Circle William: A Novel - Hardcover

Marlin Fitzwater former White House press secretaryBill Harlow has captured the essence of almost every personality type the White House and Navy have to offer, with the uncanny authenticity of a man who knows both institutions intimately. True Washington insiders will recognize every character in "Circle William." And he put them to great use, in a first-rate tale of high seas adventure and high White House intrigue.

Jim Schmidt is a master of spin. As White House press secretary, his job is to cajole, sweet-talk, and otherwise persuade the nation's most powerful journalists to play a story the way the White House wants it played. Jim's younger brother, Bill, is equally skillful, but in a different realm. He's the charismatic captain of the USS Winston Churchill, and he leads an able but rambunctious crew with a penchant for causing well-publicized "liberty incidents" around the Mediterranean. Both men instinctively understand their jobs, but more important, they understand power and how it works: He who controls the facts controls the response. So when the United States learns of a Libyan plot to drop a planeload of chemical weapons on the Israeli Knesset, the brothers - thousands of miles apart - unexpectedly find themselves working together to defuse the plan. Their first step is to set "Circle William, " a Navy phrase meaning to prepare for chemical, germ, or nuclear attack. As Jim huddles with the country's top defense and intelligence officials to plot a viable strategy to prevent the strike, Bill, on the front lines of the crisis, prepares to implement the plan. Complicating their mission is the inconvenient presence of Sue O'Dell, a smart "Washington Post" Style reporter who wants to write a feature on the commander and his notorious ship.