Lewis, Simon:Rough Guide to Beijing
- edizione con copertina flessibile 2013, ISBN: 9781858285191
Pocket Star. Good. 4.13 x 1.4 x 7.5 inches. Mass Market Paperback. 2010. 672 pages. Cover worn.<br>#1 New York Times bestselling author of American Assassin-now a major motion pict… Altro …
Pocket Star. Good. 4.13 x 1.4 x 7.5 inches. Mass Market Paperback. 2010. 672 pages. Cover worn.<br>#1 New York Times bestselling author of American Assassin-now a major motion picture America's most pow erful leader becomes its prime target, a nightmarish (Booklist) s cenario made all-too-real in this Mitch Rapp thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn. The stately calm of a Washington morning is shattered when a group of terrorists desc ends, killing dozens and taking nearly one hundred hostages as th ey massacre their way into the White House. The Secret Service ev acuates the president to an underground bunker-and while official s argue over how to negotiate with the enemy, Mitch Rapp, the CIA 's top counterterrorism operative, moves stealthily among the hid den corridors and secret passageways of the executive mansion, to save the hostages before the terrorists reach the president. But another adversary-someone within Washington's elite-is determine d to see Rapp's rescue mission fail. Editorial Reviews Review A bilene Reporter-News (TX) Recommended.... Flynn again proves his expertise with technical details in this new political thriller. BookpageTransfer of Power emerges in its sense of authenticity, depth of research, and almost seamless dramatic scenario....One o f Flynn's finest skills as an up-and-coming young master of the g enre of political thrillers is his ability to create a cast of co mpelling characters. Discus Like Term Limits, Transfer of Power is a feverishly paced, ingeniously plotted political thriller tha t vivdly dramatizes a stunning premise. Filled with authentic tec hnical details....it takes readers inside America's highest polit ical and military circles while placing the president of the Unit ed States squarely in the line of terrorist fire. Pioneer Press (St. Paul) Flynn knows how to deliver action in his novels, and T ransfer of Power has all the earmarks of a story headed for the m ovie screen. Publishers Weekly Endless intrigue...Flynn mixes in a spicy broth of brutal terrorists, heroic commandos, and enough secret-agent hijinks to keep the confrontation bubbling until it s flag-raising end. Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX) A slic k political thriller...moves at breakneck speed...you won't be ab le to put it down. Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX) Rapp is a most appealing hero. He's rugged, tough, and deadly on his qua rry, but humane and sensitive when the situation requires it. Ab out the Author #1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn ( 1966-2013) created one of contemporary fiction's most popular her oes: CIA counterterrorist agent Mitch Rapp, featured in thirteen of Flynn's acclaimed political thrillers. All of his novels are N ew York Times bestsellers, including his stand-alone debut novel, Term Limits. Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permission. All rights res erved. Transfer of Power 1 Washington, D.C. A FINE MIST fell from the darkening spring sky as the black limousine turned off o f E Street. The armor-plated car wove through the concrete-and-st eel barricades at a speed suggesting urgency. As the limousine tu rned onto West Executive Drive, it slowed briefly for the heavy b lack gate to open, and then sped forward. After splashing through several puddles, the limo came to an abrupt stop in front of the ground-floor entrance to the West Wing of the White House. The rear passenger door opened immediately, and Dr. Irene Kennedy ste pped from the car. She walked under the long off-white awning tha t extended from the building to the curb and paused to let her bo ss catch up. Thomas Stansfield slowly climbed out of the limo and buttoned the jacket of his charcoal gray suit. At seventy-nine y ears of age Stansfield was an icon in the intelligence community. His career dated all the way back to World War II and the OSS, t he precursor to the CIA. Stansfield had been one of Wild Bill Don ovan's recruits almost sixty years earlier-a different war fought by a different breed. Stansfield was the last one. Now they were all gone, retired or dead, and it wouldn't be much longer before he turned over the reins of power at the much-maligned and embat tled intelligence agency. The CIA had changed during his tenure. More precisely, the threats had changed, and the CIA was forced to change with them. The old static days of a two-superpower worl d were long gone, replaced by small regional conflicts and the ev er-growing threat of terrorism. As Stansfield closed out his care er, this was what bothered him most. The threat of one individual bringing biological, chemical, or nuclear annihilation to Americ a was becoming more and more plausible. Stansfield looked up at the lazy mist that was falling from the early evening sky. A ligh t spray dusted his face, and the silver-haired director of the CI A blinked. Something was bothering him, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Stansfield gave the darkening sky one last loo k and then stepped under the awning. Kennedy continued through t he double doors, where two uniformed Secret Service officers were standing post, and started down the long hall. This was the firs t floor of the West Wing. The president's office was located on t he floor above, but that was not where they would be meeting. Ire ne Kennedy sped ahead, while Stansfield followed at his always ev en pace. Down the hallway, on the right, a U.S. Navy officer sto od in his cleanly pressed black uniform with his hands clasped fi rmly in front of him. Good evening, Dr. Kennedy. Everything is re ady. The generals and the president are waiting for you. The watc h officer of the White House Situation Room gestured to his left. Thank you, Commander Hicks, replied Kennedy as she walked past the naval officer. They went down several steps, took a right, a nd came to a secure door with a camera mounted above it. To the l eft was a black-and-gold plaque with the words White House Situat ion Room: Restricted Access. The lock on the door buzzed, and Ke nnedy pushed the door open. She entered and turned to her left, i nto the Situation Room's new conference room. Director Stansfield followed her, and Commander Hicks closed the soundproof door beh ind them. President Robert Hayes, dressed in a tuxedo, stood at the far end of the room and listened intently to the two men in f ront of him. The first, General Flood, was the chairman of the Jo int Chiefs. Flood was six four and weighed almost two hundred sev enty pounds. The second man was General Campbell, a half foot sho rter than his superior and one hundred pounds lighter. Campbell w as the commander of the U.S. military's Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC. Before taking his most recent job, he had proud ly commanded the famous 82nd Airborne Division and the 18th Airbo rne Corps. President Hayes had been in office for only five mont hs, and thus far had a decent working relationship with both the Pentagon and the CIA. Before being elected president, Robert Xavi er Hayes had served as both U.S. congressman and senator. The Dem ocrat from Ohio had been elected to the highest office in the lan d largely because he had a very clean personal life and was seen as someone who could mend the ever-deepening divide between the t wo parties. The previous administration had been rife with scanda l, so much so that the American people had overwhelmingly picked someone whose personal life could pass the rigorous scrutiny of t he press. Hayes was happily married and had three children in the ir thirties, all of whom had managed to stay off the tabloid cove rs and live relatively normal lives. Kennedy set her briefcase o n a chair near the end of the long table and said, If everyone wi ll be seated, we can get started. She felt rushed. Things were co ming together at a frantic pace. Director Stansfield greeted the two generals and the president. No one was in a talkative mood. The president worked his way around to the opposite end of the ta ble and sat in his high-backed leather chair. All four walls of t he room were covered with dark wood except a square section behin d the president. That portion of the wall was white, and in the m iddle of it was the circular seal of the president of the United States. With the president at the head of the table, the two gen erals sat on his right and Director Stansfield on his left. Kenne dy handed each of the men identical folders that were sealed with red tape and marked Top Secret. Please feel free to open the fi les while I get the rest of the materials ready. Kennedy pushed s ome of her shoulder-length brown hair back behind her ear. After several seconds of digging through her briefcase, she found the r ight disk and inserted it into the A drive of the computer under the podium. About sixty seconds later the director of the CIA's C ounterterrorism Center was ready to start. A map of the Persian Gulf appeared on the large screen to Kennedy's right, and she beg an, Mr. President, four days ago we inserted one of our people in to the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas. Our man was operating on som e information he received that Sheik Fara Harut might be in the c ity. Kennedy pressed a button, and the screen changed from the ma p to a grainy black-and-white photograph of a bearded man in a tu rban. Fara Harut, shown here in this 1983 photograph, is the reli gious leader of the militant Islamic group Hezbollah. He has very strong ties to the religious conservatives in Iran. Kennedy glan ced sideways at the president and added, You may have noted some mention of him in your PDB. Kennedy was referring to the Presiden t's Daily Brief, an intelligence summary given to him every morni ng by the CIA. The president nodded. I recall the name. Kennedy pressed a button, and a new photo appeared on the screen, this t ime of a much younger, clean-shaven, and handsome individual. Thi s is Rafique Aziz. It was taken in the late seventies, when Aziz was obtaining a degree in electrical engineering from American Un iversity in Beirut. The president nodded reluctantly and said, I am definitely familiar with this individual. Kennedy nodded. We ll, you might not be familiar with this most recent development. The doctor pointed to the screen at the front of the room, and a series of photos played out showing charred buses and grotesque, bloody bodies. These bombings have all been linked to the fundame ntalist Palestinian group Hamas. Hamas has stepped up its attacks recently in an effort to derail the Middle East peace process. H ezbollah and Hamas have done very little to help each other's cau ses. Kennedy looked down the long table and added, That is, until recently. Aziz and Harut have been looking for a way to continue their fight as things have calmed in Beirut. They found their op portunity after Israel assassinated Hamas leader Yehya Ayyash in 1996. Hamas turned even more militant, stepping up its efforts to drive Israel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In this most rec ent period, the Israelis have noted a marked increase in the soph istication of Hamas bombs and tactics. It is our belief that Rafi que Aziz is responsible for this. Kennedy paused and got ready to drop the bombshell. To make matters even worse, we have also lea rned that Saddam Hussein has offered to help fund some of the gro up's actions. President Hayes shook his head slowly and scowled. It gets worse, Kennedy continued. The stipulation that Saddam h as put on the money is that it be used to attack the United State s domestically. Kennedy emphasized the last word. The informatio n caused Hayes's left eyebrow to rise a half inch. Where did we g et this? Kennedy looked to Stansfield, and the director of the C IA replied, The NSA intercepted some communications, and we verif ied them through several of our foreign contacts. That's just gr eat. Hayes shook his head. Looking to Kennedy with dread in his e yes, he asked, What else? Two nights ago our man in Iran informe d us of a probable ID on Harut, and earlier this evening he made a positive ID. The president folded his arms across his chest. C an we be sure your guy has the right man? Yes, Mr. President, an swered Kennedy confidently. Hayes looked from Kennedy to the map of Iran and then back. I assume you didn't interrupt my dinner p lans just to tell me you may have found this fellow. You are cor rect, Mr. President. We have been waiting for this chance for a l ong time. If we don't grab him now, we may never get another chan ce. Kennedy stopped to make sure the president understood how ser ious she was. General Campbell and I have put together a plan to grab Harut. Kennedy changed the main screen. A second map of the Persian Gulf appeared, this one with a half dozen new markings on it. Kennedy looked to General Campbell and nodded. Campbell ro se from his chair, and with his ramrod posture, he marched to the front of the room. Once firmly in position behind the podium, he started. Mr. President, Harut, like Saddam, never stays in the s ame place for more than three or four nights at a time. This is t he first time in over a decade that we have been able to track hi s whereabouts for more than a day and be in a position to do some thing about it. Campbell gestured to the map. We have two helicop ters from the First Special Operations Wing that have left Saudi Arabia and are in the process of hooking up with the Independence , which is on patrol in the Persian Gulf. The general tapped the spot on the map that marked the location of the nuclear-powered a ircraft carrier. And over here-the general moved his finger acros s the Persian Gulf to a spot just off the Iranian coast that was marked by a blue cigar-shaped object-we have the USS Honolulu. As I'm sure you have already noted, she is no longer in internation al waters. Right now she is about two miles offshore and waiting for the orders to off-load her cargo. While Campbell continued h is briefing, President Hayes felt as if he were having an out-of- body experience. He had dreamt of this moment for years and loath ed it. The idea of ordering U.S. troops into battle had no appeal , no mystique, no glory, and surely no satisfaction. People would die tonight because of the orders he gave. The enemy's men for s ure and possibly some of his own. President Hayes listened to th e general intently and tried to be objective. Hayes was a student of history and knew that to never use force was foolish. If he d id not act tonight, it might someday cost the lives of Americans. Terrorism had to be confronted. He could not pass on this decisi on. Persian Gulf, 3:16 A.M. (local time) IN THE IRANIAN seaside city of Bandar Abbas an elderly man shuffled down a dusty st, Pocket Star, 2010, 2.5, US: DK Publishing, Inc, 2000. Paperback. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. The Rough Guide to Beijing, in full-color throughout, is the ultimate trave l guide to this endlessly absorbing city. Discover the highlights of China' s remarkable capital with stunning photography, color-coded maps, and insig htful descriptions of the city's sights - from the Forbidden City and Summe r Palace to hidden hutong alleys and the Great Wall. However long you're staying and whatever your budget, The Rough Guide to Be ijing has you covered. Comprehensive sections point the way to the very bes t places to sleep, eat, drink, shop, and unwind; charming courtyard hotels, bustling night markets, edgy bars, and glitzy malls are all part of the mi x. In addition, expert new sections on film, contemporary art, and live mus ic will enable you to take the pulse of modern Beijing. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Beijing., DK Publishing, Inc, 2000, 3<
