Siege
Siege
by
Edwin Corley
Stein & Day – New York – 1969 Hardcover
Avon Books – New York – 1970 Paperback
“The bridges linking Manhattan Island with the outside world
began blowing at precisely twelve minutes after three…”
Thus begins a novel that is like reading tomorrow morning’s newspaper
today.
A great city lies under siege – and the nation is powerless to help
it.
An expertly trained black militant army has taken over the island of
Manhattan. Their goal: a separate state for American Negroes.
The hero is Major General Stanley Shawcross, the brilliant black
military leader of the takeover. The political leader of the rebellion
is William Gray, a dedicated, seemingly fearless agitator who will use
any means to win freedom for American blacks. His “enforcer,” Raymond
Carpenter, is a militant poet – and terrorist.
Set against these men are a President whose understanding of black
frustration makes his dilemma even more excruciating; a terrified Mayor
who seems unable to act decisively; a black U.S. Army Colonel who is
convinced that separatism is the wrong answer for black Americans.
These are the characters who converge and clash during the three bloody days of the siege, in which the country’s racial polarization becomes frighteningly clear. You will see how the takeover is planned, prepared for, and carried off. The story builds from page to page, chapter to chapter as the conflicting forces threaten to tear America apart.