Pillars of Fire

by Steve Shagan

Tom Lawford, television journalist and CIA agent, vows revenge when an old friend is knifed, but he gets more than he bargained for when his vengeance involves him in a Libyan plot to construct an ICBM and destroy Israel

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

370 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

About the author

Stephen H. "Steve" Shagan (October 25, 1927 – November 30, 2015) was an American novelist, screenwriter, and television and film producer.

Shagan was born in Brooklyn, New York to Rachel (nee Rosenzweig) and Barnard H. "Barney" Shagan. Barney ran a pharmacy, Shagan's Pharmacy, at 49 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, with his brother, Samuel. After Barney's death the pharmacy went bankrupt and Samuel liquidated the assets at public auction in 1949. Steve dropped out of high school and joined the United States Coast Guard when World War II broke out. While in the Coast Guard he started writing to pass the time.

Shagan came to Hollywood in 1958 with his wife, Elizabeth Florance "Betty" Ricker, whom he married on November 18, 1956 in New York City. At first he did odd jobs, like as a stagehand at a little theater and pulling cables at MGM Studios in the middle of the night. Eventually he started working on scripts and then produced the Tarzan television show on location in Mexico. Betty talked him into to quitting and just concentrate on writing. Betty, a former fashion model, was the daughter of Philomena (nee Pisano) and Al Ricker. Her mother, a dancer, later remarried, to Mayo J. Duca, a Boston jazz trumpet player. Philomena Pisano was the daughter of Katherine "Kitty" Bingham and Fred Anthony Pisano, of the musical-comedy vaudeville team of Pisano and Bingham.

Shagan wrote the screenplay for and co-produced the 1973 film Save the Tiger, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a Writers Guild of America Award. His novelization of Save the Tiger, which was his first novel, was actually published a year prior to the film's release. He had written the script first, and while he was shopping it around Hollywood, he wrote the novel to help him deal with the stress of trying to sell the script, which took two years to get produced. As he was finishing the book his typewriter broke and author Harold Robbins loaned him his.

Shagan went on to write the novel City of Angels and its film adaptation, Hustle, both released in 1975. He then wrote the screenplay for and co-produced Voyage of the Damned, for which he received another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Adapted Screenplay. This was followed by Nightwing, which he adapted from the novel of same name by Martin Cruz Smith. He then adapted his 1979 novel The Formula into a 1980 film of the same name, which he also co-produced and which reunited him with Save the Tiger director John G. Avildsen. Of the performances by Brando and Scott in The Formula, Steve Shagan reportedly stated: "I sensed a loss of purpose, a feeling that they didn't want to work any more and had come to think of acting as playing with choo-choo trains."

Subsequent films written by Shagan include The Sicilian, which he adapted from the novel by Mario Puzo, and Primal Fear, based on the novel by William Diehl. Shagan also wrote the teleplay for the made-for-television movie Gotti, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special.

Shagan died at his home in Los Angeles, California, on November 30, 2015.

Reviews

[David Lucero · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book by Steve Shagan I read and was not disappointed. It's a suspenseful novel about terrorism and their desire to acquire weapons of mass destruction and wreak havoc across the world. It's full of suspense, good details and research by the author, and page-turning excitement. I enjoyed it so much I followed up with another book by this same author.

[Shane W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miałam problem z oceną tej książki. Jest to jasne, że mamy tu do czynienia z książką niewymagającą specjalnie. Przyznam, że początkowo myślałem, że nie jest to pozycja dla mnie, ale skusiło mnie umiejscowienie akcji i tematyka, która w literaturze non-fiction jest mi bliska. Jako, że trzymałam te książkę dłoniach zupełnie przypadkiem i miałam możliwości pożyczki, postanowiłam zaryzykować. Lektura bardzo mnie wciągnęła. Poza Stanami Zjednoczonymi i krajami Bliskiego Wschodu, o których czytać lubię pojawił się też Berlin, w którym mieszkałem i który dalej kocham, więc lektura tym przyjemniejsza. Książka zdecydowanie niegłupia. Martwiło mnie na początku, czy nie załamię się jakimiś sformułowaniami, które kiedyś uchodziły za powszechne mimo swojego nacechowania rasistowskiego/seksistowskiego etc. i czasami trochę odczułam ból oka natomiast jako, że były one użyte w dialogach dałam radę przez nie przebrnąć tłumacząc sobie to nieco (tragicznym) realizmem. Oceniłem najpierw na dwie gwiazdki, ale zdecydowałem się wraz z dodaniem recenzji podwyższyć z uwagi na aspekt czysto hedonistyczny. Nie jest to bardzo dobra książka, nie wniosła zbyt wiele do mojego życia, ale zdecydowanie trzyma w napięciu, ma swój klimat i jako przygodówka-przerywnik sprawdziła się bardzo dobrze. Do czytania często puszczałem sobie muzykę Muslimgauze. Polecam takie połączenie.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1990. International thriller.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather typical action book - with an atomic threat and cars blowing up when falling off a cliff.

[Amardeep · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good suspenseful thriller. Not great, but good.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old Children's Book. Liked it as a kid, but haven't read it in years.