Balance of Power.
BALANCE OF POWER balance of power, system of international relations in which nations seek to maintain an approximate equilibrium of power among many rivals, thus preventing the preponderance of any one state. Crucial to the system is a willingness on the part of individual national governments to change alliances as the situation demands in order to maintain the balance. Thucydides' description of Greece in the 5th cent. B.C.. Richard North Patterson, 2003. Read by Patricia Kalember. Books on Tape. 18 cds. No time listed. $112.00.0-7366-9567-2, Vinyl; plot notes. A Kerry Kilcannon is the returning hero of Patterson's novel. He is now the newly elected Democratic President, ready to marry his journalist girlfriend at the beginning of the story. Almost before their marriage has begun, their happiness is shattered by the tragic shooting of three members of the First Lady's family. Kilcannon, who has long been a proponent of gun control laws, now begins the biggest political battle of his life, fighting the gun lobby in court and in the Congress. The story is fraught with blackmail and political intrigue, but sometimes gets bogged down in the legal arguments, pro and con, about gun control gun control, government limitation of the purchase and ownership of firearms. The availability of guns is controlled by nations and localities throughout the world. In the United States the "right of the people to keep and bear arms" is guaranteed by the Constitution, but has been variously interpreted through the years.. Kalemher has a smooth, professional voice, but she has a tendency to pause a little too long in the middle of sentences. Nonetheless, listeners will find the debate and the action worth their attention. Nola Theiss, Sanibel, FL
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