Recommended reading – The Doomsday Conspiracy, by Sidney Sheldon (1991):

This is my favorite of all Sidney Sheldon’s books. Very different from his other glossy, more mainstream stories, this one surprised me; an entertaining and suspenseful science-fiction thriller. Fans of the movies Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Fugitive (1993), and the TV show The X-Files will see similar plot elements in The Doomsday Conspiracy.

– Jack Kost.

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The Doomsday Conspiracy

By Sidney Sheldon.

Paperback.

Published 1991.

Published by Warner Books.

ISBN 13: 9780006472087

ISBN 10: 0006472087

ASIN: 0006472087

Sample:

Prologue:

Uetendorf, Switzerland

Sunday, October 14, 1500 Hours

The witnesses standing at the edge of the field were staring in horrified silence, too stunned to speak. The scene that lay before them was grotesque, a primeval nightmare dredged up from some deep, dark depths of primitive man’s collective consciousness. Each witness had a different reaction. One fainted. A second one vomited. A woman was shaking uncontrollably. Another one thought: I’m going to have a heart attack! The elderly priest clutched his beads and crossed himself. Help me, Father. Help us all. Protect us against this evil incarnate. We have finally seen the face of Satan. It is the end of the world. Judgment Day has come.

Armageddon is here. … Armageddon … Armageddon …

Description from cover jacket:

‘The witnesses standing at the edge of the field were staring in horrified silence, too stunned to speak. The scene that lay before them was grotesque, a primeval nightmare…’

So begins The Doomsday Conspiracy, Sidney Sheldon’s eleventh novel and one that has been called his most ingenious and surprising. Navy Commander Robert Bellamy is assigned to investigate the crash of a weather balloon in the Swiss Alps. All witnesses to the accident must be found and questioned. However, for Bellamy it is the beginning of a journey of terror into the incomprehensible.

From Washington to London, Zurich, Rome, and Paris the story unfolds to reveal Bellamy’s past — why the woman he loves most cannot return his love, why his friends become his deadly enemies, and why the world must never learn an incredible secret shielded by an unknown lethal force.

Master of the unexpected. Master of the game. Best-selling author Sidney Sheldon has created The Doomsday Conspiracy, a tightly plotted, breathlessly paced thriller — and compelling love story — that confirms his best-selling status.

On this day in music history - Rossini Recital, by Cecilia Bartoli (1991):

Rossini Recital

Album by Cecilia Bartoli,

released February 8, 1991.

Track list:

La Pastorella; Belta Crudele; Il Trovatore; La Regata Veneziana; Mi Lagnero Tacendo; Il Risentimento; La Grande Coquette; Ariette a Lancienne; L'orpheline Du Tyrol; La Legende de Marguerita; Nizza; L'ame Delaissee; Canzonetta Spagnuola; Giovanni D'arco.

On this day in movie history - This Gun for Hire (1991):

This Gun for Hire

directed by Lou Antonio,

written by Nevin Schreiner,

based on the novel A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene,

was released in the United States on January 9, 1991.
Music by Dana Kaproff.

Cast:

Robert Wagner, Nancy Everhard, Fredric Lehne, John Harkins, John McConnell, Joe Warfield, Kristina Loggia, Patrik Baldauff, Lenore Banks, James Borders, Dean Cochran, David Dahlgren, Margaret Dubuisson, Robert Earle, Ron Flagge, Larry Gamell Jr., Leslie Fortenberry, C. Robert Holloway, George Jones, Danny Kamin, Eliott Keener, Fred Lerner, Soline McLain, Marco St. John, Taylor Simpson, Carol Sutton.

On this day in movie history - Dillinger (1991):

Dillinger

directed by Rupert Wainwright,

written by Paul F. Edwards,

was released in the United States on January 6, 1991.
Music by David McHugh.

Cast:

Mark Harmon, Sherilyn Fenn, Will Patton, Bruce Abbott, Tom Bower, Patricia Arquette, Xander Berkeley, Yvonne Suhor, John Philbin, Amy Yasbeck, David Neidorf, Vince Edwards, Lawrence Tierney, Joe Guzaldo, Michael Krawic, Ramsay Midwood, Ralph Wood, Tom White, Malcolm Rothman, Kurt Naebig, Rod Sell, Peggy Roeder, Lucy Childs, Joe Greco, Will Zahrn, Larry Brandenburg, Tim Grimm, Laurel Cronin, Mike McKune, Bob O'Donnell, Greg Kinnear, Larry Gittelson, Rebecca Borter, Jim Ortlieb, Gary Houston, Lance Alberti, Bill Belongia, Ernest Capponi, Laurence S. Chess, Bart Heimburger, Michelle Radish, Tom Simons, Mark Smith, Steven Marcus Smith, Neil Willenson, Sam Younghans.

Recommended reading - The Sixteenth Round (1974) & Lazarus and the Hurricane (1991):

The Sixteenth Round & Lazarus and the Hurricane

Both books filmed as The Hurricane (1999), directed by Norman Jewison.

The Sixteenth Round

From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472

By Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.

First published 1974.

Published by Chicago Review Press.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1569765677

ISBN-13: 978-1569765678

Description:

A document of life lived in the center of hell. – Sports Illustrated.

When they come to list the greatest boxers, Hurrican's name isn't likely to pop up in the Top 10. But when they come to list the greatest figures of the 20th century, he'll be alone at the peak. – Boston Globe.

A shocking, savage and brilliant indictment of racial injustice and the inhumanity of the prison. – Globe and Mail.

Carter's scorching and poetic autobiography. – Toronto Sun.

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was riding a wave of success. The survivor of a difficult youth, he rose to become a top contender for the middleweight boxing crown. But his career crashed to a halt on May 26, 1967, when he and another man were found guilty of the murder of three white people and sentenced to three consecutive life terms. Written from prison and first published in 1974, The Sixteenth Round chronicles Hurricane's journey from the ring to solitary confinement. The book was his cry for help to the public, an attempt to set the record straight and force a new trial. Bob Dylan wrote his classic anthem "Hurricane" about his struggle, and Muhammad Ali and thousands of others took up his cause. The power of Carter's voice, as well as his ironic humor, makes this an eloquent, soul-stirring account of a remarkable life.

Lazarus and the Hurricane

The Freeing of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

By Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton.

First published 1991.

Published by St. Martin's Griffin.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0312253974

ISBN-13: 978-0312253974

Description:

A moving chronicle of the seven-year-battle to free boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter from wrongful imprisonment reveals the role of a group of Canadians in winning Carter's release.

On this day in movie history - The Last Boy Scout (1991):

The Last Boy Scout

directed by Tony Scott,

written by Shane Black,

based on a story by Shane Black and Greg Hicks,

was released in the United States on December 13, 1991.
Music by Michael Kamen.

Cast:

Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron, Danielle Harris, Halle Berry, Bruce McGill, Kim Coates, Chelcie Ross, Joe Santos, Clarence Felder, Frank Collison, Billy Blanks, Sara Suzanne Brown, Eddie Griffin.

On this day in movie history - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991):

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

directed by Nicholas Meyer,

written by Nicholas Meyer and Denny Martin Flinn,

based on a story by Leonard Nimoy, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal,

was released in the United States on December 6, 1991.
Music by Cliff Eidelman.

Cast:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Kim Cattrall, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, Rosanna DeSoto, Iman, Christian Slater, Brock Peters, René Auberjonois, Michael Dorn.

On this day in movie history - Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991):

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

directed by Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper and Eleanor Coppola,

written by Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper,

was released in the United States on November 27, 1991.
Music by Todd Boekelheide.
Documentary on the making of Apocalypse Now (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Cast:

Francis Ford Coppola, Eleanor Coppola, Orson Welles, John Milius, George Lucas, Tom Sternberg, Sam Bottoms, Albert Hall, Frederic Forrest, Laurence Fishburne, Gian-Carlo Coppola, Roman Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Dean Tavoularis, Fred Roos, Martin Sheen, Vittorio Storaro, Robert Duvall, Rona Barrett, Tom Snyder, Monty Cox, Doug Claybourne, Dennis Hopper, Marlon Brando, Randy Carter, Robert De Niro, J. David Jones.

On this day in movie history - Cape Fear (1991):

Cape Fear

directed by Martin Scorsese,

written by Wesley Strick,

based on the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald,

was released in the United States on November 15, 1991.
Music by Bernard Herrmann and Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Balsam, Illeana Douglas, Fred Thompson, Zully Montero, Craig Henne, Forest Burton, Edgar Allan Poe IV, Rod Ball, W. Paul Bodie, Joel Kolker, Antoni Corone, Tamara Jones, Roger Pretto, Parris Buckner, Margot Moreland, Will Knickerbocker, Robert L. Gerlach, Bruce E. Holdstein, Richard Wasserman, Paul Nagle Jr., Paul Froehler, Mary Ellen O'Brien, Jody Wilson, C.C. Costigan, Domenica Cameron-Scorsese, Gar Stephen, Billy D. Lucas, Ken Collins, Linda Perri, Libby Moyer, Catherine Scorsese, Charles Scorsese, Jackie Davis, George Grafas, Esther Rolle, Ken Waters.