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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » The Broker

The Broker

40 Ratings: 2.8

A book by John Grisham.

Before he was sent to federal prison for treason (among other things), Joel Backman was an extremely powerful man. Known as "the broker," Backman was a high roller--a lawyer making $10 million a year who could "open any door in Washington." … see full wiki

Tags: Books, John Grisham

Author: John Grisham

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Publisher: Doubleday

8 reviews about The Broker

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review by cpw1952. October 02, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

The unique (and successful) combination of thriller with a European travelogue!

With technology stolen from two US defense contractors, a cutting edge satellite surveillance system dubbed Neptune was secretly built and launched under the very nose of the CIA and the rest of the world's elite spy communities - Israel, Saudi Arabia, Russia, England and China. Nobody even knew of the system's top secret existence (let alone who was operating it) until two brilliant Pakistani computer wizards unwittingly hacked into the system and parlayed that illicit entry into an astonishing … more

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Quick Tip by cpw1952. October 02, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by cpw1952

More than just an enjoyable spy vs spy thriller with the legal sub-text for which Grisham is so well known. As difficult as this might be to believe, it is also a charming romance and a well done travelogue on the city of Bologna. This odd juxtaposition of styles may not work for everybody but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Quick Tip by cpw1952. September 30, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by cpw1952

A powerful thriller that says a great deal about the power and misuse of power in the CIA combined, as difficult as this might be to believe, with a rather charming travelogue of the city of Bologna! Go figure!

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review by arichards. September 15, 2008

Ten steps to writing off your vacation as a business expense

1. Choose a European country for your next vacation. Pick a nice little town with a rich history, nice people and great food. 2. Throw a dart at the country map, with your eyes open, as many times as it takes to hit the aforementioned town. 3. Buy a Michelin Guide and use it as material for 90% of the book you're going to write. 4. Go and see for yourself if the guide is accurate - take your time, avoid the mistake of eating … more

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review by danayb. April 01, 2005

VINTAGE GRISHAM AT HIS BEST!!!!

Fast-paced, intriguing thriller that is hard to put down!! At the center of the tale is of course a wayward lawyer; in this case, it's Joel Backman--a Washington lobbyist whose greed for power, money and women is legendary. Backman gets his hands on a computer software written by a few brilliant young men that is able to control spy satellites that are orbiting the earth--satellites whose existence to this point had been completely unknown. When Backman decides to represent his clients in their … more

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review by duffbert. June 01, 2005

One of his better works of late...

It used to be that I really looked forward to a new Grisham novel. Action-packed legal thriller, life and death situations, etc. But then after a few books, the writing seemed to get somewhat uneven and I didn't quite know what I'd get each time I started a new one. John Grisham's latest, The Broker, ended up being one of his better ones of late. I really enjoyed it. Joel Backman, aka The Broker, was a high-powered player in the Washington scene until he took the fall for … more

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review by Jerry_Saperstein. February 22, 2005

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Enjoyable Grisham

I've found John Grisham to be uneven. Sometimes he is a fun read; sometimes I just give up and move on. In "The Broker," Grisham is near the top of his form. In a tale filled with sleazy characters, Joel Backman is no better or worse than the President of the United States who, at the urging of his corrupt advisor, pardons Backman. Backman is a guest of the government, sitting in solitary with years to run on his sentence. Suddenly he is offered a … more

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review by luan_gaines. January 17, 2005

The (Pawn) Broker

Joel Backman, ex-lobbyist and Washington power broker doing time in a Federal prison is pardoned after only six years of a twenty-year sentence by a one-term president at the behest of the CIA, hours before the inauguration of the new president. The theory is that many influential people want Backman dead (the Saudi's, the Israeli's, the Chinese, the Russian's...), that eventually one of them will take him out and the CIA will be privy to some long sought after information. Thus, the ex-power broker … more

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