Product Description
Aficionados of the hit TV show The West Wing who are sufferingthrough holiday reruns will jump right into Brad Meltzer's third novel (afterThe Tenth Justice and Dead Even), which takes readers into theWhite House office of the president's own law firm and introduces a firstdaughter whose complex psychological problems jump-start this fast-pacedthriller. Michael Garrick loves his job as deputy counsel, but when he falls forNora Hartson, the president's daughter, the conflict between his professionalethics and his growing love for her puts him right in the middle of a murderplot that may reach all the way to the Oval Office. Meltzer excels at plotting, and he knows the back corridors, family quarters,and secret tunnels of the executive branch as well as those of the SupremeCourt, which he revealed in his first two blockbusters. He's not as skillful atcharacterization. It's hard to believe that the sociopathic tendencies of peoplein a president's inner circle--or even his family--would have managed to escapethe scrutiny of an FBI investigation during his rise to power. And Nora, inparticular, doesn't quite come off as the misguided victim she must be in orderto make the rest of the story credible. But that's not a huge quibble; Meltzermanages to make Edgar Simon, Michael's boss, the most interesting White Housecounsel since John Dean. The First Counsel is a cleverly commercial mixof legal thriller and political chicanery guaranteed to keep you turning pagesuntil Meltzer puts the third branch of government in his sights, too. --JaneAdamsAmazon.com Review
Aficionados of the hit TV show The West Wing who are suffering through holiday reruns will jump right into Brad Meltzer's third novel (after The Tenth Justice and Dead Even), which takes readers into the White House office of the president's own law firm and introduces a first daughter whose complex psychological problems jump-start this fast-paced thriller. Michael Garrick loves his job as deputy counsel, but when he falls for Nora Hartson, the president's daughter, the conflict between his professional ethics and his growing love for her puts him right in the middle of a murder plot that may reach all the way to the Oval Office.

Meltzer excels at plotting, and he knows the back corridors, family quarters, and secret tunnels of the executive branch as well as those of the Supreme Court, which he revealed in his first two blockbusters. He's not as skillful at characterization. It's hard to believe that the sociopathic tendencies of people in a president's inner circle--or even his family--would have managed to escape the scrutiny of an FBI investigation during his rise to power. And Nora, in particular, doesn't quite come off as the misguided victim she must be in order to make the rest of the story credible. But that's not a huge quibble; Meltzer manages to make Edgar Simon, Michael's boss, the most interesting White House counsel since John Dean. The First Counsel is a cleverly commercial mix of legal thriller and political chicanery guaranteed to keep you turning pages until Meltzer puts the third branch of government in his sights, too. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Customer Reviews (163)

Great "New" Author
This was a new author for me to read.I loved the book ... it had twists and turns and a little of everything.I am so happy to have a new author ... can't wait to read all his other books!

Fast beach read
The White House is not immune to blackmail, drugs and murder and the president's daughter is in the middle of a tight story that weaves these three themes together. In THE FIRST COUNSEL author Brad Meltzer once again uses the first person present tense to keep the reader running fast beside the hero, White House counsel Michael Garrick, as the action races through the D.C. streets, the first family's private residence and a few "secret" places. I really enjoyed it.

Fast-paced to a surprise ending
Excellent! Page turner! Fast-paced! Not his best, but loved it nonetheless. The ending floored me. Well done, once again, Mr. Meltzer!

I Loved this book.
Ignore the negatives, this is fresh writing and it was interesting all the way thru. I seriously could not put it down.

Boring
This one is very poorly written. The dialogue is sophomoric. The plot meandering and convoluted. There is little that is credible about the events and characters. The politics are only of marginal interest and the "thriller" aspect of the novel is extremely disappointing. But in the end the real killer is that one does not at all care about the individuals and their trials and tribulations - the book is simply boring. ... Read more

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This unique book offers students a comprehensive, applications-oriented review of the most recent trends and challenges in the field of international management.The authors demonstrate the importance of this evolving field the use of the most up-to-date research and examples, the presentation of international management challenges and solutions, and the discussion of real world business situations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

mahalo!
I bought this book for my International Organizational Behavior class.It is a great book, and I like the examples and the stories in the book.

Wrong book
It makes it sound like the right book but it is a book for a college and some chapters are missing.Be careful and ask questions before purchasing. ... Read more

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Never HIGHLIGHT a Book Again!Virtually all testable terms, concepts, persons, places, and events are included. Cram101 Textbook Outlines gives all of the outlines, highlights, notes for your textbook with optional online practice tests. Only Cram101 Out ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

A must for anyone who feels victimized
This is a brilliant book if you work under a person (or people) who make you feel that you can't do anything right. If you have worked for many years with very isolated or no problems at all and the bosses change, turning your working environment upside-down, using moral blackmail to ram you into a corner, read this and then decide if it is really YOU who's metamorphosized or if it's merely some 'special breed' of ego-trip boss who will eventually, with a bit of luck, make himself so unpopular he's sent off to a remote spot in Patagonia, at which point you can return to business as usual and feel like a normal person again.

Narcissists in Positions of Authority
Many leaders - in politics, business, religion, community - are pathological or malignant narcissists. But, maybe surprisingly to some, not all of them. Consider politics. The preponderance of narcissistic traits and personalities in politics is much less than in show business, for instance. Moreover, while show business is concerned essentially (and almost exclusively) with the securing of narcissistic supply - politics is a much more complex and multi-faceted activity. Rather, narcissism in politics is a spectrum. At the one end, we find the 'actors' - politicians who regard politics as their venue and their conduit, an extended theatre with their constituency as an audience. At the other extreme, we find self-effacing and schizoid (crowd-hating) technocrats. Most politicians are in the middle: somewhat self-enamoured, opportunistic and seeking modest doses of narcissistic supply - but mostly concerned with perks, self-preservation and the exercise of power. Most narcissists are ruthless opportunists. But not all opportunistic and ruthless operators are narcissists. This book is a good introduction to narcissists in positions of leadership and to the pernicious effects of their disordered personalities. Yet, all such tomes suffer from a major - and, to my mind, iredeemable, drawback. I am strongly opposed to remote diagnosis. I think it is a bad habit, exercised by charlatans and dilettantes (even if their names are followed by a Psy.D.). Only a qualified mental health diagnostician can determine whether someone suffers from NPD and this, following lengthy tests and personal interviews. Moreover, often, politicians are nothing but a loyal reflection of their milieu, their culture, their society and their times (zeitgeist and leitkultur - the Germans have words for such things). This is the thesis of Daniel Goldhagen in 'Hitler's Willing Executioners'. Lasch, for instance characterized America as narcissistic (in, among others, 'The Culture of Narcissism'). Read cautiously. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'. ... Read more

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A collection of eyewitness reports of sea monsters which have been sighted as long ago as 700 B.C. and as recently as 1976. ... Read more

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paper back copy, 36 pages, great ideas how to guide child in learning ... Read more