American Hero [Import] [Paperback]

Larry Beinhart (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 398 pages
• Publisher: Arrow Books; New Ed edition (1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099337010
• ISBN-13: 978-0099337010
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,109,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun, cynical book. Buy the paperback edition., August 18, 2003

By 

Booksmart Enterprises, Inc. "trustmeonthis" (Boca Raton, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Hero (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a slam-bang masterpiece of political cynicism. But unless you're a collector with a need to own first editions, buy the paperback rather than the hardcover: it adds four chapters that help tie up loose ends and it gives the author a chance to poke fun at himself, among others: "I had written three mysteries with a 'series' character. Although they had -- where the hell are you going to find a writer to refrain from saying this -- great critical success, they had not been nearly as popular as I thought they ought to be. I was in search of the formula for greater commercial success.... I resolved to do two things -- get away from the series and become more centrist. Less humorous. Less cynical. Less thoughtful. Less intelligent."

Readers (and reviewers) who complained that the private-eye thread of this book's dual storyline was merely conventional have missed the point: Beinhart isn't rewriting Mickey Spillane, he's updating Machiavelli.

Beinhart's previous books are also worth seeking out.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important novel by an under-rated writer, March 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: American Hero (Mass Market Paperback)

There's something about _American Hero_ that pulls at the edges of the reader's mind: you will not turn a page without pausing to think, "Could this really happen? DID this really happen?" I'm a veteran of the Gulf War. I was there. I KNOW what I saw.

And yet...

_American Hero_ is putatively the novel on which the hit film "Wag the Dog" is based. A president intent on reelection, a film producer confronted with the biggest project ever, a war made for the screen. But however much Beinhart's opus depends on the world of film, that paradigm doesn't have enough dimension to capture the essence of _American Hero_ in return. You NEED to read this.

The book is complex, heavily footnoted, and written in such a manner as to prove itself fact or fiction, whichever you prefer to believe. Chances are, you won't KNOW what to believe by time you read the final summation.

Beinhart, whose other work (_You Get What You Pay For_, _Foreign Exchange_ and _No One Rides For Free_, as well as the non-fiction _How to Write a Mystery_) hasn't achieved the popularity it deserves, has delivered a masterpiece.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fact or Fiction?, October 31, 2001

By 

Hirting pd4 (Herndon, Va) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Hero (Mass Market Paperback)

I love a good conspiracy theory and this is one of the best. This was a very interesting novel. The thought had never crossed my mind that the Persian Gulf War was a false war. This opened my mind to the realization that a fake war could be a reality. Although the book begins with the disclaimer,
This is a work of fiction. Many public figures appear in the text. Their speech and actions as depicted here are figments of the author's imagination except where supported by the public record.
, it appeared that the Larry Beinhart knew what he was talking about, that or he has a really great imagination. I really liked the book because it was about the side of politics that no one ever really sees. The dirty, no holds bar, the ends justify the means, kind of stuff. A life of politics takes a lot of strength and courage. The two timelines that Beinhart used made the story flow better and gave a more "common person" side to it. Overall, I felt it was a great book and I'm off to find the movie version.