2006: The Chautauqua Rising

by Jack Cashill

Presentation copy, Signed by the Author, In excellent condition, DJ has light sunning.

273 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2000

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

2006: The Chautauqua Rising by Jack Cashill was a very different read for me. I would not normally pick up this kind of book but it was this months book club pick. The story begins with TJ Conlon returning to his childhood home near Chautauqua Lake in New York State after his father commits suicide. He leaves his comfy job and girlfriend Allison in Boston, Mass. to take over the newspapers his father owned and managed. His one responsibility with the actual newspapers was writing the editorial. While searching for fodder for his next editorial TJ stumbles upon a tape called Understanding America and receives a letter from John Freeman, a local extremist, warning him to watch himself. While listening to the tape, he stumbles upon a secret dialogue embedded in the tapes message. With the help of his new friends Ike (Seneca Indian), Siona (local folk singer), a Polish Catholic priest, Strong Samuel and the infamous John Freeman, TJ begins to unravel the mystery. What really happened to his father, who is involved, why and how will he deal with the conspiracy settled around his family's home in Western New York.

Honestly, I had a really hard time getting into this book at first. The first 100-150 were very hard to slog my way through. The last 100 pages went much quicker and the ending was satisfying but I definitely would not read it again. I liked many of the characters like TJ, the Polish Catholic priest, Siona, Ike and Strong Samuel but the story was lacking. I liked the alternate history but the story was so biased right wing it made it very hard to like. Many of the events were reminiscent or directly correlated to current events and it made me wonder "what if" many times. A great book for discussion but definitely not a favorite. Recommended for heated political discussions only!