President MacPherson has dispatched Jon Bennett to the Middle East to convince the Israelis and Palestinians to sign a peace treaty. It seems that there are tremendous oil and natural gas reserves off the coast of Israel and Gaza. The United States is willing to help turn these reserves into a multi-billion dollar enterprise if the warring factions decide that it is in their best interests to stop the violence.

Before Bennett can get his "oil for peace" plan off the ground, a shocking act of violence throws the region into turmoil. Jonathan's mission appears to be dead on arrival. Furthermore, he and his comrades find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war with no obvious means of escape.

Rosenberg's staccato writing style is very effective. "The Last Days" is packed with crisp dialogue, fierce battles, fanatical terrorists, and lots of high tech gizmos and weaponry. Although the characters are rather one-dimensional and the plot is only occasionally realistic, the exciting story barrels along so quickly that the reader gets caught up in the adrenaline rush. In addition, Rosenberg's insights on the geopolitical situation in the Middle East add a valuable dimension to this well-researched book. "The Last Days" will certainly satisfy fans of fast-paced action-adventure novels with a political twist.


Interesting   November 8, 2003
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

A sequel to The Last Jihad, this book lives up to the interest of it's predecessor in many respects but gets fairly tedious in laying out the Plan for Peace in the Middle East. Getting to the Peace talks alive and getting out of them alive are really what this book is about. And while the story is about that it bounces along in fine fashion as Jon Bennett, the President's "point man" for the Peace Process and Erin McCoy, his CIA protector and love interest endure more perils than Pauline ever imagined. Those that liked the first book will enjoy this one, for the most part.


Good Followup To The Last Jihad!   November 27, 2003
 12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Jon Bennett and his bodyguard Erin McCoy attend a historical
summit that is also attended by the U.S. Secretary of State and Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian security becomes a suicide bomber
killing the Secretary of State as well as Arafat. A civil war
breaks out among various faction who want to replace Arafat.Our
hero Bennett and McCoy and their delegation have to find a way out of the west bank.You have two villains,a Russian Gogolov and an Iranian,Jibril who are the masterminds behind all of the plans
of evil.The evil planners have decided to dispatch suicide bomber
squads to the United States.Bennett and McCoy finally escape but
face an attack from terrorist forces bent on their demise.There
is never a dull moment in this book.You will definitely find this
book hard to put down.I hope Joel C. Rosenberg writes more books.
His first two have been outstanding.


Fast Paced Thriller   May 15, 2005
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is a sequel to 'The Last Jihad'. I recommend both books, but they should be read in order and this is the second one.

Rosenberg again wrote a fast paced thriller with an interesting plot and lots of twists. The story also contains a very creative plan for Middle East peace that makes the story very unique. Although the resources may not actually be present to make it happen like they are in the book, one can at least appreciate some of the ideas presented.

One area that he could use some improvement is in research to make the details more accurate. The author obviously isn't familiar with firearms as he talks about a .357 magnum having a safety and reloading it with a clip. As a revolver, this type of pistol doesn't have a safety. Additionally, revolvers don't use clips. One other mistake was in describing a fire in a building, he talked about it providing enough light to see by. When a building is on fire, it is not light inside. It is extremely dark as the smoke prevents one from seeing much of anything.

As this was written two years ago, it also contains some items that have occurred differently than are in the story. That is no fault of the author. The reader just needs to realize when the book was written that Rosenberg was portraying future events. For example, both Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are dead at the beginning of this book. As we all know, Saddam is in prison and Bin Laden is hiding like the coward that he is.

In addition to a great story line, Rosenberg makes some great points that readers would do well to ponder. In one place, he has the former head of Mossad telling the 'hero' of the story, Jon Bennett, that 'the problem with you Americans is that you don't believe in evil'. He goes on to explain that he believes that 'evil forces make evil men do evil things'. He explains that this awareness of evil missing from the American perspective causes problems for us. He said that because of this, the people at the FBI and CIA, 'and definitely the guys at State - don't properly anticipate horrible, catastrophic events because you don't really believe in the presence of evil ...' He goes on to cite some specific events to support this contention.

After his lesson from the Israeli, Bennett realizes that he is right. He realized that in regard to suicide bombers and other terrorists 'weren't misguided or misunderstood. They were controlled by evil. Pure evil. And evil couldn't be negotiated with. It could only be hunted down, captured, or destroyed.' There are some lessons in this novel that would be helpful for many in our nation to learn.

Bennett is certainly an unlikely and really unrealistic hero. The investment banker turned into an action hero with no training could use some work. Regardless of that and other minor imperfections, Rosenberg has again written a terrific novel. I look forward to his next one.


Will Anything Remain?   April 7, 2006
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

The Last Days (2003) is the sequel to The Last Jihad. In the previous volume, an alternate timeline unfolds where Saddam Hussein has bought nuclear weapons from Russia and other sources. When his various plots against the US and Israel have been frustrated, he unveiled his nuclear tipped ICBM, which was hidden within a children's hospital building. As the Iraqis prep the missile for firing on New York City, the US President reluctantly authorized use of tactical nukes against Baghdad to prevent the missile launch. The center of the city disappeared in fire and smoke.

In this novel, Jon Bennett returns to the Holy Land with a US diplomatic team headed by Tucker Paine, the Secretary of State. As they arrive at the Palestinian Authority compound, Yasser Arafat is rolled out in a wheelchair to meet them. The man pushing the chair is the head of Arafat's security, but he detonates an explosive vest that kills Arafat and others around him, including Tucker Paine.

Immediately after the explosion, someone starts firing on the diplomatic convey from across the road. Others start firing from the PA building. Bennett keeps his head down, but it soon becomes obvious that they have to get out of the compound and back to Israeli territory. He climbs behind the wheel of the armored limo, gets everybody left alive back inside, and drives furiously out of the compound and down the road, with Palestinian vehicles chasing him.

Bennett and the other survivors are cut off from the Israelis, but find shelter is a top secret safehouse in an old gutted-out hotel in the Gaza Strip. From there, they contact other US forces in the area and plan an escape. However, severe weather has grounded all aircraft in the area, precluding any rescue until the storm abates.

This story continues the mission to unite the Palestinians and Israelis in a venture to develop trillions of dollars worth of gas and oil into a joint treasure. The death of Yasser Arafat was intended as a setback to this plan, but the self-immolation of the Palestinians militants after his death convinces Palestinian moderates to try another approach. The Palestinian Council selects Ibrahim Sa'id as prime minister. Since Ibrahim is the partner with Dmitri Galishnikov in the Palestinian Petroleum Group that is promoting the gas and oil venture, this is good news to the US. Unfortunately, Ibrahim is also hidden away in the Gaza safehouse with Bennett's party and surrounded by hostile mobs.

Meanwhile, the terrorist organization that has been trying to kill Bennett, and has successfully assassinated Arafat, is searching for the whereabouts of Bennett's party. Contacts throughout the Mediterranean have been alerted to watch for them. Airplanes and boats have been obtained and some special arrangements have been made with Libya. When Bennett and company are found, they are going to find themselves in a small war.

Highly recommended for Rosenberg fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of desperate ventures to defeat evil men in order to solve world problems.

-Bill Jordin