This book shows that William Shakespeare was a more personal writer than any of his innumerable commentators have realised. It asserts that numerous characters and events were drawn from the author's life, and puts faces to the names of Jaques, Touchstone, Feste, Jessica, the 'Dark Lady' and others. Steven Sohmer explores aspects of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets that have been hitherto overlooked or misinterpreted in an effort to better understand the man and his work. If you've ever wondered who Pigrogromitus was, or why Jaques spies on Touchstone and Audrey - or what the famous riddle M.O.A.I. stands for - this is the book for you. -- .

This book shows that William Shakespeare was a more personal writer than any of his innumerable commentators have realised. It asserts that numerous characters and events were drawn from the author's life, and puts faces to the names of Jaques, Touchstone, Feste, Jessica, the 'Dark Lady' and others. Steven Sohmer explores aspects of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets that have been hitherto overlooked or misinterpreted in an effort to better understand the man and his work. If you've ever wondered who Pigrogromitus was, or why Jaques spies on Touchstone and Audrey - or what the famous riddle M.O.A.I. stands for - this is the book for you. -- .

"Patriots is a miracle of suspense, a mined labyrinth of electrifying politics, terror, and philosophy, which will rank with the classics of storytelling." -Richard Condon, author of The Manchurian Candidate As dawn breaks on Veterans Day, the American president grapples with the responses-both good and bad-to the announcement of his post-Cold War disarmament initiative, a plan based on nuclear deterrence and reduced troop strength. From an airfield in New York, a Vietnam War hero takes to the skies in a stolen fighter jet armed with Patriot missiles, setting course for Cuba. His actions put in motion by coded phrase known only to a select few. And on an air force base in Washington, DC, one intel officer realizes that only she can put together the pieces of a treasonous conspiracy, one in which shocking acts of deception, betrayal, and assassination will plunge the country into chaos-and pit two superpowers against each other in the ultimate showdown . . . In Patriots, Steve Sohmer puts you into the cockpit of a rogue warplane, around the table in the tense White House Situation Room, and into the minds of men and women willing to sacrifice it all for love and loyalty.

"Fast, characterful, intricate, surprising . . . Sohmer knows his way around television, politics, Washington and suspense fiction." -Los Angeles Times Book Review It begins with an assassination. A Nicaraguan freedom fighter is gunned down on live TV while being welcomed to the United States by Sen. Terry Fallon. Though shot and wounded, Fallon, an up-and-coming political star from Texas, survives, and milks the spotlight with help from his ambitious and fiercely loyal press aide Sally Crain. As the nominating convention looms on the horizon, incumbent president, Samuel Baker, faces an uphill battle in his fight for a second term. His campaign needs an injection of new blood-and who better than Fallon, the newly crowned hero? But Baker's existing vice president isn't going down without a fight . . . Thrust into the hunt for the assassin, two FBI agents, a grizzled veteran, and a brash rookie, soon learn that nothing is as it seems in the corridors-and bedrooms-of power. Political operatives fight tooth and nail to control the narrative, secrets are exposed and exploited, and a deadly virus is weaponized, all to cover up a conspiracy that could topple the American government. But for the most dangerous man in the world, everything is falling into place, making it easier than ever for his ascendency . . . "Extremely good reading." -The Washington Post Book World "Outstanding." -The Cincinnati Post "Intensely plotted, fast-moving." - Publishers Weekly "Exciting, scandalous." -Kirkus Reviews "Top-notch thriller fiction . . . Irresistible." -Booklist