hardcover)

For those who love the geopolitical accuracy of Tom Clancy and the high-flying suspensful action of Robert Ludlum, Vince Flynn successfully creates a balance of the two in his latest novel, Executive Power.
Executive Power brings Mitch Rapp back once more, but this time around, things are much different. Not only has his cover as an assassin and counterterrorism operative been blown, but he's also married to an inquisitive and beautiful reporter who wants nothing more than her new husband to leave his dangerous life at the CIA behind.
Flynn's latest novel, which is among his best to date (the best, in my opinion, being The Third Option), involves two different scenarios: an American family taken hostage by Muslim radicals in the Phillipines, and an honorable but ruthless assassin playing a deadly geopolitical game, his ultimate goal being the establishment of a free and peaceful Palestinian state.
Our hero Rapp, of course, eventually becomes involved with both. Bullets fly when he attempts a hostage rescue in the Phillipines, and terrorists sweat when he tries to get to the bottom of a string of assassinations reaching from Israel to the US.
Executive Power is an incredibly well-written novel that blends incredible accuracy and amazing action and keeps the reader turning pages. My only complaint is that the novel ended too soon; one can only hope that Mitch Rapp will return soon enough to avert disaster once again.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm ready for the next one!, June 9, 2003

By 

'70s survivor (South Dakota,United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Executive Power (Hardcover)

As always, a great stand-alone story. However, if you're familiar with all of the Mitch Rapp stories and characters, you'll enjoy it even more. So happy to see Scott Coleman back, he's one of my favorites. I was hoping Donatella would make an appearance...maybe next time.
Wow, this story moves quickly so hang on. You are everywhere. I appreciate Mr. Flynn's 'history in a capsule' so you become familiar with his situations, i.e. the U.S. and Phillipines relations as well as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. This is not a 5 star book compared to his others, but still a very good political thriller. I'm already looking forward to the next installment!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling, high speed rollercoaster ride from Vince Flynn!, May 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Executive Power (Hardcover)

I read this terrific book while flying coast to coast, and it was the best few hours of air travel I've ever had! What a great read. EXECUTIVE POWER is Vince Flynn at his best -- fast-paced, action-packed writing with great characters, in particular my favorite CIA super agent, Mitch Rapp. For anyone who enjoys the work of writers like David Baldacci, Robert Ludlum, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy, EXECUTIVE POWER is a MUST read.