Gideon's Torch [Paperback]

Charles Colson (Author), Ellen Vaughn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 1996

A newly elected president must deal with a crisis that challenges his administration's agenda and changes the course of the nation. Full of insider information, this political thriller paints a believable picture of Washington's corridors of power with an alarming ring of truth.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Charles Colson, of course, was a special counsel for President Nixon, and served a stretch in a federal prison for his part in the Watergate cover-up. Nowadays, he's deeply involved in prison ministries. Gideon's Torch is his and coauthor Vaughn's first novel, a political tale steeped in the details of the White House, the Justice Department, and the K Street maneuverings of those seeking power. As Republican president J. Whitney Lowell takes office, a woman walks into a North Dakota abortion clinic and kills a doctor. Watching the polls, Lowell decides to crack down on every antiabortion group nationwide, whether violent or peaceful, and a civil liberties debate quickly erupts. Before Lowell's tactics can produce a killer, another group steals a National Institute of Health training video containing shots of a brutal third-trimester abortion and manages to uplink the video to the evening news. And before these terrorists can be apprehended, another group stages an Oklahoma City^-style bombing on the first of the sinister-seeming Regeneration Centers, which will use fetuses in AIDS research. They botch their escape and are killed, leaving government prosecutors no case except against an alleged accessory, a Maryland preacher named Daniel Seaton. Seaton's courtroom testimony and death in prison are linked to the tribulations of St. Paul and give the novel a certain mournful elegance. Colson and Vaughn present every warring faction fairly; the portraits of the president and attorney general are particularly sensitive, and the suicide of Lowell's chief adviser is quite movingly done. John Mort --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (August 29, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849939771
• ISBN-13: 978-0849939778
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,015,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This Novel Left A Bad Taste In My Mouth., December 29, 2006

By 

Indiana Jeff Reynolds "Preacher Jeff" (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gideon's Torch (Paperback)

In the mid-90's, three novels came out that struck me as having a similar theme: "The President", "The Campaign", and "Gideon's Torch". The latter one was the first one I read. I never read "The President", but I have a hunch I'd like it better than this book.

Let me start with the one positive comment I'll make of the book. It painted the pro-choice president as being a Republican. In other words, Colson and Vaughn did not portray abortion as a partisan issue. I thought that was creative.

One more positive comment. The opening chapter was great at getting your interest. However, to me, each chapter introduced characters not connected to the previous chapter, and that made me weary. This may be my subjective comment, and another is that the plot turns did not satisfy me. The conversion in the book to Christianity was almost clinical in its dullness. Additionally, I thought the ending, while focusing on "what comes around goes around", was very weak.

From one comment, I have a hunch that most of the negative reviews came from those who disagreed with the authors' pro-life leanings. This is not the case here. I am pro-life myself. I agree with several of the angles given in the book, such as abortion possibly dividing the Republican party, pro-lifers being subject to persecution, and the risk of our country becoming a police state, as well as pro-lifers being desperate in their sincere concern to protect the unborn. But just because I agree with the authors doesn't mean I enjoyed the book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Novel about Pro-lifers that cross the line misses the mark, August 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Gideon's Torch (Audio Cassette)

This novel is about a group of pro-Life advocates that decide that non-violent means of protest that they have used in the past are ineffective. But after bombing a new facility for harvesting aborted babies, they learn that violence is not the answer either.

This somewhat depressing novel didn't hold my interest and the plot doesn't seem to hold together. The audio quality was poor which made the listening even harder. I can't recommend it

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This 'fictional' story hits way too close to the mark., September 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Gideon's Torch (Hardcover)

Colson and Vaughn, in typical fashion, create a very eloquent story. While this is fiction, the story is very powerful and is sure to make you think about where you stand on a number of issues. Of course, Colson adds many Oval Office insider insights that are indeed interesting, especially in light of the recent events in the Clinton administration. Watch out for a portion of the book early on that seems to drag - it is worth your patience, as you will find the book capturing your attention. A very worthwhile and enriching read from a fine writing team.