The Camel Club Mass Market Author: Visit Amazon's David Baldacci Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0446615625 | Format: EPUB
The Camel Club Mass Market Description
Amazon.com Review
Conspiracy theories--everybody has one. The difference with this conspiracy is that it's all too real. David Baldacci's
The Camel Club takes readers inside the Beltway as four unlikely misfits struggle not only to survive, but to save their president and their country from a plot that will lead to nuclear disaster.
Bestselling Baldacci
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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Arab terrorists, nuclear threat and political perfidy drive bestselling Baldacci's latest. The Camel Club, a four-man group of Washington, D.C., misfits (their leader has taken the ironic pseudonym "Oliver Stone") gathers every week to discuss political conspiracies they believe exist and what actions they might take. One night, while meeting on Roosevelt Island in the middle of the Potomac River, club members witness the murder of Secret Service employee Patrick Johnson, thus thrusting the wacky crew into the middle of a bigger conspiracy than they could ever have imagined. There are scores of characters and subplots to keep track of while the story veers back and forth between venues and villains, forcing readers to remain alert yet patient while awaiting the high-concept payoff. When it finally appears, it's a doozy: kidnappers who harm no one and are reasonable people with a legitimate gripe bring the U.S. to the verge of nuking Damascus. Baldacci maintains interest during the long buildup by supplying fascinating historical facts, amusing characters, high-tech spy lore and the backstories of his super agents, both good and evil. As fans of this writer know, years of experience have made him an author who promises a good story and then delivers it.
(Oct. 25)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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- Series: Camel Club
- Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
- Publisher: Vision; Reprint edition (September 1, 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446615625
- ISBN-13: 978-0446615624
- Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Nobody writes a conspiracy thriller like David Baldacci, and The Camel Club will keep you turning pages at breakneck speed. Unfortunately, his latest is not without some flaws and while many of his books defy belief, this one is even more of a stretch.
The Camel Club consists of four misfits (nearing senior citizen status) who form a secret conspiracy watchdog organization. The ringleader is "Oliver Stone," a man with a very secret and mysterious past. While meeting in a park during off-hours, the four witness the murder of a Secret Service agent, Patrick Johnson. Unfortunately, the two killers realize they have witnesses. Because of their checkered backgrounds, the Camel Club decides not to report this to the police. Instead, they go on the offensive, trying to discover not only the identity of the killers but also their motivation. At the same time, Secret Service agent Alex Ford is assigned to investigate the death of Johnson, but runs into trouble with the various agencies also looking into the murder (FBI, Metro Police, NIC, etc.).
As if this isn't enough going on, a group of Islamic extremists is plotting a terrorist act involving the US president. But not all of the plotters are Islamic or Middle Eastern. In fact, some are working from the inside.
Much of The Camel Club is very relevant to post 9/11 America. The FBI, CIA, NSA and other intelligence agencies are being forced to combine information, but infighting, jealousy and guarded secrets are still common. Government agencies are involved in illegal activities. The war is still raging in Iraq with Americans split on the issue. The issues are very similar to today.
But The Camel Club has just too many flaws.
It's late. I should be in bed by now, but I couldn't wait to get a review started for this book. It's my first Baldacci, but it won't be my last. I was hooked on page one.
The Camel Club is a political thriller that opens in Washington, D.C. (well, not quite. The opening chapter is not in D.C.), where we meet four eccentric, once-upon-a-time effective fellows who make up a group they call The Camel Club. Each has some kind of experience and/or brilliance that makes him essential to the small assembly; and each has been successful at one time or another in his life. Now, they are only reflections of what they once were. There's Oliver Stone (his assumed name), Caleb Shaw, Reuben Rhodes, and Milton Farb, conspiracy theorists all. They meet once a month in the middle of the night to discuss recent conspiracy theories and reflect/update those they've held for years. There are other interesting characters introduced in the early pages, including Secret Service agent Alex Ford who's on the downside of his career, and Kate Adams, a Department of Justice lawyer who works as a bartender at night. Go figure that one out! We are also briefly introduced to U.S. President, James H. Brennan, and to National Intelligence Center Director, Carter Gray, among others.
Stone has a tent near the White House where he watches what goes on there. His goal is to find out the "truth" of things. He believes the American people have been denied that most desirous of tenets. On the evening of the beginning of this story, the Camel Club meets as arranged, but in the course of their meeting they unwittingly see a terrible crime committed on Theodore Roosevelt Island. Now, they must decide what to do about it...and I'm only on page 70! More later.
October 29, 2005: It's later.
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