The Fall of the President

Human rights                                            Economic embargo

                        Fake news      

                                                           The power of images         

Drones                                                                                Blackmail

                        Psychological manipulation

Corruption                                                                  Collateral damage

                                   Genocide                 

                                                                       Total surveillance by intelligence agencies

All these individual keywords describe this book, which once again captures the mood of the times. In my opinion, Elsberg's best book after “Blackout”.

I can do that and you can't! I was President of the United States – I am untouchable. That is how Douglas Turner thinks and feels, even though he has not been president for 3.5 years.

He still thinks this way when he is arrested at Athens airport. By representatives of the International Court of Human Rights (IGH) and the Greek police, away from public view. Or so they thought, until Dana Marin found herself on social media. And the witch hunt against her as a representative of the IGH in The Hague began. For she was there as an envoy to witness the arrest, the court hearing in Athens and the transfer to The Hague.

In my view, the beginning is somewhat slow to read. Too many references to international law, intelligence agencies and other allusions to past wars. Yet these are necessary for the book as a whole.

But gradually, the precious gems emerge. You recognise the opportunities for blackmail available to a powerful state like the USA, and how ruthlessly they are exploited. Just one interesting example is how the IGH judge is prevented from travelling to Athens by any means of transport. Or the rhetorical, media and economic weapons deployed against the Greek people and the whistleblower. The lies and deceit, with the assistance of all the intelligence agencies, lawyers, businesses, banks and the military in the background. Brilliant and terrifying at the same time.

But there are people who were once victims themselves and now fight for justice. The most powerful sword here is social media. They have so much power to steer and influence everything. Our reality could not be portrayed any better than in this novel. The power of deception.

If you remember the past wars depicted here differently, I recommend the books by Gabriele Ganser, including “NATO's Illegal Wars”. 

Intuition and knowledge drawn from many books can sometimes be more illuminating than the news. Give it a try!