Dead Heat, Joel C. Rosenberg’s novel of political drama, international intrigue and nuclear war, is a thumping good read. I enjoyed it immensely and so will others. The subject is riveting and the actions of the protagonists are, for the most part, believable.

The novel starts out with the Republican national convention underway. The President arrives at the convention to address the delegates and the world's news media. But foreign terrorists have another scenario in mind, one that rocks the nation and the world to its core.

Who did this, why, what should America’s response be, and how will its choices affect the future of the world? These are some of the questions Dead Heat helps us explore.

I spent 34 years in the military working my way up through the ranks of the infantry to retire as a Major General and, along the way, I had responsibility for nuclear weapons. After retiring from the military, I served as a presidential appointee and I can say that, based on my experience, Rosenberg’s story really resonates.  

His constructing of the tone of conversations held at the presidential level has a ring of authenticity, especially in the first half of the book. Chapter thirteen is short, but one all Americans should read. Its description of the effects that a nuclear war would have on our cities is one of the most accurate I’ve read in works of fiction.

The plot’s adoption of the firing of short-range missiles off of container ships is particularly apt, highlighting the fact that our ports and commercial shipping present some of our greatest vulnerabilities. It is a sad reality that those who might seek to launch a nuclear attack on America are not hampered by the need to develop, test and deploy expensive, technically complex intercontinental ballistic missiles when a short range cheap one will do the job just as well. And as portrayed, if such short-range missiles are used, the time from launch to target is measured in minutes or even seconds. There would be no time for long conversations and likely no time for an antiballistic response by our own military.

The duplicity of the U.N. and Middle East leaders pictured in Dead Heat is right on target. These are people who, in the real world, have perfected the art of deceit. What they say publicly is for show and trickery and even what they appear to be doing in public is only a cheap magician’s sleight of hand. For example, in our own current events, Iran has so many conflicting and opposing irons in the fire in various Middle Eastern countries that even it cannot keep track of them all.

While Dead Heat is a work of fiction, there is a thread of reality woven into its fabric. Although the story is not about Armageddon per se, it does portray events that lead to a catastrophic ending. Many people are fearful of such an ending for life as we know it. As we go into the final months of a critical presidential election, we need to feel confident that both candidates are ready to deal with even the worst disasters that might befall our nation and world.