The Fourth Estate

In a stunning display of storytelling reminiscent of his blockbuster Kane & Abel, Jeffrey Archer creates two extraordinary protagonists, whose life stories could have been taken from today's headlines, and pits them against each other as each strives to be the first to create a global media empire and become the most powerful man on earth.

Lubji Hoch survived World War II on luck, guts, and ruthlessness. At the war's end, renamed Richard Armstrong, he buys a floundering newspaper in Berlin and deviously puts his competitors out of business. But it isn't enough. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Keith Townsend, the Oxford-educated son of a millionaire newspaper owner, takes over his family's business. His energy and brilliant strategic thinking quickly make him the leading newspaper publisher in Australia. Still, he longs to move on to the world stage.

As both Armstrong and Townsend seize control of everything they see, their ambitions collide on a global scale. But suddenly they both find themselves threatened by financial disaster and enormous debt. Frantic to save his crumbling empire, each man turns desperate. One's quest will lead to triumph, the other's will end in tragedy in this awesome tale of wealth and corruption, desire and destruction.