Good Intentions

by Bob Zeidman

Good Intentions is about a future United States that has become the ultimate nanny state. One man, Winston Jones, is chosen by the mysterious Fairness for EveryBody Society to be the next president because he has the required makeup—ethnic, racial, religious, sexual orientation, etc.—to “fairly represent the diversity of America.” The book is his reluctant adventure to discover what America is about and how to get it back to its real values. He comes across many clashing groups including “The Documented,” a group of legal aliens that refuse to break the law and thus get no government entitlements. He also comes in contact with Radical Femlamism, a bizarre melding of Radical Feminism and Radical Islam. All along he’s tracked by the Freedman Group, a collection of “subversives” who believe in free market capitalism and secretly run businesses without government interference.

262 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2012

About the author

Bob Zeidman is an engineering consultant, Internet entrepreneur, independent filmmaker, and freelance writer living in Silicon Valley. He has won awards for his short films, short stories, and screenplays. His novel Horror Flick won an Opus Magnum Award from the Hollywood Film Festival. When he is not writing he enjoys writing software program, designing computer chips, and developing his multidimensional correlation theory."

Reviews

[Hikewriterepeat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tired of political correctness? Here it is, at its worst. In the near future (or is it our present?), everyone is equal. No one's self-esteem is in danger of falling to average. In fact, hard work puts you behind. Zeidman draws from Ayn Rand & Monty Python to give us a concise, humorous picture of where we are headed as a nation. Remember Maimonides? "Give a man a fish & you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." That's what we need, folks, not a welfare state.
Fun to read, wittily crafted, this book belongs on high school reading lists along with 1984.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! It made me laugh out loud several times. It's entertaining, but also a scary glimpse into a possible future if we keep going the way we are. I definitely recommend this book!!

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started out a bit strange, I had a tough time getting into it. I was not sure I would be able to finish it.

However, I came across the character Alisa Rosenbaum (Ayn Rand's real name) about 40-60 pages in and of course started to pay particular attention. The next chapter was about the main character Winston's father Morrie, growing up in Chicago, career and suicide. I'm from Chicago, and the story was very touching, so I was hooked.

Many excellent themes in this book:

Conscience/hypocrisy - body reacts badly (eyes twitch, stomach feels bad, headache, sweat, etc.) when actions are out of synch with what one knows is right, p. 67

Equality - coercively and mindlessly enforced on outcomes, not the perfectly reasonable and important concept of equality before the law

Anti-pc - trans fats, kids and "protection," too many to name in beginning of the book and throughout

Power of Alternative opinions expressed well - logically and passionately, with no vindictiveness

Global cooling --> global warming --> global climate change p.63


One of the few points the author makes that it would be neat for him to explore more carefully is where the main character Winston is giving a speech to rebut the Rousseauian/Marxian protester by defending free markets and freedom. Unfortunately he errs by saying that:
(P.65) "sweatshops, child labor, greed" were acknowledged problems with the industrial revolution. However, if he looks into it, he will find:
1. sweatshops were an improvement vs. previous life conditions then,
2. child labor was totally necessary prior to the industrial revolution. Kids did NOT live a work free, idyllic life before the industrial revolution (IR), and
3. greed was far from a new phenomenon during the IR, but rather is always part of the human condition. The Industrial Revolution/Free market Capitalism just started harnessing it (and more basic/universal self-interest) to improve mankind. The quote from Adam Smith comes to mind as the best on this: "It is not benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interests."

Enjoyed very much. Thought of Voltaire's comedies after reading this. Hope it has a similar impact on folks ideas of the importance of tolerance, freedom and free markets.

[Melanie's · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This Book Was Given To Me By The Author In Exchange For An Honest Review*

This is the not the first book that I have read from author Bob Zeidman but this was certainly different.

this book provides a very thought provoking, and somewhat frightening, loko at what could happen to our society if this insistence on "Political Correctness" carries on at the same alarming rate that it is now.

What seems to be a good thing takes a dark turn with this satire filled book which reminded me a great deal of the movie Demolition Man in places.

Clever and well thought out, I am not sure I would use the term enjoyed for it but I would recommend it for people who might enjoy a different take on dystopian fiction. For me this was worse than any of the post apocalyptic stories I have read because this book hits really close to home!

A well deserved 4 stars from me V""V


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[Nathan Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is apparently a fan of objetivism and i líke the World he has created. Everyone is Equal and controlled and for the Most part far too used to this set up. Rather than this turning the world into a clean technological wonderland though its created an environment where everything is fallido appart, nothing gets done and even the machinery used by the president is hold together by dúctil tape.
So its not Very Well erigen and the characters ate wooden and poorly developed. But Id definately read a sequal. I hope he writes One.

[jyweniverel]

I would like a chance to read this book. With it being an election year, lots of books in the political genre have surfaced. I actually am finding them quite interesting.