America's Last Days: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Douglas MacKinnon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2007

Is the United States of America the nation our Founding Fathers intended it to be? Or has the government lost sight of our ideals? To some of the most powerful men and women in the country—including a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former Director of the FBI—the answer is growing increasingly obvious, and so is the only possible solution: The time has come to revolt. Their daring plans will not only drive a government to its knees, they will change the course of history.  

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books; 1st edition (January 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843958022
• ISBN-13: 978-0843958027
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,186,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read., March 8, 2007

By 

W. Hudson (NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: America's Last Days: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed the story itself, and the way it was written.
However, I think in the ending the author wanted to leave room for a sequel, and in doing so, instead of leaving a little room, he left a gaping hole.

I think the ending could have been much better.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A palatable read offset by shallow character development, March 29, 2007

By 

Freeman "The last bastion of freedom is insid... (Kabul, Afghanistan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: America's Last Days: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

REVIEWER'S NOTE: This review contains reveals plot twists, although I doubt that will take away any reader's enjoyment of the novel.

America's Last Days has a highly interesting premise that I find wholly plausible. In times of increasingly bitter partisanship in Washington, the only thing that keeps us from being embroiled in a second civil war is the fact that we're soft. If the power ever does go out, all bets are off. That's what kept me engrossed in this book. It really could happen. All it would take is a dedicated core group of motivated, intelligent insiders.

Author Douglas MacKinnon loses stars for uninspiring character development and dialog. His characters feel like they might be based on real people, but they speak in ways I cannot imagine real people talking.

Lots of people will hate America's Last Days or love it based on their own political viewpoints. That makes it likely that more than half of this book's reviews will be highly biased and based not on readability but on personal enjoyment. There is certainly nothing wrong with that.

Readers who classify themselves as progressives or left leaning will probably not feel good about this novel. Readers who classify themselves as classical liberals or right leaning or libertarian will probably enjoy the book immensely.

One of the most contentious events in the novel will be the nuclear detonation near the end. Could such an event happen? Absolutely. In fact, I think such an event is quite likely in the next 50 years. Whether the device will be triggered by homegrown groups is not certain, but there are plenty of separatist movements inside this country, and there always have been.[...] None of them has been as competent as the 1776 Command or the country would already have split asunder.

There are many useful historical tidbits scattered throughout the book that you may not have picked up in school. These relate primarily to the Civil War.

I can heartily recommend America's Last Days, both as an entertaining read, and a thought provoking statement about one potential future the United States is facing. An apropos novel about uncertain times written in uncertain times.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!, January 21, 2007

By 

Jeff K "JK" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Last Days: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a great page-turner. I couldn't stop reading it. It's set in the near future and presents an incumbent conservative US President with a tremendous moral dilemma--how to prevent an elite group wanting secession from killing millions of US citizens. It's actually pretty scary stuff.

Strong, life-like liberal characters make the plot all the more real. I would compare the 'top' Democrat in the book with Barak Obama or even Hillary. He's someone who has strong convictions and stands up for what he believes in... in an eloquent and inspiring manner.

Also, if you've ever visited DC you'll have a better appreciation for the book. You get an insiders view of DC: everything from the Secret Service to the people inside the Pentagon, the White House staff to the Hotel Washington dinner conversations.

The short chapters and detail-oriented narration make the story even more fast-paced and believable. Overall it's a fascinating read, for anyone who has anything to say about the current state of the Union.