4 out of 4 stars
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I just finished reading Kennedy's Revenge: The Election of 2016 by Stephen L. Rodenbeck. When I initially read the summary, I wasn't sure this would be a book that I'd like. It was described as a fiction/non-fiction book written in alternating chapters. So, it's sort of like getting two books in one. My initial reaction was that this format could be a bit messy, but since it dealt with history, I gave it a chance.
At the start of the book, the author suggests that it can be read one of two ways. You can either read all the fiction followed by the non-fiction or vice versa, or you can read it straight through. I chose to read straight through. The fiction part follows a man named Fitzgerald Cavendish as he makes a discovery about the father he never knew. Based on this discovery, he does some digging into the events surrounding his father. What he finds changes the course of his life.
The non-fiction part deals with history. But this isn't the history your teacher taught in school or is written about in most books. He starts with the Revolutionary War and goes through to modern events. There are discussions about presidential elections, the US economy and debt, central banking, and a lot more. He is able to tie everything together with one common thread running through it all. In the introduction, Mr. Rodenbeck states that, unless it is noted as conspiracy theory or allegation, the events are true occurrences.
Like I mentioned earlier, I read the book straight through. If you choose to split the book in two, each chapter is clearly marked so you can tell the fiction from the non-fiction without any difficulty. During the reading, I didn't find it hard or distracting to flip back and forth between the two different storylines. The author kept the fiction part at a nice pace with a clear sequence of events without any dragging that would make someone lose interest. He also does a wonderful job of fleshing out the main characters as well.
What I liked best about the book were the non-fiction chapters, and they were very interesting to say the least. The author goes so far as to list names of people (some of whom readers would be very familiar with), places, dates, and the outcomes or consequences of the events that take place. All of this would have taken an amazing amount of research. There is enough political intrigue, conniving, and back door dealing to make you wonder what is really going on outside your own personal bubble of existence. As a caveat, there is one section in the last chapter that was very disturbing to read. None of the information is presented in a way to try to convince the reader of anything. Mr. Rodenbeck simply puts the information he has gathered out there, the hard facts and the circumstantial regardless of how horrible, and allows the reader to decide what they want to believe. The one thing I did not like was that there wasn't a bibliography or list of sources to accompany this part of the book. I think it would have given a little more credibility and provided a list the reader could reference later, if desired. However, to be fair, the author does state in the introduction that his email is at the end of the book for anyone who wants to contact him regarding his sources.
Overall, I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. I really liked this book and felt that it was well-structured, had an orderly progression, and presented the story/information in a way that kept it interesting and kept the reader engaged. There were a few grammatical things here and there, e.g. Hillary Clinton's name is spelled incorrectly a few times. However, I didn't think these detracted from the book overall. I found this book to be rather informative in that it does trip the curiosity trigger and make you think outside your comfort zone. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes history or has an interest in world events. If you think history is a good cure for insomnia, then you might want to skip this one unless you just want to read the fiction part.
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Kennedy's Revenge
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