First Among Equals » (Abridged, 3 CDs, 3.75 Hours)

A political aspirant turned author, Jeffrey Archer seems to delight in conspiracy and simple twists of fate in his fiction, even as these forces have shaped a rocky course in his own life. Misfortune led Archer to write the book that began his career, but fate seems to have smiled on his bestselling books.

Four Men Driven By Power, Ambition, And Success...

Charles Seymour, second-born son, will never be the earl like his father, but he did inherit his mother's strength-and the will to realize his destiny...Simon Kerslake's father sacrificed everything to make sure his son's dreams come true. Now it is Simon's chance to rise as high as those dreams allow...Ray Gould was born to the back streets but raised with pride-a quality matched by a sharp intellect and the desire to attain the impossible...Andrew Fraser was raised by a soccer hero turned politician. Now it's his turn for heroics, whatever the cost.

...In A Battle For The Ultimate Prize

From strangers to rivals, four men embark on a journey for the highest stakes of all-the keys to No. 10 Downing Street. Unfolding over three decades, their honor will be tested, their loyalties betrayed, and their love of family and country challenged. But in a game where there is a first among equals, only one can triumph.

"One of the top ten storytellers in the world." -Los Angeles Times

"Not since Gore Vidal's 1876 has there been such a cliff-hanger aspect to an election and to the selection of a head of government...at the conclusion, Archer brings the reader to a moment of truth...a surprising finish." -The San Diego Union

Michiko Kakutani

''First Among Equals'' is propelled by a single question - which of three men will become Prime Minister - and its 400-odd pages are mainly concerned with giving us random anecdotes and details about its heroes and their women. Whatever amusing tidbits the book contains about British parliamentary politics will doubtless be lost on the majority of American readers....None of the characters has any particular grace with words. The reader wonders how these characters ever got elected to Parliament - much less considered as candidates for Prime Minister. -- New York Times