The Senator's Ransom Author:Ken Bernstein U.S. Senator Homer Fellows, prodded by his ambitious wife, Laura, to become a front-running though unannounced candidate for the Presidency, under takes a publicity-oriented "fact-finding" trip to South America at the same time that a small group of left-wing Brazilian guerrillas decides to undertake its biggest attention-getting coup. Idealist... more »ic haters of the right-wing Brazilian regime, these young men plan to snatch Senator Fellows from under the noses of a crowd of newspaper reporters while he takes a much advertised swim off Rio's most famous beach.
The revolutionaries are tactical geniuses, and the scheme goes like clockwork, except for one crucial point. And then the problems multiply. The Senator's wife has to decide what to do about the vital and hitherto well-kept secret concerning the Senator's health; if she reveals his illness, she will destroy his chances for the Presidency, but if she remains silent, the Senator may die in a matter of hours. And the President of the United States, for whom the kidnapped Senator is a political threat, has to decide whether he will put presure on the Brazilian government to effect Homer Fellow's release.
Ken Bernstein has written a tense, action-packed adventure story built on the realities of today's politics and tomorrow's headlines. It is based on his experience as correspondent for NBC New for two years in South America, during which time he observed much revolutionary acivity at first hand. In 1970 he returned to investigate the explosion of urban guerrilla warfare and met with revolutionaries an former revolutionaries to learn their beliefs, tactics and goals, their strengths and weaknesses. From this firsthand knowledge his portrayal of Latin American politics in action gains a stunning authenticity and his story the cutting edge of truth.« less