The Better Angels Author:Charles McCarry When Charles McCarry's The Better Angels was first published almost 30 years ago, one reviewer lamented that its premise -- that terrorists would use passenger-filled airliners as tools of terror -- was so incredible that it would pose an obstacle to the reader's suspension of disbelief. In retrospect, this was to be just one of m... more »any of the novel's facets that would prove to be prophetic.
The Better Angels takes place in an election year close to the turn of the century in a deeply polarized America. The presidential race matches a tall, lantern-jawed liberal to a far-right former businessman with deep ties to the energy industry. Meanwhile, elusive Islamic terrorists led by an oil-rich Arab prince, desperate to acquire nuclear bombs to use against Israel or major American cities, disrupt the presidential campaign by a series of bloody suicide bombing. Finally the election itself is stolen, as one side hacks into computerized voting systems to change the tallies in key states.« less