When Charlie Palmer, a newly elected congressman speaks out against the realities of corrupt party politics, government waste, and injustice, he is urged to run for the presidency, and his enemies will stop at nothing--not even murder--to destroy him. 40,000 first printing."
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Freshman Congressman Charlie Palmer is a maverick, a politician without pretension who freely speaks his mind about the corruption of the two-party system, government waste, and pork-barrel politics. Suddenly, after a particularly contentious party convention, Charlie finds himself backed by a Midwest billionaire for an independent run for president. Propelled by a groundswell of support from disenchanted voters, he rattles the cushy lives of the entrenched politicos on both sides of the aisle, who join forces with the rumormongers to destroy him. Gross, the author of best sellers like A Call for Revolution (Ballantine, 1993), makes some interesting points about the seeming obsolescence of the Electoral College and the two-party system, and he's clearly a student of history, but his preachy and pedantic style will turn off all but the most diligent readers of political thrillers. Not recommended.?Susan Clifford, Palos Verdes Lib. Dist., Cal.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Veteran muckraker Gross, who has battled big government in such books as Government Racket, Call for Revolution, and Tax Racket, here takes his message to the pages of political fiction. Just months after he takes his congressional seat, 43-year-old software company exec Charlie Palmer narrowly misses getting a vice presidential nod at his party's convention, then runs for president himself as an independent. Fearing the promised reforms of populist Palmer (eliminate political parties and the Electoral College, and reduce government), forces of the establishment will stop at nothing to curb him. Gross provides romance, betrayal, blackmail, and murder, plus his own positions on topics ranging from the Mining Act of 1872 to the Air Force "Airline of the VIPs." Characters are two-dimensional and their dialogue tends to the clunky (with all those messages to deliver), but the anti^-status quo, anti^-big government philosophy is consistent, and justice prevails. Michele Leber
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
This is a Laugher!!!!!,
By coalpuss (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Man of Destiny (Mass Market Paperback)
Here is a completely implausible premise we are asked to swallow in that a young congressman, only 30 days in office ends up being nominated at the convention for president! Yeah, right! There is a lot of political money floating around along with conspiracies galore and the requisite beautiful D.C. woman who (of course) is gorgeous and the man who would be president is "madly in love" within days of meeting her. The dialogue is stilted and lacks any human touch, as we are asked to suspend reason. The man does get the presidency in an unprecedented manner when none of the 3 candidates get the amount of electoral votes required and so forth. Still with grit and determination I made myself finish this howler, since I was caught with nothing else to read, but the newspaper. I must say I enjoyed another bit of hilarity upon reading the one other review of this fairy tale! Just because he thought the book reflected his political views he found this book compelling and even wished it were longer!! While I kept wishing it had been given a good editing. Oh, well that's why we all read different books. This one was a real stinker, IMO!! Luckily I had picked it up at a used book store for $1.25, which I guess was a fair price although they had to pay me to take it (just kidding!)
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite a page-turner, but very close,
By A Customer
This review is from: MAN DESTINY (Hardcover)
"Man of Destiny" is every political conservative's dream and every political junkie's nightmare. The story centers around policial neophyte Charlie Palmer and his meteoric rise to the presidency of the United States. Through a series of unlikely, but entirely possible circumstances, Charlie, an average "Joe" with definite Libertarian/conservative political views, believes that government is horribly bloated and needs to be radically changed. He also believes that a majority of Americans agree with his conclusions. The unexpected death of his representative opens the door for him to not only be elected to Congress, but to play a pivotal role in his party's convention. His radical leanings capture both the imagination of the country and a wealthy Western busisnessman who bankrolls Charlie's independent run for the presidency. Underneath this "rags to riches" political story are two significant subplots: Charlie's past and the opposition of the two major political parties. While Gross' book was an exciting read, it lacked several things that could have taken it several steps closer to being completely believable. These include:
1. Charlie's interaction with the mainstream media. A political candidate in today's media environment would literally be swamped by the media frenzy. The focus in the book is on a small group of media personalities and their reactions to Charlie. I thought the conflict between Charlie and the media could have really been developed to show the love/hate relationship politicians have with the media.
2. Charlie's relationship with his chief of staff. While mentioned several times, it was never really developed to the point where it could have been a significant part of the story. It almost seemed like it was an afterthought.
3. The lack of character development of most of the major characters. The emphasis of the book is on the political revolution and Charlie's role in that revolution. Not enough space is devoted to really developing the characters and how they think, reason, and feel.
I completely enjoyed the book because of its topic and the result. But the book could have been twice as long and, as a result, twice as good. For everyone who is fed up with politics as usual, and dares to dream about what could be, this is a definite read. A solid effort
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