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From AudioFile
Political intrigue permeates this bestselling novel about four very different men who, after entering British politics in the '60s, spend the next 30 years vying for power until one reaches the pinnacle as prime minister. That the author, a British lord, is himself a politico lends the machinations authenticity--as does, unintentionally, this drastic abridgment. So much dialogue has been removed that the truncation sounds like nonfiction. Indeed, so many personality points are missing that the characters would have no definition at all if it weren't for Martin Jarvis, who vividly portrays the DRAMATIS PERSONAE with the crumbs he finds. The narrative he delivers with his wonted urbanity, authority, and expressiveness. His concluding brief interview with Archer is a superfluous, but nonetheless interesting, extra. Y.R. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


—Detroit Free Press
"A dramatic plot . . . An absorbing read."


—Detroit Free Press
"A dramatic plot . . . An absorbing read."


Review
"This engrossing, well-spun tale of ambition and will-to-power is a pick-hit in the summer sweepstakes. Archer received his usual high marks for readability and gives his novel a pleasing sense of substance."-Publishers Weekly

"All the elements that make for a great commercial fiction: ambition, lust, greed, duplicity...a whale of a tale."-Newsday

"Top-flight entertainment."-United Press International

"Archer invests his novels with drama, irony and suspense-First Among Equals is no exception...fascinating."-The Boston Herald

"A razzle-dazzle fictional turn...engaging...pertinent and compelling."
-The Washington Times Magazine

"Archer is a master entertainer."--Time Magazine

"There isn't a better storyteller alive."-Larry King

"Archer is one of the most captivating storytellers writing today. His novels are dramatic, fast moving, totally entertaining-and almost impossible to put down."-Pittsburgh Press

"Cunning plots, silken style...Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader."
-The New York Times

"A storyteller in the class of Alexander Dumas...Unsurpassed skill...making the reader wonder intensely what will happen next."-The Washington Post



Book Description
TO LEAD A NATIONFrom Jeffrey Archer, author of the bestselling Kane & Abel, comes this spellbinding tale in its complete and original form, published for the first time in the U.S. First Among Equals chronicles the lives of four extraordinary men who battle for a prize that only one of them can win-;to become Prime Minister.     CHARLES SEYMOUR: An accident of birth kept him from an earldom, but nothing and no one can keep him from what he believes is his destiny.     ANDREW FRASER: His father was a football hero to thousands. Andrew intends to be a political hero to millions.     SIMON KERSLAKE: Born not quite of the true upper class, Simon is determined to lift himself as high as his dreams and the voters allow.     RAY GOULD: Son of a Leeds butcher, Ray realizes early on that his keen intellect and his driving ambition can raise him from the back streets to No. 10 Downing Street. Through three tumultuous decades of bitter rivalry, they fight for Britain's most powerful office-;a rivalry that sets honor against deceit, love against hate, and loyalty against betrayal.


From the Publisher
Jeffrey Archer’s mastery of characterization and “white-knuckle” suspense, combined with a gift for the ingenious plot twist, demonstrate why he is one of Britain’s best-selling authors. In this collection of audiobooks, a fine cast offers readings of some of the master storyteller’s most spellbinding work.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From Jeffery Archer, author of the bestselling Kane and Abel, comes this spellbinding tale in its complete and original form, published for the first time in the U.S. First Among Equals chronicles the lives of four extraordinary men who battle for a prize that only one of them can win - to become Prime Minister.

Charles Seymour: An accident of birth kept him from an earldom, but nothing and no one can keep him from what he believes is his destiny.

Andrew Frasier: His father was a football hero to thousands. Andrew intends to be a political hero to millions.

Simon Kerslake: Born not quite of the true upper class, Simon is determined to lift himself as high as his dreams and voters allow.

Ray Gould: Son of a Leeds butcher, Ray realizes early on that his keen intellect and his driving ambition can raise him from the back streets to No. 10 Downing Street.

Through three tumultuous decades of bitter rivalry, they fight for Britain's most powerful office - a rivalry that sets honor against deceit, love against hate, and loyalty against betrayal.

FROM THE CRITICS

Michiko Kakutani

''First Among Equals'' is propelled by a single question - which of three men will become Prime Minister - and its 400-odd pages are mainly concerned with giving us random anecdotes and details about its heroes and their women. Whatever amusing tidbits the book contains about British parliamentary politics will doubtless be lost on the majority of American readers....None of the characters has any particular grace with words. The reader wonders how these characters ever got elected to Parliament - much less considered as candidates for Prime Minister. -- New York Times

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