President Clinton stopped by the Today Show yesterday and talked about the books he likes to read. I was surprised and delighted to discover what the President read and to discover that we share the same taste. Image from http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/kids/html/bill.html Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montefiore President Clinton says: “Truly a biography of the city“ Lincoln by David Herbert Donald President Clinton says: “A book you could read if you wanted to read a novel… an astonishing book“ The Way of the World by David Fromkin President Clinton says: “[A] one volume short history of civilization” Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow President Clinton says: This is a book for “anybody who really wants to understand how we started should read“ And I agree President Clinton also likes to read fiction, crime fiction nonetheless. His favorite fictional character is Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon and I must admin that it is mine as well. Check out Daniel Silva’s Amazon Page. I can recommend any of the Gabriel Allon books, but if you’re new to the series try to start at the beginning. As well as Gabriel Allon, President Clinton also said he enjoyed the Alex Cross series as well as books by…

With all the action and adventure, this is ultimately a melancholy book. Allon is a flawed hero (but aren’t they all), who is, this time, out for revenge

The plot of A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva is full of twists and turns, a wonderful cast of characters, worldly events and double crossing figures

The Kill Artist is a well written spy novel, filled with details in all the right places as well as several characters from Silva’s previous novels.

The pace is fast but the story is predictable, about half way through (if not sooner) I already figured out the ending which, this time, had no twists.

There are many elements in the mix: political intrigue, a wife, medical issues, international locations, twists, turns and a few surprises