The Whole Truth by David Baldacci Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Whole Truth
Book Review: A so-so effort from Baldacci, though still better than his other recent works
Summary: 3 Stars
When he burst onto the scene with his first book "Absolute Power", Baldacci made an amazing debut with a novel of political intrigue that showed a fine talent for complex plotting, deep and rich characterizations, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. It was subsequently made into a very good Clint Eastwood movie.
Unfortunately, Baldacci hasn't been able to hit that standard since. His last few books, centering on the Camel Club, have -- frankly -- been pretty lame and formulaic, in my opinion.
In "The Whole Truth", Baldacci brings a new set of characters to us in a story that centers on the efforts of a multi-billionaire arms merchant (Nicholas Creel) to reshape world events to foster a world order more to his political and financial preferences; and the efforts of a heroic but shadowy para-secret-agent (Shaw) to thwart his scheme.
Credit to Baldacci for trying to approach once again a story of broader scope and more complexity than his recent efforts, something more along the lines of "Absolute Truth". Unfortunately, he achieves only moderate success.
To begin with, I found the Shaw character to be pretty much a knockoff of Lee Childs's "Jack Reacher" character, but not as interesting. With Reacher, we have a background; Shaw pretty much seems to have appeared from a vacuum. He's underdeveloped, doesn't seem to have a history that existed before this story, and therefore wasn't nearly as interesting to me as Reacher. Secondary character Katie James is actually much more fully realized.
Nicholas Creel is a more interesting character, and more fully developed, but again seemed to be somewhat of a cypher. His motives in the story were explained, but didn't seem to resonate on an emotional level.
The plot crux of the story -- media manipulation to create an international military crisis -- seemed incredibly far-fetched, and depended on irrational and inexplicable actions on the part of secondary and peripheral characters. It just didn't really work. And because it didn't, I got no sense of real urgency from the story; no emotional "zing".
So... a mixed bag. It moved along briskly. And kudos to Baldacci for leaving the Camel Club at the oasis this time around.
Three stars.
Book Review: Another great novel from Baldacci.
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book a week before it came out a boy did I love it. I happen to be a fan of Baldacci after reading his Camel Club novels which were brilliant
at least the first and second sequel. What this novel has is great caracters and impeccable pacing. I found it very hard to put it down. If you love Baldacci this is the one to own. In my opinion this one is the best one he wrote so far.
Book Review: Grab a copy
Summary: 5 Stars
For me, this was just a little 'airport book' to take my mind off the flight. I wasn't expecting much, but I got alot. A great thriller that will really make you think.Book Review: A frightening international thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Some say the Iraq War was sold to the American public using "Perception Management" and after reading "The Whole Truth" the concept makes sense.
In Baldacci's latest, the powerful head of a huge defense contractor who wants to sell more weapons engages a perception management firm to engineer a new Cold War by planting false stories on the Internet and elsewhere. The stories are designed to pit the world's superpowers against each other, a dangerous business that a mysterious covert agent known only as Shaw aims to stop, with the help of investigative reporter Katie James.
The whole perception management angle, i.e. the manipulation of popular opinion using technology and the media, is scary and compelling, and Baldacci uses it to fantastic effect. If you like the international thrillers of Frederick Forsyth or Robert Ludlum you'll probably love "The Whole Truth," a fast-paced nail biter that may leave you wondering about some of the stories you see on the evening news.
Also recommended: A Stranger Lies There - this mystery won the Malice Domestic Award for best first mystery.
Book Review: exciting thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
CEO of Ares Corporation, a major Defense Department contractor, Nicholas Creel wants to drum up business so he needs a new crisis as Iraq only goes so far, but is nothing like the glory days of Reagan's Cold War. He hires "perception management" guru Dick Pender to create a Cold War. Soon false news stories and supporting disinformation surface on the Internet with news bloggers and hounds having a feeding frenzy over "documented" Russian atrocities. Nicholas is ecstatic.
However, when the London based think tank, the Phoenix Group, is allegedly slaughtered by Russians, Nicholas hopes Pender can connect the murders to a Beijing government sponsored hit; hoping that leads to the immense profits to be made from a Russian- Chinese war. However, undercover operative Shaw is outraged as his fianc?e died in the Phoenix Group mass murder and with the help of a defrocked reporter begins to uncover THE WHOLE TRUTH behind the perception management driven crisis.
This is an exciting thriller due more to the PM concept than to the Ares vs. Shaw contest. The PM crowd makes up truths using the Internet and other mass communication techniques to tell a Big Lie and not as David Baldacci says afterward "spin the facts". In fact some in Congress claim this technique was used by the Administration leading to the Iraq invasion. Although the prime plot is entertaining, it is the perception management big lie that makes the difference of what otherwise would be another well written thriller.
Harriet Klausner