The Project [Mass Market Paperback]

Zev Chafets (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

It's 10 years after the Gulf War and Speaker of the House Dewey Goldberg has been sworn in as President of the United States following the accidental deaths of his predecessors. But he soon discovers that Israeli Prime Minister Elihu Barzel may be backing a fundamentalist opponent. Concerned, he dispatches his journalist-friend Charlie Walker to investigate. What Walker discovers is a plan code-named "The Project"--a plan so compelling that it not only jeopardizes the president's chances for reelection, but also the delicate balance of world power.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Even though it deals with such heavyweight issues as the threat of a thermonuclear war in the Middle East and Israel's meddling in a United States election, this new thriller by a veteran Israeli government press officer and journalist has a cozy, down-home quality--rare and welcome in the current marketplace of blood and techno- thunder. There's also a healthy dash of the kind of sly insider's humor that enlivened the books of the late Ross Thomas. In this story we have the first Jewish U.S. President, Dewey Goldberg, and the tough, enigmatic Israeli prime minister, Elihu Barzel, who seems to be pressuring American Jews to vote for--and contribute to--Goldberg's opponent, a right wing Southern populist with some dangerous allies. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Even though it deals with such heavy-weight issues as the threat of nuclear war in the Middle East and Israel's meddling in an American election, this new thriller by Chafets (Inherit the Mob) has a cozy, downhome (hamische, as they say in Yiddish) quality, a welcome rarity in the current marketplace of blood and techno-thunder. There's also a healthy dash of sly insider's humor (Chafetz, now a columnist for the Jerusalem Report, worked as a press officer for Prime Minister Menachem Begin). It's 2000, and Dewey Goldberg, America's first Jewish president, sits uneasily in the White House?having been elevated from Speaker of the House to chief executive 11 months earlier in the wake of a boating accident that killed both the president and the veep. Goldberg seems to have a good chance at winning a full term, until word leaks out that the enigmatic Israeli prime minister, Elihu Barzel, is pressuring American Jews to support the Republican candidate, right-wing Southern populist Earl Childes. Goldberg asks his old college friend Charlie Walker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, to find out why. Walker digs up some frightening facts about Barzel's past and his involvement in a shadowy military operation called The Project, which has something to do with the Armageddon being predicted for the year 2001 by Reverend Bobby Silas, a powerful American Christian militant. The plot's weighty bones don't stop Chafetz from animating a large and extremely colorful cast of minor characters, or from spreading his tart comments on politics and religion like horseradish on gefilte fish.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446605425
• ISBN-13: 978-0446605427
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.6 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,422,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book was terrible!, May 4, 1997

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Project (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) (Hardcover)

I bought this book on the basis of the Amazon.com blurb. It looked appealing to mystery/thriller fans-first Jewish President and his interactions with the Israelis, with a secret project cooked up by the Israeli Prime Minister. The characters were as shallow as a wading pool. Stereotypical cardboard cutouts populate this little book, which has as much suspense as Tiger Woods' last round at the Masters. The only thing worse than the characterization was the plot. Totally unrealistic and contrived. Without giving any secrets away, the manner in which the journalist friend of the President learns the hidden secret of the Israeli prime minister was so far fetched, and indeed so EASY, that it was as if the author decided he just needed to get on with the climax and get this thing over with. That was certainly my feeling as well

4.0 out of 5 stars Religion and politics combine for intriguing fun., December 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Project (Mass Market Paperback)

This enjoyable thriller wrily comments on the "Who is a Jew?" question, as well as other issues in Israeli-U.S. politics, while weaving a complex tale of intrigue, based on personal, ethnic, religious, and political loyalties.

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing thriller about Israeli and American politics, June 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Project (Hardcover)

I love historical books about Israel, it's conflicts, and politics. I become immersed in details regarding the Mossad, and relations between America and Israel. I also become captivated by exciting fiction thrillers. However, "The Project" just doesn't cut it! The premise teases the reader with hope for an intriquing twist in U.S.-Israeli political relations. An Israeli Prime Minister hoping that America's first Jewish President will be defeated in his bid for election! However, it's rare that the reader has trouble putting the book down. The writing is non-exciting. The dialogue doesn't make you feel you're getting to know these characters. The "twist" near the end of the book, and the premise of the "Project", when the details are revealed, do not make the reader gasp with excitement. I wasn't bored, but definitely wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat while I read the book. Sorry, but this book was a big disappointment. My next "project" will to go back to non-fiction accounts of Israeli intrigue. The real stories have often been much more excitin