33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Montana Perspective, August 29, 2006
This review is from: THE THIRD REVOLUTION (Paperback)
Take a populist libertarian governor, throw in some free range buffalo, mix it up with a massive federal legislative program and an incident at Sturgis, and toss in some nuclear missiles for seasoning, and you have The Third Revolution.
I fully expected this book to be the Libertarian party's answer to Atlas Shrugged, though lengthwise, the whole book (at 335 pages) comes in at 200 pages lighter than John Galt's speech alone. (Sit down, objectivists, I'm just funnin' yas.)
While it does have that element, complete with speeches from various personalities (and a horse named Cato), what I found was a pretty darn good story.
Governor Ben Kane, is a restauranteur-cum-politician who finds himself at the center of a growing storm. The federal government has enacted legislation taking the country closer to collectivism, which doesn't set well with folks, but for the most part no one does anything about it. The storm picks up strength when a National Guard unit called up to provide security at Sturgis overreacts and kills some bikers, some of whom are Montanans.
As resentment toward the federal government grows, the Montana legislature passes a Nullification law.
Inside the beltway, this goes over like a lead balloon, and the president and his advisers try to figure out a way to bring the lost sheep of Montana back into the fold. Back-channel negotiations fail to produce any results. Plus, there's a slight problem: someone has cracked the command-and-control systems for the nuclear missiles, and Governor Kane now has his finger on the proverbial button.
In the meantime, a wealthy entrepreneur sets his buffalo loose on the open range, as his land can no longer contain them, and he can't get federal grazing permits. Governor Kane allows him to run his herd over state (formerly federal) lands, which draws the attention of the Blackfeet and Crow who have been running their own small herds.
The story comes to a head in the Montana legislature, where both houses unanimously pass a declaration of secession, which Kane signs into law. He finds himself surprised by the support of other western governors and officials from both the U.S. and Canada, and we, the readers, are left to wonder, "What happens next?" So, we'll have to stay tuned for Middle America.
The criticisms I have are fairly mild, and in fact, some of them may be addressed in Middle America. The treatment of the "opposition" was a little superficial in my mind. There were some reversions to stereotype (e.g., a farmer with a John Deere hat) which isn't all bad, and I did get a little bent out of shape when it was suggested that most of the state's population didn't give a lot of thought to what the economic consequences of secession might be. While many ranchers and farmers are simple folks, that doesn't necessarily make them simpletons.
Those are pretty minor quibbles, though.
One thing that struck me was that Ben Kane has a more-than-superficial resemblance to current Montana governor Brian Schweitzer, from the "aw-shucks, I'm just one of the guys" shtick right down to the bolo tie. I can't help but wonder if Schweitzer wasn't a model for Kane.
Overall, it's a good "what-if?" story, and I did like the way that the "Third Revolution" was brought about incrementally with a series of seemingly disconnected events. That's how things happen.
I heartily recommend this book. You can read it as just a story, or as a libertarian tract, and it works in both directions. Buy it here.
If you'll pardon me, now, I have to get started on Middle America, because I need to see how Montana's going to dig itself out of this mess.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not preachy, nail-biting nonetheless, August 27, 2005
This review is from: THE THIRD REVOLUTION (Paperback)
In an era when TV networks grind out Beltway-worshipping pap like "The West Wing," Anthony F. Lewis has written a novel that convincingly talks about the Real Deal: what liberties Americans have lost and how they might get them back.
You might expect lengthy John Galt-like political speeches in a novel like this. There aren't any. You might expect black-and-white good guys and bad guys. Well, there's no question who we're meant to root for in this book, but solutions aren't presented as simple, and Lewis' characters are driven as much by messy circumstances as they are by ideology. The novel's scenario is absolutely credible, its characters are well-drawn, and the suspense is nail-biting.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
British Bikes, Brewing Beer and Buffalo Burgers., October 8, 2006
This review is from: THE THIRD REVOLUTION (Paperback)
The United States is under control of one party. They have everything from the House to the White House and plan to use this power to save Americans from themselves. The One Nation Bill is passed giving the Federal Government complete control of the major functions of the states, including law enforcement and education.
Few people in the middle states like this, but what can they do? They don't have the votes, the money or the numbers to stop the Bill.
So the Third Revolution starts when the Governor of Montana decides he will NOT just stand around and let things happens. He decides to fight it. But while he tries to stay within the system, fighting it within the courts and the back rooms, his principles put fire back into the people of Montana. And before he knows it his ideals of freedom and liberty are being taken seriously, not just by the voters of his own state, but by millions of Americans. He has to pick between his love for his nation and his love for the founding principles that formed it.
A great book. Paced just right, good characters, interesting, realistic and funny all at the same time.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
