4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Thomas Richard Harry writes his nonfiction book BOOM! A Revolting Situation because of his dissatisfaction with the two current American political parties. Drawing from polls conducted by major newspapers, Harry discloses that about 40% of today’s eligible voters would rather not call themselves either a Democrat or a Republican, making them the political majority in the US. He proposes that by not aligning oneself to the one-hundred-year-old binary, calling oneself an Independent is revolutionary in today’s political landscape. He laments that neither party is satisfying the majority of the concerns held by the majority of Americans, so he calls on his audience to stand with him to bring forth change.
Harry makes sure to painstakingly define every term in his discussion because more often than not these words are casually used in everyday life. In the case of his historical analysis, he makes sure to point out which words are used in both the 1800s and in modern times, taking care to differentiate between meanings. He makes absolutely certain that he and his audience are unified in their understanding before he goes deep into his analysis, which can become dense in terminology.
Since this is a political text, the author makes his political views known immediately so the audience understands how his opinions shape what he writes in the text. He is vocal about his views but doesn’t let his opinions get in the way of clearly relaying facts. I appreciated how candid he was about both party’s attributes and failings, he never went out of his way to bash one party without giving the same treatment to the other. While he states that he is a political conservative, he urges his audience to consider voting Independent to prove to the powers that be that there is general dissatisfaction on how things the US is currently being run.
I appreciate his message, but I did not like the first few chapters because of how repetitive he was. He would say his message, then continue to say it in several different ways for the next couple of pages in more and more passionate tones. When he’s not talking about current policies, he is explaining just how the current two-party system the US uses came into being. I enjoyed his history lessons, which dates back to beginning the United States when Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson fought over their differing political views, which lasts several chapters.
I immediately enjoyed Harry’s straightforwardness in telling his audience his purpose for writing within the first few chapters, never giving them the chance to stew in their feelings of impatience for him to get to the point. That said, after he makes it known what he wants his audience to do, I think that he spends a lot of unnecessary time backing up his point. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars for the clear presentation of his ideas, but if I was his editor I would have cut out several chapters.
******
Boom! A Revolting Situation
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like GabbiV's review? Post a comment saying so!
