The Pirate

Publisher Marketing: In a raging sandstorm, two men with their pregnant wives fatefully meet in the desert: Samir Al Fay, a Muslim doctor whose son will be named heir to the Prince of Beirut; and Isaiah Ben Ezra, a grizzled Jewish militant Zionist heading to the Promised Land. The women give birth Samir s unconscious wife delivers a stillborn girl, Ben Ezra s wife dies delivering a healthy boy. Transcending their differences, Ben Ezra gives his son to Samir. Only these two men know the truth of the boy s origin, and Samir vows to raise him as his true son naming him Badyr. Years later, Badyr now known as The Pirate has become one of the wealthiest and most powerful Arabic entrepreneurs in the Middle East. Educated in the West, Badyr is more western than Arabic but remains grounded in his perceived heritage and distrustful of Jews. The Pirate is seemingly invincible, and with his looks, charm, and unending supply of money, no woman can resist him. But two women have power over his fate: one a long-lost love, another obsessed with the search for her missing father. However, it s not just Badyr s heart at risk. A web of political intrigue, corruption and terrorism threatens the business empire he worked to build, and he is drawn into a shadowy world of decadence, passion, and betrayal. Soon Badyr must decide whom he can trust, risking his life, family and fortune in that decision and finds allies in the most unlikely of places, shocked by the reality he discovers. From the author of "The New York Times" #1 bestseller "The Carpetbaggers" comes a compelling tale of decadence, luxury, greed, and international intrigue set against a backdrop of Middle East oil and global terrorism." Contributor Bio:  Robbins, Harold Born in New York City, HAROLD ROBBINS is one of the world's bestselling authors, writing novels that often mirrored his own experiences and that were peopled by characters he had met. He is the author of "The Carpetbaggers". Contributor Bio:  Baker, David David Baker s last collection was Never-Ending Birds, which won the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize. His many honors include fellowships and awards from the Poetry Society of America, the Pushcart Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Baker lives in Granville, Ohio, is the poetry editor of the Kenyon Review, and is the Thomas B. Fordham Chair of Poetry and Professor of English at Denison University.