The project

The time is the turn of the century. Catapulted into office by abrupt tragedy, Dewey Goldberg is the first Jewish president of the United States. Though a thoroughly Americanized politico from a blue-collar district in Michigan, Goldberg knows he'll need a solid vote from his coreligionists in the bruising, upcoming reelection. Yet his greatest obstacle comes from a wholly unexpected quarter: Elihu Barzel, the prime minister of Israel. A miraculous survivor of World War II Poland in his youth, Barzel created an ever-growing legend for himself in Israel's birth and years of struggling growth. Inscrutable to even his closest friends, he is both the most well-known and the most mysterious man in the country, inspiring either devout loyalty or undying hatred. Now, for reasons known mostly to himself, he is about to throw his support to the American president's opponent, an ultraconservative, apocalypse-minded fundamentalist Christian. Charlie Walker is a prizewinning investigative journalist and Dewey Goldberg's confidant. Dispatched to Israel by presidential request, he gradually picks up the trail of an operation known only as The Project, a grand, treacherously shrouded stratagem, whose architect is Elihu Barzel, whose target is the earth's precarious balance of power, and whose explosive trigger only Walker can defuse. For in lifting the veil off The Project's hidden face, Walker will uncover a devastating secret about Barzel himself, one jealously guarded for decades by the aging warrior, and threaten to wrench not only Barzel's destiny from its likely course, but the destiny of Walker, Walker's friend and president, and the world they all inhabit. Packed with insight into the inner workings of foreign policy, as well as brilliant suspense, refreshing humor, and wonderfully realized characters, The Project is a tour from a master guide through the twisting corridors of international power. An explosive thriller, it will keep you riveted from the opening page to its stunning, astounding climax.