Destination 2020 Whitehouse

The obstacles against women in military or political careers are tackled head on by Kelli Fitzgerald, the red-haired protagonist of Grant's followup to Night Flying Avenger. Inspired by her pilot grandfather, Kelli sets her sights on a career as a navy pilot, lands a spot at Annapolis and wins top honors and a coveted assignment to jet carrier duty on the U.S.S. Nimitz. Sexual harassment is a daily event, leading to a violent episode that will spawn unpleasant repercussions years later. She's selected for Top Gun fighter pilot training, sees combat in the Gulf War, leads the navy's showpiece flying group, the Blue Angels, then gains entr e to Washington politics as an aide to the Secretary of the Navy. When an old flame, pro quarterback Mark Palmer, re-enters her life, Kelli resigns her post to marry him and become a mother, but eventually boredom drives her to run for Congress. The author's ample experience on aircraft carriers (he was a navy pilot in WWII) and in D.C. (as an aide to an admiral) allows him to depict both environments with authentic detail, and he conveys the difficulties for women in these fields. But superwoman, ultrapatriot, overachiever Kelli is so career-driven that all else is sidelined: her few friends, her marriage, and her children are barely mentioned, and she appears robotic and cold. Still, Kelli's bold bid for the presidency, which includes a classic smear campaign, is neatly executed and adds some texture to the narrative. (Sept.)