Firebreak [Audio Cassette]

Richard Herman (Author), Joe Campanella (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1993

Vengeful Iraqis perfect a nerve gas that can't be stopped by gas masks and aim it straight at the heart of Israel. 2 cassettes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Master of the techno-thriller, Herman ( The Warbirds ) moves from the tactical level to the strategic with this fast-paced novel of a Middle East Armageddon. In this near-future scenario, Iraq, incautiously allowed to recover fully from the Second Gulf War, joins Egypt and Syria to attack Israel, whose premier is ready to use nuclear weapons as a "firebreak" if Iraq employs its newest, deadliest nerve gas. The grandson of U.S. President Matthew Pontowski leads the 45th Tactical Fighter Wing on a desperate mission against Iraq's chemical plants. Herman's ground and air action, particularly in the book's final 100 pages, are as exciting as any in print, and the characters, including the President, his grandson and Shoshana Tamir, the disillusioned Israeli agent who is the young fighter pilot's love interest, are convincing. Herman is less successful, however, when he moves far from the fighter's cockpit--to, for instance, the Oval Office, where depictions of the infighting surrounding American policy-making seem like vignettes, interesting but incomplete.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

The Middle East erupts in a red-hot shooting war--and the President's grandson is in the thick of it. Herman's prewriting career (The Warbirds, Force of Eagles) as an Air Force fighter pilot shows clearly and to advantage. President Zack Pontowski and his high-flying grandson Matt are at the heart of the heated political and military action stirred up by the resurgent Iraqis and their new best friends, the Syrians, and by Israel's clear intent to go nuclear if provoked. While the President copes with the intrigues of his Sununu-ish chief of staff, his wife's fatal illness, Soviet political disintegration, a blackmailing oil empress, and Israel's friends in Congress, his grandson seeks to erase his playboy past, renounce his grandfather's political influence, win the heart of luscious Sabra, and earn the respect of his Air Force colleagues. The brilliant, tubby, lustful chief of staff, who is in the clutches of the aged oil queen, very nearly cooks Israel's goose as he pooh-poohs the threat of war and tries to freeze out pro-Israeli intelligence. But the Israelis start channeling their messages through Matt, and the President wises up in time to get on top of the situation when the Arabs and Egyptians start shooting. As the Israelis rattle their nuclear weapons, the Iraqis shake their chemical weapons, and it becomes necessary for grandson Matt to zoom into the thick of the fray to let off a few of those amazingly intelligent weapons we have come to know so well on the TV screen. Good, generally intelligible military thriller--this one distinguished by credible political characterizations and hair- raising aerial shootouts. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Dove Entertainment Inc (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558008268
• ISBN-13: 978-1558008267
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,537,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pontowski is the man, January 9, 2007

By 

G. S. Bond - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Firebreak (Hardcover)

The author has put together a great story line with strong characters. The action never stops and you feel that you are right there.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kept me up until 3:00am on a worknight, June 14, 1998

By 

A. J Smith (Pittsburgh Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Firebreak (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm an active duty military officer and I haven't found anyone as technically on the mark as Herman. He sets the standard. He develops great characters with human frailties--but don't get too attached to any of them. A master story teller! This book is best if you read Warbirds and Force of Eagles (in that order) first.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best aviation fiction book I have ever read, October 24, 1997

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[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Firebreak (Mass Market Paperback)

I came to like technothrillers after reading Tom Clancy's early novels, and for years I tried to find an aviation equivalent of what Tom Clancy had done with submarine warfare.I came across Firebreak by chance, bought it because I liked the cover of the British edition, and after starting it I really felt like I was discovering a new kind of novel, a feeling I had only had before with Tom Clancy's early works. The first part of Firebreak is a spying story not unlike that of a ( good ) James Bond novel, and the second part is political and military fiction at its best, with the description of an all-out war in the Middle East that is chilling in its accuracy. Suspense is skilfully created and maintained and some real facts are cleverly used ( e.g. the F15 Eagle still flying with most of one wing torn off, a fact that really happened to an Israeli aircraft, although McDonnellDouglas engineers would not believe it when they first heard of it). I only regret that Levi's luck did not last until the end, but I presume the author wanted to respect the laws of tragedy. It is rare to see an author with both the military background and the imagination of a born novelist.