Book Review: The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg

It has been quite some time since I've posted a book review here. I have read several books since my last book review posting. But none of those books has stood out in my mind strongly enough to make it worth recommending, or worth recommending you avoid. Nothing really worth mentioning. Until I read The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg. We constantly hear today about stories, movies, books and TV shows that are ripped from the headlines. Well, Joel Rosenberg wrote a book that is absolutely ripped from the headlines. And he wrote this book prior to the Iraq war.

The book is set in a post George W. Bush Presidency. The President is a conservative Republican from Colorado. And his life is targeted by -- well, you'll just have to read the book. But his life is targeted. Someone is out to assassinate the President. Saddam Hussein is still the President and dictator of Iraq, and Iraq is still believed to have Weapons of Mass Destruction. In this book Osama bin Laden has already been found dead, and the Taliban has already been evicted fully from Afghanistan. Israel and Palestine are the targets of an oil and gas deal that is expected to make every citizen of both -- Israelis and Palestinians -- wealthy beyond their imagination. And the book takes you on a ride through those lines. There are several twists and turns and surprises that will make you want to keep turning the pages. It is a difficult book to put down. All of the surprises were believable.

The book is very well written. It would appeal, I imagine, to anyone who enjoys political thrillers, military thrillers, suspense and mystery books, alternative history, and even the Christian fiction genre. Though, as you read through this book there is no overt Christian fiction influence. Too many books in the Christian fiction genre are written as if they're an article in Guideposts magazine. This book is written more like it's an article in the Washington Post, or Time magazine, or a report on CNN.

If you can't tell, I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg. When you've finished it, move on to The Last Days, which picks up the story just three weeks after the ending of this book. And his most recent publication is the third story in this little series, called The Ezekiel Option. These books are prophetic in nature, very timely, and very believable. And very much what is happening, what has been happening, and what could start happening in the world today.

I hope you enjoy it.

Joe