Review of Wild World

[Shiwani Jain]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Wild World" by Peter S. Rush.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Wild World, written by Peter S. Rush, is a Vietnam war theme story based in 1970. The story is told from the vantage of a Brown University student Steve Logan. He lives with his girlfriend, Roxy, a pre-med student, whom he loves very much. He is ready to start law school when an incident changes his plans of becoming a lawyer, and instead, he opts to become a cop. In Kent State, four student demonstrators were killed by the National Guard. This incident coaxes him to change the system from within by becoming a part of it, but he soon realizes his idealism is no match for the brute reality of life as a cop. Corruption is deep-rooted in the system, and the fellow officers, most of whom are hostile towards him, exercise their powers to oppress the vulnerable and escalate incidents to violence. Roxy is upset with distance creeping into their relationship as they see less of each other due to Steve's rotating shifts. An assignment to type some false reports arouses Steve's suspicion of a larger conspiracy. Torn between his frailing relationship and doing the right thing, what will he choose, despite the cost?

I love how the author has used the titles of the songs from that period as the title of the book and each chapter. The artists whose song features as titles include Cat Stevens, Dylan, Stones, The Beatles, etc. The cultural references are well researched. Despite the gruesome reality of the police system that the book paints, there are some honest officers too. And I like how Steve sacrificed his comfortable future to be with his girlfriend, whom he dearly loves, and his attempt to bring a change.

The only negative I found was that the author does not disclose the details of the large-scale white-collar crime the police officers committed that Steve unravels. I would have appreciated a big reveal.

The editing could have been done better. For these reasons, I will give this book 3 out of 4 stars.

I recommend college students to read this book as it features the campus life of that era, which would be interesting to compare and pose as a great moral guide. The differences in ideologies would be insightful for today's generation. I would also recommend this book to people who went to college in the 1970s, as it would be a great throwback to the times they lived and witnessed.

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Wild World
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