Forces From Within & Without


Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
158 Pages
Reviewed on 03/26/2013
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite

It is the 1970's and Jimmy Carter is President of the United States. Beautiful and brilliant Jill McGill works as an executive for a major oil company. Some years before, Jill had met Iranian Bijan Azad who was educated in the United States but lives in Tehran with his parents. Jill and Bijan are strongly attracted to each other but the times are volatile and their relationship poses danger, especially to Bijan. In Washington, D.C., back in 1976, a man of great genius and power, Jack Stromeyer, conferred with one of his experts, Bill Strebor, a department head at George Washington University. Jack tells Bill that he has concluded that confronting Communism with force was futile and that the Islamic religion's stand against Communist forces should be considered. Knowing that the Shah of Iran is dying, Jack feels that influencing a regime change in Iran to a religiously oriented group would keep oil prices from increasing. The Washington, D.C. powers are looking at an Iranian cleric, the Ayatollah Komeini, as a good fit for their expectations. How will Jill and Bijan deal with these threatening times?

"Forces from Within and Without" by J.W. Amran is a well-written novel about those long ago times of the 1970's. The author has a great and accurate knowledge of history, especially of that in the Middle Eastern countries in the 1970's when the United States was losing a great ally, the Shah of Iran, to death. Author Amran also reveals in the pages of this book a total dislike for the Carter Administration, its foreign policy decisions and the liberals in power at that time in Washington, D.C. Jill McGill, Bijan Azad, Bijan's friend Cyrus, and all the characters in this story help tell of a time when violence was descending upon countries like Iran. With its in-depth coverage of a time of great changes, "Forces from Within and Without" will appeal to thoughtful readers everywhere.

Dianne Bylo

Set in the late 1970’s, during the time of upheaval and revolution in Iran, "Forces From Without & Within" details the secret United States involvement in attempting to overthrow the terminally ill Shah, causing instability that may, through a domino effect, boil over and further destabilize the foundation in the U.S.S.R. The powerful oil companies are in total disagreement, seeing this as a threat to their survival and bottom line and hold a clandestine meeting on a secluded island to determine how to best undermine the government plans. Their plans, given the code word “Cobra,” are furthered by trusted aides in a conference in Italy. One of these attendees shares these secret meetings with her lover, an American educated Iranian oil executive who gets caught up in the chaos of the revolution and must flee for his life.

"Forces From Within & Without" by J. W. Amram, though a fictional novel, is liberally sprinkled with true life events, from the author’s own experiences and knowledge, richly enhancing the charm of this book! I felt the power and self-confidence wielded by many of its characters through the author’s detailed descriptions and precise prose, from the initial government discussions to the opulence the oil magnates met in! The world-building colored the backgrounds with an often ominous feel, invoking me to pay close attention because this was big. I highly recommend "Forces From Within & Without" as an insight into the political machinations going on behind the scenes!