Seven Days in May

This could have been written today. It is as timely now as it was in 1962, maybe more so. The military is planning to take over the government. Due to the eye of Colonel Jiggs Casey who questions some things he sees in his role as the director of the Joints Staff, he goes to the President with his thoughts. This is the story of how the President prevents a Constitutional crisis.

This is a fast-paced political thriller. I could not put it down as the week went by. I was on the edge of my seat to see what would happen. The characters are good. The President is shown philosophizing at times as to what he, as President, should and needs to do--often alone. I am amazed at how this was kept secret for as long as it was--on both sides. Well show more worth the read. show less

It's the early 1960s, and the Cold War has heated up. Although the US and Soviets have signed an arms control agreement, the Soviets are cheating. Meanwhile, the top military brass are concerned that the US president is weak and ineffectual, and seek to take over the government in a military coup. Having stumbled on the plot, the US president has seven days to prevent the coup and to remove the treasonous military leaders from their positions without alerting the public. This made for a popular novel and a fine movie with George C. Scott as the president, and Burt Lancaster as the top renegade general.

I read this novel many years ago, and found it exciting; and so, I thought I'd try it again to see how it (and I) have aged. I liked it show more once again... found it exciting and suspenseful. Granted, the gender roles are traditional (something that a contemporary version would not have). While I cannot judge this work as if I'd not read the book before and seen the movie, I think it would hold up well today. As for the abridged version, I found it to be quite sufficient, with no noticeable gaps. I'd recommend it, or better still, the full version, for readers interested in political intrigue and believable counter-factuals. show less

Very good political thriller based around a plot by a group of US Armed Forces Chiefs to overthrow a President whose attitude towards disarmament they disapprove of. The ramshackle nature of some of the ways in which the plot is foiled struck me as rather unlikely, but this is good tense stuff, even though I knew the outcome from having seen the classic film starring Burt Lancaster as Scott and Kirk Douglas as Casey. The book brings home to this British reader how much Americans reverence their constitutional arrangements, notwithstanding disagreement with individual office holders.

A fun, quick read. The casual misogyny really dates it.

A gripping and plausible story of a planned military takeover of the American government which is blocked by the smallest of chance occurrences. Well-written and scripted, and so believable it must have caused a sensation at the time of its publishing, the height of the Cold War. It still can raise a small shiver.

If you enjoy political thrillers, this book is a must read. The Joint Chiefs are plotting a take over of the government because the feel the President is a weakling. Their final approval of the plan takes the form of a pool on the upcoming Preckness. The Chairman's aide discovers the plot and the race is on.
Not as scary as Drury's, Come Nineveh, Come Tyre--but only because of the ending.

It is interesting to read this book written in 1961 from the 2009 perspective. One premise was that Iran had been divided between Russian and US zones. It is real enough in that were the military COULD stage such a takeover today, probably easier than before. When everyone ran to the bunkers in Wash after 9/11 how many had read this book and ..wondered....
Good read after all these years