By Order of the President

By: W. E. B. Griffin

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Over the years, W.E.B. Griffin's stories of the military and police, told with crackling realism and rich characters, have won him millions of fans and acclaim as "the dean of the American war adventure" ( Publishers Weekly). Now he vaults into the present day with a series as exciting as anything he has ever written.

At an airfield in Angola, two men board a leased Boeing 727; then, once it is in the air, slit the pilot's throat and fly to parts unknown. The consternation is immediate, as the CIA, FBI, FAA, and other agencies race to find out what has happened, in the process elbowing each other in the sides a little too vigorously.

Fed up, the President of the United States turns to an outside investigator, an Army intelligence officer serving as special assistant to the Director of Homeland Security, to determine the truth. Major Carlos Guillermo Castillo, known as Charley, is the son of a German mother and a Tex-Mex father, a Medal of Honor winner who died in Vietnam. A pilot, West Point graduate, and veteran of Desert Storm and the Special Forces, Castillo has a sharp eye for the facts and the reality behind the facts. Traveling undercover, he flies to Africa, and there, helped and hindered by unexpected allies and determined enemies, begins to untangle a story of frightening dimensions, a story that, unless he can do something about it, will end very, very badly.

©2004 W.E.B. Griffin (P)2004 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Plenty of action, high-level intrigue, interesting characters, flip dialogue, romance, and a whole lot of drinking and other carrying on." (Library Journal)

"Cutting-edge military material." (Publishers Weekly)

Typical Griffin

I have enjoyed Mr. Griffin's books close to 20 years, my favorite is "The Corp". However, I think he can make the lingo, i.e. simply stating "Bragg" instead of "Ft. Bragg", when soldiers talk among themselves a little more realistic, (we old soldiers would appreciate that) and, the days of "frocking" are long gone (corporal to general in past stories now city cop to secret service, hhhmmmm). Not as exciting as his past books, with a definite lack of "enlisted heroes" but an enjoyable listen.

Great characters

I've seen the Griffin books for years, but never got around to reading them, so I was excited to see that he finally is featured on Audible. He seems to be able to develop great characters with a lot of depth and interesting backgrounds. Maybe it's the abridgement here, but I would have to agree with the earlier reviewer that the story was pretty predictable.

Great book...hard to put down.

What made the experience of listening to By Order of the President the most enjoyable?

The twists and turns of the story.

What other book might you compare By Order of the President to and why?

Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn

What aspect of Dennis Boutsikaris’s performance would you have changed?

N/A

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Murder on Capital Hill

Love Griffins style

If you have never listened or read Griffin before then you are missing a great author in my estimation. I love action and adventure and Griffin always has kept me on the edge as it were. His latest is set in more modern times than what his other books have been but he still writes a great story. If you like war stories then seek out more of his books this is just the latest of many great books by this author

Great Griffin!!

I have always liked W.E.B. Griffin's books. I am happy to see them in audible. Would like to see the unabridged editions. Once you get a handle on the characters the books become more fun. His detail and military knowledge are a compelling part of the books. Although the characters are somewhat "super hero", why not? This is what makes the books fun to read. I think this kind of support for our military is just what public the needs to characterize the men and women who fight and die for this country. I hope this is the beginning of a long series of books with these characters.

Finally Giffin

I wait restlessly for each new Griffin book, wishing that he would write more than one a year. I just wish Audible would get the unabridged versions of his 9 books each in his Army and Marine Corps series, and 7 in his two series about the OSS. They are all worth re-reading each time a new book comes out in the series. This is the only author whose books I re-read on a regular basis and would enjoy listening to over and over again.

Great Griffin

I truly enjoy all of Griffin's books. In particular the OSS and earlier series. This was another good book by this author. Audible needs to get his other works and allow its users to experience more great writing by this author. As a man in his mid-30s, I know very little about most of the historical events that Griffin covers in his books and this only adds to the interest I find in his books. I find his books are very similar in interest and readability as those by Nelson DeMille. Another very good historical fiction book.

Fun, but too predictable

I enjoyed this book but it wasn't as exciting as others. Some chapters were just boring. Others were to simple. I was disappointed in the ending, I was expecting one last twist to the story.

Don't order,

Great writer. Great book. Terrible abridgement-- so awkward in fact that it leaves you wondering how is it that the 12 year old Castillo, who's father was killed in Vietnam is united with his family AFTER 9/11. Ulitmately the timeline is cleared up on disk II but it left me so frustrated that I used the last five disks of this set as Frisbees. Wheeeeee!
Audible-- get the unabridged set, please!

There Should Be Minus Stars for This One!

"Simple declarative sentence," he said. "Trite response," he said. "Barking orders," he said. Military acronyms, acronyms, acronyms. I am a big fan of books in this genre, but how I wish I hadn't wasted a credit on this one! I couldn't make it past the first hour. Slumping, limping careworn plot. To make it worse, the narrator has one of those 40s-style radio voices better suited for cornflakes commercials than fiction. I could say more, but I've already spent enough time on this sorry piece of fiction.