The Last Jihad

The Last Jihad, by Joel C. Rosenberg

I finished this one quickly. Its a thriller, so like all thrillers do, it made me keep reading. This book is different for me, because I usually don't read thrillers, much less political thrillers, but all of the books in the series hit the bestsellers lists so I thought there must be something to it.

In addition, there are some who would say Mr. Rosenberg's books come true after he writes them. For instance, this particular book was written before September 11, 2001, yet it opens with a kamikaze plane attack and the subsequent war in Iraq. The characters in the book experienced the grief and shock and general chaotic feelings that many Americans, including myself, felt in the months following 9/11.

When asked how his books seem to predict the future political events, the author points to Biblical prophecy, and has written a non-fiction book (reviewed on this blog here) explaining his entire process. However, it is my belief that if a person were highly observant of world news, and well versed in common political responses to certain stimuli, that person could seem to know the future, when in actuality they are simply making a highly educated guess based on prior occurrence. Particularly amusing to me is the inclusion of one event from Mr. Rosenberg's second book as evidence of his ability to predict the future. In the second book (according to Wikipedia), Yassar Arafat dies. 13 months after publication, he did! I find it funny that this is somehow relevant to the other scenarios in his books that "came true," because last I checked, Yassar Arafat was an old man, and NOT immortal. Of course he was going to die sometime.

Not to debunk this sooth-saying theory, I feel that Mr. Rosenberg is highly attuned to the American world in which he lives, because in writing his book he not only captured the events that were about to occur, but he captured the American response to the terrorist attacks. By this I mean that the individual characters experienced the same sense of shock, outrage, and go-get-em attitude that I and many of my friends experienced. In addition, the American population in his book supported the President by a huge majority in the first few weeks following the fictional attack. That is where the book ends, but I have a feeling that the next book will depict America's growing concern and restlessness over the war, in the same way that real-life confidence in the American leadership fell as the number of American casualties in Iraq rose.

One last point, this book in some ways resembles the Left Behind series, especially because of Dr. Eliezer Mordechai, a character who resembles the Left Behind series' Dr. Chaim Rosenzwieg. Thankfully, the book conjures up a good story without feelings of impending doom and the moral message to straighten up your act before the fire and brimstone start falling. Not that there is anything wrong with that message, but it is refreshing to see a book that seems to incorporate Biblical end-times prophecy without the acts of God that are so hard for a human mind to understand. To put it another way, its intriguing to see a book that believes humans are capable of creating the end of the world without the hand of God doing most of the destruction. It, in a sense, sneaks ideas of doomsday into people's minds without them rejecting it because of their unbelief in a God who is active in the universe.

Overall, despite a few moments where I wished the author would stop describing the country side and get on with the story, I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who are interested in politics, the Middle East, or any type of thriller book.

PS- The book was re-written before its initial 2002 publication date to incorporate and acknowledge the events of 9/11, so the president in the book is one that follows President Bush. In light of the whole "events coming true thing" I would like to point out that the fictional president is white, with an Irish last name, not black or female. I have to find SOME way of enjoying the coming election so I will play a little game with Mr. Rosenberg and just see if THAT prediction comes true...