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(Move over Sopranos... the Giovinci Family has made a Smart Choice)
The long awaited novel by first-time author, Charles D. Edwards, is finally here. Four years and countless re-writes later, America's First, is poised to take the world by storm.
America's First is the story of a United States Senator from the State of Illinois, who is sworn in as America's First Black President on December 7, 2005. The stability of the United States Government is rocked to its very foundation when, days after the Vice-President's sudden death, the President and the Speaker of the House are assassinated (apparently perpetrated by Saddam Hussein) in a London hotel while attending the World Trade Conference.
The series of shocking events leaves Senator Calvin Smart, who happens to be the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, next in line to succeed to the nation's top post because of the Laws of Succession Act. However, there are a few insiders on Capitol Hill who would like to challenge his succession based on an interpretation of the Constitution.
The plot thickens when the Illinois Senator takes helms of the White House, as troubling information is gathered and comes to light on who should be held responsible for the hotel bombing in London. Was the slain President Walter Alexander actually the victim of Iraqi terrorism or were Senator Smart's mafia backers responsible for the hotel bombing in a scheme to put their own person in the White House ?
In spite of how Calvin Smart attains the presidency, he is determined to make the most of his opportunity and find out who killed President Alexander and why. Furthermore, President Smart surprises the country when an unstable economy and crime statistics improve considerably under his leadership.
As President Smart's approval ratings soar, he finds the resolve and personal integrity to defy his mob backers ( the Giovinci Family), and the CIA by supporting a controversial proposal that if passed in Congress, the bill would legalize and regulate drugs in America.
President Smart understands his double peril. The passage of such a bill threatens to end the money laundering operation that has been funding CIA and mafia covert missions for decades. As the First Lady rightly suspects, this infuriates the Giovinci Family. Once a stern advocate for her husband to break his ties to the Giovinci Family, now First Lady Audrey Smart has second thoughts as she fears for her husband's life.
America's First is an intelligent and sophisticated political novel that poses intriguing conundrums of moral responsibility, racial issues, and social consciousness. It also reveals the intricate web of behind-the-scenes intrigue that propels public policy and asks the reader: "Is there truly a democratic process in this country?" or "Is every act and historical event the result of political machinery unbeknownst to a naïve American public?"
These are some of the absorbing issues addressed in this timely novel that examines the office of the President, and how an honorable man must make personal compromises for the sake of the greater good. Also, Edwards examines the question, "Should drugs be legalized in America?"
Edwards pays homage to the late author Irving Wallace's earlier novel, The Man, which addresses similar themes, and he has taken Wallace's previously used premise (on how a black Senator attains the presidency based on the Laws of Succession Act) to craft a compelling and original tale.
Be sure to pick up America's First at your local bookstore or on line at www.amazon.com. America's First, published by Frontline Books (ISBN:0-94839-062-X), was introduced at the Book Expo America Conference on June 1st at McCormick Place in Chicago.
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