The Last Jihad (Political Thrillers Series #1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Joel C. Rosenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2003

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-Isreali 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 Isreali and Palestinian. But just before a treaty can be signed, Isreali 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 Isreali 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.

Editorial Reviews

From 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.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

This new novel from a Washington, D.C., communications expert scores big on timeliness. It's the very-near future, and the U.S. president has won a midterm election, succeeding George W. Bush. Saddam Hussein has sent assassins to gun down the newly elected president. Meanwhile, Iraqi terrorists attack the leaders of U.S.-allied countries. America sees one hope for the Western world: an Israeli-Arab alliance with the single goal of stopping Hussein. Only two people can make the alliance happen: Jon Bennett, a Wall Street strategist, and his partner, the lovely Erin McCoy. Can our plucky heroes orchestrate the giant business deal necessary to forge the alliance and save the free world? In today's get-Hussein political climate, the novel is sure to find an audience, but some readers may not find the book as exciting as expected. While Rosenberg works a couple of genuinely surprising plot twists into his story, and his grasp of international politics and terrorism seems solid, his prose style is, at best, adequate. Although fans of Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy will no doubt enjoy it, readers who like their narratives elegant and their characters more than paper-thin may be somewhat disappointed. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 335 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books (September 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765346435
• ISBN-13: 978-0765346438
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (266 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Political

More About the Author

Joel C. Rosenberg is the New York Times best-selling author of The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, and Epicenter, with more than one million copies in print. A communications strategist based in Washington, D.C., for over fifteen years, he has worked with some of the worlds most influential and provocative leaders, including Steve Forbes, Rush Limbaugh, former Israeli deputy prime minister Natan Sharansky, and former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Once a political columnist for World magazine, he now writes commentaries for National Review as well as a weekly e-mail update known as Flash Traffic for business and political leaders. A front-page Sunday New York Times profile called him a force in the capital. He has also been profiled by the Washington Times and the Jerusalem Post and has been interviewed on ABCs Nightline, CNN Headline News, Fox News Channel, The History Channel, MSNBC, The Rush Limbaugh Show, and The Sean Hannity Show.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Estimable effort from a writer to watch, November 29, 2002

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Jihad (Political Thrillers Series #1) (Hardcover)

Joel Rosenberg, a political columnist for World magazine, has written quite an amazing first novel.

One of the interesting things about it is that it proves evangelical Christians can write international thrillers and get published by New York publishers if their stories are strong enough. And this one is. Rosenberg, not really a Washington "insider," nevertheless either knows enough about Beltway affairs or has done his research sufficiently to render the world of Washington in all its tawdry splender very effectively.

The author also writes quite astonishing action scenes, e.g., the opening sequence where a Gulfstream G4 crashes into the President's limo, the shootout in the former top Mossad agent's house in Jerusalem, and the sniper sequence prior to the memorial service for the secret service agents.

Not everything works optimally. I felt the main character's expertise--the ability to see patterns in the most obscure details, put them together, and forcast events--could've been more effectively used in the last half of the book. Also, there's not a whole lot of chemistry between the hero and his purported love interest.

But these are quibbles. All in all, it's a fine effort.

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put your To-Do List Away, November 20, 2002

By 

Liz (Orlando, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Jihad (Political Thrillers Series #1) (Hardcover)

All other items on your to-do list will have to wait once you being this book. Don't be surprised if you find yourself engrossed from the very beginning..and hold on to your socks from there. No matter what your stance is on terrorism and war in the Middle East you need to read it.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Page Turner!, December 3, 2002

By 

Mark Roberts (Hollister, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Jihad (Political Thrillers Series #1) (Hardcover)

OK... You can't judge a book by it's cover, right? But, with all of the positive comments that were on the book's cover it had to be good.

Actually, it was better! I literally could not put the book down. I got it just before Thanksgiving and finished it with in 3 days.

The plot is quite involved. Just when you think you have things figured out, there's a new twist. I don't want to give details of the plot as it will ruin the surprise of discovering the twists: just know they are there and that it makes for a fun read. One of the things that I liked about the main plot was it was so believeable. In fact, I heard about this book while watching the author, Joel C. Rosenberg interviewed on Hannity and Colmes. I heard Joel say that while writing the book, 9-11 hit and he had to do some adjusting to the plot due to how real his initial premise was to what had just occurred.

The characters become your friends, just as in any good book. I liked the character development, much like a Tom Clancy novel, in that the reader seems to be drawn into a world of reality that most of us only see from the outside. How do they set up security boundaries for Presidential motorcades? How do they draw information out of a suspect that may be reluctant to talk? I have wondered about that very thing while hearing of some of the information drawn out of the actual Taliban prisoners held in Cuba. How do they get these "loyal" Taliban top aides to talk? I got an idea of how it might be done in Chapter 5...

All in all this was one terrific read. If the first chapter doesn't get you hooked, then have a Urologist check out your adrenal glands. For the rest of us, lay off the caffeine. This book is a good substitute.

My only complaint: It'll take Joel C. Rosenberg at least a couple of years to pound out another book...