Seven Days in May (novel)

For the 1964 film based on the novel, see Seven Days in May.

Seven Days in May

Cover of first edition
Author	Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II
Language	English
Publisher	Harper & Row
Publication date	1962
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	342 pp.

Seven Days in May is an American political thriller novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II, first published in hardcover by Harper & Row in 1962.[1]

The plot concerns an attempted military coup in the United States.

Reception

The book was a great success and was number one on The New York Times bestseller list for the weeks of November 18, 1962;[2] December 2–9, 1962;[2] and March 3, 1963.[3] (The weeks of December 16 to February 24 were not listed because of the 1962–63 New York City newspaper strike.) It was adapted into a successful American movie, also named Seven Days in May, in 1964; a Soviet three-episode miniseries, named "The Conspiracy", in 1971; and a four-episode miniseries, named The Last Argument of Kings [ru], in 1983.

Awards

The novel was nominated for the 1989 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award.[1]

Adaptations

The book has twice been adapted for screen:

• Seven Days in May (1964), starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and Fredric March,
• The Enemy Within (1994), a HBO film starring Forest Whitaker, Sam Waterston, and Jason Robards.

See also

• Mount Weather, which was mentioned in the novel
• Patriot Freeway, which was formerly the 'War road' (the dirt road mentioned at the beginning of the novel)

References

1. Seven Days in May title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
2. The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 1962
3. The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 1963