Written
by a man who has spent much of his life criticizing the waste and
corruption that has become the
hallmark
of contemporary
governments,
this is an informative and, at times, frustrating book. I use the
word frustrating,
because,
although we are well
aware
of the situation
we
are
unable
to do anything to
change it.
In
Man
of Destiny,
Charles Palmer, an ordinary IT worker, is propelled into the top
position in America.
Although
not initially
a contender for the
presidency, Palmer is
spurred on by a genuine concern for his country. Running
as
an independent, he
soon realizes that he is
on the same wavelength as
the people, but
the
two major parties are colluding to stop him – by fair means or
foul.
The
novel is
not a major
literary
event,
but
it does
offer
thoughtful
and well researched
ideas
and facts, and
it
gives an easily absorbed picture
of the American electoral system. The main characters are more
or less
believable, and the pace of the novel is such that interest is
maintained from the first to the last page. We
may
possibly
feel that the many
underhand
plots
against Palmer's reputation, and even his life, are something that
would find
more credibility in a B-class movie, but when we look around us we
realize that this, unfortunately, is how it is, especially when
power, status and money are all at stake. In the race for the top
job, Gross makes it very clear that, for
most politicians,
a desire to do something worthwhile for one's
country is
certainly not the number one priority.
As
Gross writes on page 120, '… his
(Palmer's)
enemy was not Nazism, or Communism. It was American bureaucratic and
political insensitivity, the unprincipled waste of people's money,
and the distortion of the campaign and election process. It wasn't
democracy that was failing. It was politics'.
Definitely
a book worth reading.
The
novel is
not a major
literary
event,
but
it does
offer
thoughtful
and well researched
ideas
and facts, and
it
gives an easily absorbed picture
of the American electoral system. The main characters are more
or less
believable, and the pace of the novel is such that interest is
maintained from the first to the last page. We
may
possibly
feel that the many
underhand
plots
against Palmer's reputation, and even his life, are something that
would find
more credibility in a B-class movie, but when we look around us we
realize that this, unfortunately, is how it is, especially when
power, status and money are all at stake. In the race for the top
job, Gross makes it very clear that, for
most politicians,
a desire to do something worthwhile for one's
country is
certainly not the number one priority.