It was the 1950's. The white-hot Cold War was raging between The USA and The USSR. And, in Joseph Stalin's mind, nothing would be quite as hot as assassinating the ultimate symbol of Western machismo culture - the actor John Wayne. Thus, the elite Russian spy squad of Zavert, Boris Gila, Alexei Aleksandra and Ivan Viznapu start on a dangerous (and hysterical) mission that brings them in contact with gangsters Mickey Cohen and Johnny Stompanato, the billionaire Howard Hughes, the producer/director Dick Powell, the actress Susan Hayward, countless others and the big man himself - John Wayne.What transpires is as zany as John Wayne playing a role that was written for Marlon Brando... whoops! That really happened, and the result was 'The Conqueror," which plays a prominent role in to kill the duke, Sam Moffie's fifth novel. Brilliantly satiric, the book also captures political duplicity and amorality, which makes it all too relevant to today's world. The Cold War, more than ready for prime time satire, lets Moffie keep the heat on the establishment and most of all, those in authority.
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