Gordon Zuckerman's The Sentinels: Fortunes of War Provokes Debate on Unbridled Greed

Gordon Zuckerman’s The Sentinels: Fortunes of War Provokes Debate on Unbridled Greed My book, The Sentinels: Fortunes of War, was recently named the number-one best seller on Amazon.com, under the World War II thriller-fiction category. Of course, as a debut author, I was thrilled when my book achieved commercial success and earned critical acclaim from news media as well. I have done over 30 radio interviews and the topic that always seems to come up is “unbridled greed.” People want to know how we can identify it and do something about it. My background is in the business world, which served as an inspiration for my fictitious book. I have attempted to shed light on the story behind the story of World War II. The war wouldn’t have gone on as long as it did if it weren’t for Adolf Hitler receiving financial support. Follow the money trail and you’ll see what I mean. The same holds true today. Money is behind our current wars, steep oil prices, and adverse Wall Street and banking practices that impact our everyday lives. I am uniquely qualified to tell this original story behind the story of one of contemporary history’s most important events. As a graduate of the Harvard Business School and a life-long student of history, I’ve spent the last 45 years of my life representing a national real estate development company on Wall Street, founded a nationally recognized golf-resort hotel company and traveled around the world. The original topic of my book alludes to the identification and opposition to unbridled greed, which appears to have caught the attention of concerned members of the reading public. Interviewed by more than 40 radio talk show hosts, and the subject of more than 80 newspaper articles, when asked if I believe the same process could occur today, I’d say that according to the results of my research, the malevolent pursuit of capitalism is made possible when government abandons its designated role of protecting the public’s interest and joins in the support of corporate agendas of self interest. A further test of legitimacy of any given business strategy can be made by the analyzing how responsibly it satisfies the needs of the public. Follow the money trail and you’ll see what I mean. Could the pursuit of our current wars, the rise in oil prices, the fraudulent practices of Wall Street and the banking community have occurred without the carefully planned efforts of concentrated capital and the cooperation of government? In 1943, six exceptionally talented young friends and former political science doctoral study- mates at the University of California, learned of a German Industrialists’ plan to smuggle their fortunes of war out of Germany while there was still time. The six sentinels reunite to develop and implement a plan to prevent the money from being used to fund some future Reich. My original story takes place over two continents and is told through the evolving lives of strong and interesting principal characters. The Sentinels: Fortunes of War, tells of how agendas of unbridled greed are identified and how this group of unusual young friends develop and implement a plan to oppose the powerful Facsist German industrialists, while being pursued by the ruthless Samson organization. Since the presence or absence of ethical, high-valued, responsible, problem solving leadership appears to be an important test of the constructive pursuit of democratic free enterprise, it only seemed natural that I try to construct each of my characters to share common traits. Each of the characters in my book had to be destined for a future leadership role. They shared a common concern over the effects of spreading Fascism. Each of them were faced with the challenge of overcoming some form of public prejudice, were required to resolve problems of their own personal growth, and needed to achieve the trust and respect of people whose cooperation was deemed essential before they could accomplish their goals, both in life and with the problems at hand. In my book, I speak of an intriguing theory called the Power Cycle. It distinguishes the difference between the constructive practice of capitalistic free enterprise and those of malevolent pursuit of unbridled greed. My book attempts to answer the question on greed and it’s unfortunate role in our political, financial, and social lives. Here’s what I’ve concluded: First: One of the great things about the American democratic free enterprise system is: if we screw it up, we can fix it. Second: By applying the seven phases of the Power Cycle concept to an isolated event, the Sentinels became convinced that they were able to place current events into context with other events, and identify their greater significance. Third: By applying the satisfaction of perceived public interest to test business strategies, examine the use of lobbying influence over government, and analyze the influence of the financial community, the Sentinels believed they were able to determine the absence or presence of the pursuit of unbridled greed. Fourth: By questioning the stated policies of executive management, the concerned observer should attempt to distinguish the difference between self-serving shorter term goals and longer term, more responsible objectives. Finally: In repairing the damage of unbridled greed, the Sentinels learned to create solutions of their own making, recruit the assistance of responsible people, and mobilize the power of the concerned citizen. I sincerely hope that this initial reaction to my work indicates that I am succeeding in introducing an original brand of storytelling that readers will find both entertaining and thought-provoking.