Firewall

By Douglas De Bono

"Student radicals" overrun the American Embassy in Tehran and America plunges into 444-day nightmare. The Chinese Ministry of State Security hatches a 20-year plot to co-opt the American Presidency and position itself to become the dominant power in the 21st century. A sleepy airport in western Arkansas becomes the hub to a drugs-for-arms covert operation to supply the Contra rebels fighting the communist threat in Nicaragua. Terrorist cells sponsored by Syria, Iran and Iraq bomb the Beirut Embassy twice, the Marine Battalion HQ and abduct western hostages. In a struggle of wills between the Iranian Mullahs and an American President, a secret war rages from isolated Iranian villages to Beirut's green line to the cocaine soaked streets in Panama. The task falls to spymaster Louis Edwards and his dwindling cadre of operatives. They step across all legal boundaries only to be caught in a winner-take-all / take-no-prisoners free fire zone as Iran/Contra explodes across the headlines.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0974127205
• ISBN13: 9780974127200
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Point of Honor Press
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

FIVE STAR PLUS!!! Too real to dismiss as pure fiction.

Douglas De Bono has done it again. He plays a terror theme against the backdrop of actual history, using historic figures we all know and remember well. Reading his novel is like being a fly on the wall of private government chambers. We eavesdrop on conversations no one is meant to hear...ever. De Bono's research is so meticulous that as much as past presidents and their inner circles might like to sue him, the truth is not liable, and they cannot challenge this daring author's replica of word-for-word discussions behind closed doors, for freedom of information rights have given him access to records that speak for themselves. As much as a reviewer might be tempted to skim through this book, it's impossible, for every paragraph drips with such essential information that any point, if missed, destroys the reader's comprehension of the plot. As in his other books, De Bono's imagery is gripping, and the development of his characters wrings empathy for those who live in the secret world of commandos and government field agents. Their conditioning eventually whittles away their idealism, while they witness one political debacle after another yet become addicted to the adrenalin rush of battle in screwed-up `black' missions that should destroy them except for their tenacious will to survive and their love of home. For those in the darker worlds of black missions, there are two results: they either become as psychotic as those they work for or they rebel and become secret crusaders who use their black skills to turn the table on their corrupt masters.FIREWALL covers the years between 1979 and 1989, and depicts De Bono's personal belief that "terrorism does not exist in a vacuum" but as an extension of Soviet desires to dominate the world during this period. Specifically, FIREWALL deals with three major events: 1) The Iranian hostage crisis, 2) Iran/Contra, and 3) Operation `Just Cause,' the Americans' invasion of Panama. Through these events, De Bono spins his thrilling tale of intrigue and again outCLANCIES the master spinner of military thrillers, Tom Clancy. It's about time De Bono receives the recognition his brilliant writing deserves. This novel rates a FIVE STAR PLUS.

FIVE STAR PLUS!!! Too real to be dismissed as pure fiction.

Douglas De Bono has done it again. He plays a terror theme against the backdrop of actual history, using historic figures we all know and remember well. Reading his novel is like being a fly on the wall of private government chambers. We eavesdrop on conversations no one is meant to hear...ever. De Bono's research is so meticulous that as much as past presidents and their inner circles might like to sue him, the truth is not liable, and they cannot challenge this daring author's replica of word-for-word discussions behind closed doors, for freedom of information rights have given him access to records that speak for themselves. As much as a reviewer might be tempted to skim through this book, it's impossible, for every paragraph drips with such essential information that any point, if missed, destroys the reader's comprehension of the plot. As in his other books, De Bono's imagery is gripping, and the development of his characters wrings empathy for those who live in the secret world of commandos and government field agents. Their conditioning eventually whittles away their idealism, while they witness one political debacle after another yet become addicted to the adrenalin rush of battle in screwed-up `black' missions that should destroy them except for their tenacious will to survive and their love of home. For those in the darker worlds of black missions, there are two results: they either become as psychotic as those they work for or they rebel and become secret crusaders who use their black skills to turn the table on their corrupt masters.FIREWALL covers the years between 1979 and 1989, and depicts De Bono's personal belief that "terrorism does not exist in a vacuum" but as an extension of Soviet desires to dominate the world during this period. Specifically, FIREWALL deals with three major events: 1) The Iranian hostage crisis, 2) Iran/Contra, and 3) Operation `Just Cause,' the Americans' invasion of Panama. In a struggle of wills between Iranian Mullahs and successive American presidents, Carter and Reagan, a secret war rages from isolated Iranian villages to Beirut's green line to the cocaine-soaked streets in Panama. Terrorist cells sponsored by Syria, Iran and Iraq bomb the Beirut Embassy twice, the U.S. Marine Battalion HQ and abduct western hostages. The task of defeating these terrorists falls to spymaster Louis Edwards and his dwindling cadre of operatives. They step across all legal boundaries only to be caught in a winner-take-all/take-no-prisoners free fire zone as the Iran/Contra scandal explodes across the headlines. Through these events, De Bono spins his thrilling tale of intrigue and again outCLANCIES the master spinner of military thrillers, Tom Clancy. It's about time De Bono receives the recognition his brilliant writing deserves. This novel rates a FIVE STAR PLUS.

A Blend of History and Fiction with an Edge

Mr. DeBono seamlessly blends history and fiction with the deft precision of a literary surgeon. His knowledge of special forces,intelligence agencies, political corruption and the tradecraft of espionage are unrivaled in the literary world. Firewall takes the reader into covert CIA operations in Iran, Lebanon and Panamaas well as drug running in Mena, Arkansas to fund the war against Communism in Central America. Firewall sits in on Chinese plots to infiltrate America, examines Jimmy Carter's failed hostage rescue in Iran and explores the beginnings of a corrupt, Chinese funded political machine in Arkansas, with one eye on a promising, young governor the other on the White House. The most enlightening piece of fiction I've ever read.