He got to his feet, his face so red that it looked like it might explode. Lurching violently, he waded through the spilled proposals and got through the door and was gone. I looked about at the mess. It would take quite some time to clean all that up. And of course, there was Mrs Hamilton to find. Having two things to do at once was always a great problem to me and so much so, that I almost forgot Warren Whatmore’s strange behaviour immediately.
…”When did you have your last vacation, Mr.. President?”
“When I was six months old back in Cleveland, Ohio”…
… “I’m suggesting, Mr. President, there’s a military plot to take over the government of these United States, next Sunday…”
… “Senator, there hasn’t been a single piece of paper written in the history of mankind that could serve as a deterrent to a Pearl Harbour.” …
…”James Mattoon Scott, as you put it, hasn’t the slightest interest in his own glorification. But he does have an abiding concern about the survival of this country.”…
Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel and Charles Bailey is a knock-out thriller about an attempt by a MacArthur-like general to overthrow the US presidency. It rings with authenticity in a way I had never experienced in thrillers before, and not surprisingly, since the authors were exactly what they needed to be—a pair of top-line Washington journalists. This marked the beginning of a genre that the Americans now do better than anyone. John Frankenheimer made it into an equally brilliant, suspenseful and realistic film. The Pentagon generals plot the overthrow of the President because he tries to end the arms race and the nuclear proliferation. Based on what MacArthur might have done to Truman, it is as relevant today as it was then.
The cast of the film is outstanding. Kirk Douglas is a lot less annoying than usual while Burt Lancaster is great as the MacArthur figure, Fredric March fine as the President, and Ava Gardner there as a tragic pawn in the game. A must see and must read.
…”You know what he carries in that box? The codes. The codes by which I, Jordan Lyman, can give the order sending us into a nuclear war.” …
…”There is no record of any Ecomcon base or any designation like it.”…
… “I think we’ll be sitting in our own rubble; a minimum of one hundred million dead.” …
…“Do you know who Judas was, Jiggs?”
“Yes sir. He was a general who loved his country, until he betrayed it.”…
