The Aquitaine Progression

The Aquitaine Progression is a novel by Robert Ludlum originally published in 1984.

Plot summary
Joel Converse is a lawyer, having previously been a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. Because of his wartime experiences with Command Saigon, in the form of a psychopathic general named "Mad" Marcus Delavane, he is chosen to thwart a cabal of former generals bent on world domination.

The Generals

 * Erich Leifhelm, a former Field Marshal from Nazi Germany, who ingratiated himself with the West after the defeat of Hitler.
 * Chaim Abrams, a tough-as-nails sabra, a hero to Israeli independence.
 * Jacques-Louis Bertholdier, a hero of the French Resistance who revels in his past as an assistant to De Gaulle.
 * Jan van Headmer, a South African general known as the "slayer of Soweto."
 * George Marcus Delavane, a bloodthirsty U.S. general from the Vietnam war.

Publication history

 * 1984, US, Random House ISBN 0-394-53674-6, Pub date February 12, 1984, Hardback
 * 1985, US, Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-24900-2, Pub date February 1, 1985, Paperback
 * 1984, UK, Grafton ISBN 0-246-11418-5 Pub date March 1984, Hardback
 * 1999, UK, HarperCollins ISBN 0-586-05277-1, Pub date January 4, 1999, Paperback