Twentieth Century Limited Book Two ~ Age of Reckoning

Jan David Blais

Description

Overcoming disabling injuries, Vietnam vet Paul Bernard becomes an award-winning journalist and television newsman known for holding a mirror to American society. Long critical of the radical right, after 9-11 Bernard attacks the Bush administration for Osama bin Laden's escape and leading the nation into a disastrous war. On assignment in Iraq, Bernard is killed under suspicious circumstances. Interwoven with the account of his life is an interview of his mentor, Professor Augustus F.X. Flynn, by a magazine writer profiling him. Frustrated by Washington's inaction, the two set out to find the truth about the killing.

In Book Two, Paul Bernard has become an oil expert and a critic of America's Middle East dependency. His experiences as a correspondent in Paris and Moscow are related in this Book, his coverage of the great year 1989 in Europe, the Gulf War. Bernard's move to television news is marked by growing clashes with the radical right, culminating in his controversial stance against the Iraq War and the dramatic final events of the story.

Sujets

• Historical
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 21 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781623463564
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

TWENTIETH CENTURY
LIMITED
 
A NOVEL
 

 
BOOK TWO ~ AGE OF RECKONING
 
JAN DAVID BLAIS
 
 
highpoint press
TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED – A NOVEL
BOOK TWO ~ AGE OF RECKONING
Grateful acknowledgement is made for permission to reprint from the following copyrighted works. A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea , by William, Archbishop of Tyre, copyright © 1955 Columbia University Press, reprinted with permission of the publisher. The March of Folly , by Barbara Tuchman, copyright © 1984 by Barbara W. Tuchman, reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ballantine Books, a division of Random House/Bertelsmann. The Great Pretender , by Buck Ram, copyright © 1955 by Panther Music Corp., copyright renewed, used by permission.
TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED – A NOVEL. BOOK TWO ~ AGE OF RECKONING copyright © 2012 Jan David Blais. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Highpoint Press, P.O. Box 50, Watertown MA 02471.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication
(Provided by Quality Books, Inc.)
Blais, Jan David.
Twentieth century limited : a novel / Jan David Blais.
v. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
CONTENTS: bk. 1. Age of heroes -- bk. 2. Age of reckoning.
LCCN 2012910144
ISBN-13: 978-1478104070 (bk. 2)
ISBN-10: 1478104074 (bk. 2)
1. United States--History--20th century--Fiction. 2. Political fiction. 3. Suspense fiction. I. Title.
PS3552.L3468T84 2012 813’.54
QBI12-600147

Cover design by Nieshoff Design, Lexington, Massachusetts. Published in eBook format by Highpoint Press, P.O. 50 Watertown, MA 02471. Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-6234-6356-4
ALSO BY JAN DAVID BLAIS
Twentieth Century Limited – A Novel. Book One ~ Age of Heroes. Highpoint Press 2012. Available as a trade paperback and in electronic versions.
Flight Path - A Novel. Highpoint Press, 1996. Reissued as a trade paperback and in electronic versions, Highpoint Press 2012.

 
 
For Barbara, Annie and Andrew

Author’s Note
A number of people were kind enough to comment on the manuscript and provide advice. Andrew Blais, Annie Blais, Ed Dence, Richard Griffin, Dennis Hanlon, Jamileh Jemison, Susan Keane, John Laschenski, Nicole Malo, Willa Marcus, Lindsay Miller, Larry Pettinger, Michael W. Settle, Peter Steiner, and Charles Tuttle. And a special thank you to John S. Corcoran for review and editing above and beyond. Also Mary Sullivan and Chris Walsh for editing and copy editing, Pat Nieshoff of Nieshoff Design for cover and book design, and Nina Johannessen of Blue Iris Webdesign for website design and construction. And Paula Blais Gorgas for her suggestions and enthusiasm throughout. To everyone, named and unnamed, who encouraged me in this enterprise, my heartiest thanks. Needless to say, the author is solely responsible for any errors the book may contain.
In writing Twentieth Century Limited, numerous books, articles, online and other resources were helpful. A list can be found in the Works Consulted section at the back of this book. Other invaluable resources included Wikipedia, Britannica Online, the New York Times Online Archives, delanceyplace, and search services of Yahoo and Google.
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. It is entirely a product of the author’s imagination. Except for obvious references to known individuals, existing institutions and companies, and publicly-reported events, any resemblance to actual individuals, institutions, companies, or events is entirely coincidental. Because of the nature of the story – featuring print and television journalists who report the news – of necessity it makes reference to the real people who made that news, and events they were involved in. Where such newsmakers are quoted or paraphrased, the author has attempted to report their quotations or the gist of their remarks accurately. In some instances, interviews of real people by fictional characters are depicted in the story, as well as other interactions. These interviews and interactions and the dialogues they relate are entirely fictitious; the words, quotations, thoughts and impressions related are solely the invention of the author. Even here, however, the author has attempted to ascribe positions and remarks to these real newsmakers consistent with those they were reported as making in other contexts.
 
Watertown, Massachusetts – June 2012

“ Q. Why did God make you?
A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.”
The Baltimore Catechism
“ No experience of the failure of his policy could shake his belief in its essential excellence.”
Said of King Philip II of Spain. Quoted in Barbara Tuchman, The March of Folly.
“ Compliance wins friends; truth, hatred.”
Proverbial. Quoted by William, Archbishop of Tyre in “The Problems and Motives of the Historian,” from A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea.
PART ONE
ROUGH ROADS

1. Clay Feet And Other Surprises
I ARRIVE EARLY AT STEVE’S OFFICE but, as usual, he’s already there. For a lawyer, the guy works very hard. Cahill arrives mid-morning and greets me with a hearty handshake. He is from North Cambridge – we went through BC together. I studied, he played football. Big florid-faced, blustery Irishman, think Tip O’Neill. After a hundred seventeen minutes – I am counting the ticks – they pronounce my answers satisfactory. Steve will file them and move to dismiss the case. It won’t succeed, he says, but we’ll give the judge a preview of our case. What I think about our case is not printable, but that’s just me.
We’ve received another missive from Paul’s ex, the fair Diane, demanding to know what I am doing with his stuff, saying it’s hers though for a price she’ll let me do all the work. We’re past the point of what she is, it’s just a matter of how much. Painful, reading Paul’s journals, seeing the problems develop between them. Makes me thankful – I was very lucky. I met that Lucie who has just surfaced only once, but I don’t want to spoil that story.
I have to say I wasn’t that impressed by Paul’s big report. I recall thinking he didn’t answer what he set out to answer. But maybe that’s unfair. Outside your area of expertise as I certainly was, you use standards you’d scream about if somebody applied them to you. But it certainly raised his standing. Interesting, how that film got him thinking about television.
I got a kick seeing Yamani maneuver Paul into a corner. And you can see his devotion to Israel beginning to cool, rightfully so if you ask me. I am curious to hear about that Mossad rumor. I tend to dismiss it, but crazier things have happened.
I haven’t yet had a chance to look at that disk of Jonathan’s. He should have given me a manuscript. Easier to fall asleep over.
* * * * * * *
BY MID-SUMMER OF SEVENTY-EIGHT, we got word Jimmy Carter was about to launch an all-out effort for peace between Egypt and Israel. A risky business, unpopular in many quarters. Warsaw Pact countries threatened military action if its former ally made peace with Israel. The Arab states fumed, terrorist groups threatened reprisals. Nevertheless, he plowed ahead. Early September, Carter whisked Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin to Camp David, intending to lock them up until a deal had been struck. I asked Fred what I could contribute and he told me to draft something about the implications for oil supply, particularly if the Arab nations moved against Egypt.
Twelve days later the men emerged, all smiles. Israel agreed to withdraw its Army from the Sinai, evacuate some 4,500 civilian settlers and return the land to Egypt. It was guaranteed free passage through the Suez, Egypt free passage to Jordan. Diplomatic relations would be established and armed forces limited in border areas. The U.S. committed to billions for the two countries. A vague statement dealt with an autonomous Palestinian authority in the West Bank and Gaza. No agreement on Jerusalem.
It was Carter’s finest hour, though for Sadat and Begin the consequences were more complex. Egypt was expelled from the Arab League and its headquarters were shifted to Tunis. More pragmatically the Arab states complained that Egypt failed to get anything meaningful for the Palestinians. Though most Israelis supported “Land for Peace,” the nationalists continued to oppose return of historic and holy land. Many settlers simply refused to leave their homes. Violence was widespread as the government moved ahead with evacuations and the handover. Israel had agreed to halt new settlements but Begin caved to pressure and authorized their expansion in the West Bank and Gaza.
The two leaders would go on to share the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. They also would run afoul of domestic hard-liners. In 1981 Sadat would be assassinated by an Islamist group. Begin, forced to resign over fallout from his 1982 invasion of Lebanon, would live out his life in isolation, dying within the year.
One evening later in the month, I made my way to the Columbia campus. Ed Said’s magnum opus had just appeared and I was pleased to be invited to his book party. I found him in a meeting room in the Faculty Club, surrounded by well-wishers. I purchased a copy and perused as I moved ahead in the line. Finally I stood at the table.
“Paul! So good to see you! Thank you for coming!”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, though it was close – I’m off to Riyadh tonight.”
“Ah, yes, your oil beat. Let me say your series was excellent, many favorable comments, though one colleague takes issue with you about the role of market power.”
I nodded. Nothing new there. As he signed my book I looked at the line. “Let me catch up with you later.”
When I finally cornered him I asked what his take was on Camp David. “Much credit to Mr. Carter, though I do fault Sadat for not doing more for the