LIBERTY LAKE, Wash., April 23, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- If, during an international crisis, the three branches of the U.S. government were completely eliminated, who could legitimately lead the government and military? Discover possible answers as intriguing events unravel in Secret Valor, a political thriller by Emanuele F. Portolese.
Instantly, when the three branches of government are eliminated in a nuclear strike during the State of the Union Address, the United States is left with no elected leadership. With little help from the Constitution, National Security Advisor, Barry Dipaula, and a small group of men and women inside the White House, must secretly lead the country in a painstaking process of choosing new, acceptable leadership within a critical eighteen hours of the explosion. During the tense overnight hours filled with international deception and intrigue, Dipaula struggles to bring order out of chaos and contain a renegade general determined to take control of the country. At the same time, the reader is sped along on a dangerous pursuit of fleeing assassins and steps in and out of shadowy meetings at the Kremlin, where a conspiracy threatens to launch the world into nuclear war. The return of hard-liners in Russia, threat of international terrorism and proliferation of nuclear weapons gives this story an ominously prophetic dimension.
A unique contemporary political thriller, the novel, Secret Valor raises vital questions of national and international significance -- questions which the author believes must be addressed very soon, for in reality, it could very well become our worst nightmare. This thought provoking story forces the reader to examine vital questions related to national security and exposes a possible weakness in the U.S. Constitution's line of succession. It illustrates the potential for this devastating crisis to hit the United States in the very near future and strongly suggests that politicians at all levels prepare for this possibility before it becomes a harsh reality. Secret Valor has the right mix of suspense, drama, intrigue and adventure that will keep readers glued to the pages until its exciting conclusion. Furthermore, it illustrates the extraordinary and often secret valor expressed by average citizens when faced with an overwhelming crisis.
About the Author
Emanuele Portolese is a former leadership consultant, nuclear weapons electronics specialist, and director of the largest private sector technical and academic exchange between the U.S., the USSR and the PRC. He has spoken before audiences in the White House, Kremlin, and Great Hall of the People and was the keynote speaker at the Brandenburg Gate for a commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Secret Valor * by Emanuele F. Portolese
Publication Date: February 12, 2007
Trade Paperback; $15.99; 283 pages; 978-1-4257-4605-6
Cloth Hardback; $22.99; 283 pages; 978-1-4257-4606-3
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