Author: Terry Jastrow

Publisher: Four Springs Press
ISBN 978-1-946241-15-3

Terry Jastrow, author of The Trial of Prisoner 043, has quite a storied past. (2017, inside) Jastrow can trace his lineage back to the pilgrims and the Mayflower, as well as, former President John Adams. He has worked as a sport’s producer for ABC covering the Olympics, many golf tournaments and Superbowls. To date he has earned seven Emmys and seventeen nominations. Jastrow is an actor, producer, director, and playwright. The Trial of Prisoner 043 is Terry Jastrows’ first novel.

How many of you have an opinion about the Iraq war? I dare say this was one of the most debated and controversial wars of our time with President George W. Bush at the top of that discussion. Whichever side you sit on you will find this book interesting and enlightening.

The Trial of Prisoner 043 opens with former President George W. Bush golfing at St. Andrews in Scotland. At a predetermined point in this game President Bush was abducted and taken to The Hague where he was to stand trial for war crimes associated with his ill-fated war with Iraq. This was a plan at the highest level of International Intelligence and one that nobody, including President Bush, at St. Andrews saw coming.

I was not even aware that there was an ICC or International Criminal Court. I performed an internet search and learned a lot about them prior to continuing to read this novel because I was curious.

The plot is fiction, but parallels what happened across much of the world during that tumultuous time. Nations and people were divided along political lines.

The characters in this novel are based on the real players and some of the dialogue is from actual news snippets or interviews before, during, and after 9/11, and ramping up toward what would begin the war with Iraq.

According to what I learned about the ICC this scenario is something that actually could have taken place had circumstances been aligned somewhat differently on the world stage.

I don’t want to give too much away so read it. I found it to be a real page turner. I was very interested in the outcome, what the legal teams might submit into evidence, and was completely taken aback in the end. I think you will be too! For instance, is what they did by kidnapping President Bush legal? Could he actually be tried for war crimes? What would the USA do if this did happen? What would be the world reaction? Should the USA be members of the ICC? Supposedly, President Clinton signed us on as a member and as soon as President Bush was in office he opted out. Is that a legal avenue out of being considered for such crimes? Or more reason to be subjected to, and held liable for, them?