Man Destiny

by Martin L. Gross

Book Overview

The New York Times bestselling author of The Government Racket and A Call for Revolution creates a stunning political thriller.Charlie Palmer, the newly elected Congressman from a small town in Ohio,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380974177
• ISBN13: 9780380974177
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 374 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A Great Story, with a couple of buts....

I've read Mr. Gross' book, The End of Sanity, which I thought was well written. Hence, when I saw this book on my local library shelf, I figured I might as well give him another try. Overall the book is very well written, with a very compelling story of "average joe" Charles Palmer, who becomes a congressman via the death of his local representative and within a short time is propelled very dramatically into the Oval Office. Good Story filled with political intrigue, murder, greed. Truly many of the things that make for a good mystery, and in this case a political maverick is in the middle of the whole thing.One thing that bothered me about the story was the lack of respect given to the Constitution. President Palmer, in his new administration, calls for the abolition of the Electoral College, the resurrection of FDR's Works Progress Administration, as well as more federal meddling in campaign finance. Some of these ideas show a lack of understanding for how the founding fathers intended the President to be selected. The WPA idea is flatly socialistic, and as far as campaing finance? The government should butt out of it. Many would scream about that suggestion, but if government weren't providing the milk for everyone to drink, they'd be little, if any, incentive for "buying" your local congressman or senator. The other problem I had with the book was what I felt was a lack of moral intregity from the principal character. Yes, I mean good old fashioned chastity. I do not believe that a true leader can be immoral, because immoral people are not just immoral sexually, they are also dishonest. There was no reason why the main character could not have been a MORAL individual.Overall, however, a well written and well though out drama. Well worth your time.

Not quite a page-turner, but very close

"Man of Destiny" is every political conservative's dream and every political junkie's nightmare. The story centers around policial neophyte Charlie Palmer and his meteoric rise to the presidency of the United States. Through a series of unlikely, but entirely possible circumstances, Charlie, an average "Joe" with definite Libertarian/conservative political views, believes that government is horribly bloated and needs to be radically changed. He also believes that a majority of Americans agree with his conclusions. The unexpected death of his representative opens the door for him to not only be elected to Congress, but to play a pivotal role in his party's convention. His radical leanings capture both the imagination of the country and a wealthy Western busisnessman who bankrolls Charlie's independent run for the presidency. Underneath this "rags to riches" political story are two significant subplots: Charlie's past and the opposition of the two major political parties. While Gross' book was an exciting read, it lacked several things that could have taken it several steps closer to being completely believable. These include: 1. Charlie's interaction with the mainstream media. A political candidate in today's media environment would literally be swamped by the media frenzy. The focus in the book is on a small group of media personalities and their reactions to Charlie. I thought the conflict between Charlie and the media could have really been developed to show the love/hate relationship politicians have with the media. 2. Charlie's relationship with his chief of staff. While mentioned several times, it was never really developed to the point where it could have been a significant part of the story. It almost seemed like it was an afterthought. 3. The lack of character development of most of the major characters. The emphasis of the book is on the political revolution and Charlie's role in that revolution. Not enough space is devoted to really developing the characters and how they think, reason, and feel. I completely enjoyed the book because of its topic and the result. But the book could have been twice as long and, as a result, twice as good. For everyone who is fed up with politics as usual, and dares to dream about what could be, this is a definite read. A solid effort