Presidential Powers

This well- written books grabs you from the start and won't let go. It's provocative and unsettling at the same time. Intentionally so. If Mr. Gerhardt sets out to challenge you to think about the ramifications of your fondest wishes - he succeeds. Does the end justify the means? You'll find yourself 'this' close to saying 'yes' until you shake yourself from your reveries. This book will not be easily forgotten. One can only wait for the movie version, which in the right hands would be a powerful film. Just a great 'what-if'. A Political thriller of the highest calibre. Read it!

When a terrorist bomb explodes at an official White House photo session, killing the President and all nine Supreme Court justices, Charles Westni Powers, the first Afro-American Vice Present and retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, takes over as the new President. He immediately declares martial law, replacing civil law with military law and disbands Congress. Powers is out to eliminate crime and rid the country of guns and rugs, and with the military supporting his every move, he begins to create and enforce laws that radically change the life of every American. Barbara Westphall is the popular anchor for a major network news program and Powers long-time adversary. She ends up being the only person standing between America's lost constitutional rights and a powerful, self-made dictator. A bright, articulate woman with a liberal arts education, she approves of the president's goals, but abhors his methods of achieving them. Lurking in the wings while these two struggle is Bradley Brandon, the power-hungry Speaker of the House, poised to grab the top spot if these two adversaries end up destroying each other. Brandon covets the Presidency, and will stop at nothing to get it. The battle for America is on as the plot races toward a dramatic conclusion -- with nothing less that the future of American hanging in the balance. Presidential Powers is an original, tautly crafted, debut novel by Michael Gerhardt which will leave the reader looking eagerly toward his next literary venture.

PRESIDENTIAL POWERS, with its intensity, intrigue and velocity, is one book I couldn't put down. I often found myself surprised by the book's ability (through the development and perfomance of its characters)to lure me into a way of thinking I would have thought absolutely absurd. As someone with strong convictions, and even stronger opinions, you can bet I was astonished by the affect this book had on me. Here's my final opinion: READ IT!

I often find myself in discussions about radical solutions to our country's problems. This book addresses some of those possible scenarios and goes even further to suggest the unthinkable. Personal freedom versus safety and prosperity. The book is well written, thoroughly researched, draws you in immediately, and makes you think. And what do I think? I can't wait to read his next book.

I got hooked on this story in the very first chapter, and just hung on as it raced from one exciting scene to another. The characters are real, the action is constant, and the plot is thought provoking. I recommend it highly!