American Inheritance: A Novel

by Nathan Nipper

A young socialist gets the chance to earn a multimillion-dollar inheritance from the conservative grandfather he’s never met, but to do so, he must complete a cross-country road trip designed to alter his cynical view of America.

Tom Brock is a twenty-five-year-old democratic socialist. He is an unemployed graduate student with a mountain of student loan debt. He loathes America for being a corrupt, oppressive, unjust failure that he blames on the white patriarchy and red-state Americans.

Tom’s grandfather, Bob, is a widower, a Vietnam War veteran, and a diehard conservative. Bob is a wealthy entrepreneur and passionate defender of the American dream. He loves America and loathes the morally bankrupt blue-state progressives he thinks are ruining it.

Tom and Bob have never met each other.

But when Bob becomes aware of his grandson’s radical politics, he offers him an unusual opportunity to earn a $25 million Tom must complete a marathon cross-country road trip in his grandfather’s old RV, following an itinerary designed by Bob as a last-ditch effort to alter his grandson’s cynical view of America.

Desperate to earn the inheritance, Tom embarks on Bob’s curated grand tour of historic sites and natural wonders, stubbornly resisting his grandfather’s lessons touting America’s virtues. But as the journey progresses, Tom’s deeply held worldview is tested by the people and places he encounters along the way—especially by a young British woman who becomes his fortuitous traveling companion. The challenges and conversations of the quirky road trip begin to reshape Tom’s ingrained assumptions about America’s—and his own—past, present, and future.

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 13, 2024

About the author

Nathan Nipper is a multimedia writer at Mercury Radio Arts. He is the author of the novels American Inheritance (2024) and Life on Christmas Eve (2021), both of which debuted as number one Amazon bestsellers in their respective categories. He also wrote the 2014 award-winning nonfiction book Dallas ‘Til I Cry. He has degrees in history and communication from Ouachita Baptist University and Regent University. He lives with his family near Fort Worth, Texas.

Reviews

[Susann Hughey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope for a better tomorrow

Hope for a better tomorrow and prayers for all of America for today. I miss being able to discuss and debate ideas for a better country, with those who agree as well as those who do not.
I truly wish all of us could go on this amazing journey personally. Maybe it would create a place for dialogue and chances for agreement on some issues, instead of just hate and anger. We must all do better individually.
Thank you Nathan, for letting us ride along with you.

[Teresa Timm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Read!!🇺🇸🇺🇸

This was such a great read...refreshing history past and present. It will tug on your heart with the disfunctional family matters but also the misconceptions of our country and its foundations.

Should be required reading for every high school student. Thanks, Nathan, for taking us on such a great adventure along with Tom and Amelia, designed by Bob and inspired by God.🙏🇺🇸

[Patty Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dreams are important, but they can derail your life if you're not careful. The dreams that really last are those that aren't for you-dreams that reach beyond yourself"

Good advice and insights throughout, but not going to lie, the main character started out so unlikable it made it hard to read too much at a time. But a little over halfway through I started to get hooked in to whether or not Bob would get him to see things differently. May have shed a tear...

[Natalie Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the end of July, I attended a luncheon at my Fort Worth Texas area library to meet authors from the MetroPlex. Mr. Niper was my table's first guest. The night before, I had just started a book from my deceased Grandma's collection called the 5,000 Year Leap, by W. Cleon Skousen, with a forward by Glenn Beck where he went on and on about the American right to private property was the reason America thrived and Colonists stopped dying by starvation and disease- (I wanted to debate every word of that FORWARD!)- when this local writer introduced his book that involved a family with differences in politics, a cross- country trip to earn a large inheritance, and even a little love story between history buffs tied in.
I had a great time reading this book, and it brought back memories, as I have been to the majority of the stops the main character, Tom, makes in his grandpa Bob's 1970s Airstream RV. Tom starts out as a political campaign staff for Bernie Sanders in the 2020 election. It says in an early chapter that Tom graduated undergrad in Political Science- and he is now in grad school completing his MFA thesis project, a play- of which he is stuck trying to finish. He is also not doing well financially, raised by a single mom.
All that PoliSci background, and Tom is pretty ignorant about things he should know in his early to mid twenties as a high school and college graduate. If I could edit the book it would be all the things Tom is ignorant about, basic history- like the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. I wish he were a smarter character, right off the bat. But he gets there as the book goes on.
Without giving away the entire book, I'll say the author, Mr. Nipper makes it interesting to weave in and out of the highway roads from the Chesapeake to DC, Gettysburg, PA, down to Atlanta, Georgia and back out west weaving back around to his grandpa's home again. Seeing historical sites and meeting friends of Grandpa Bob's.
I'll definitely be using some of the less familiar sites on my future trips- Tuskegee University and Pikes Peak.

[Julie Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done, Nathan Nipper. I dog-eared many pages and highlighted many passages as I read through this journey across America. So much history of what our country was founded upon. I understood when the author said Bob was lonely not just for the family he lost out on, but for the America he loved. I miss my America. As a conservative who loves our republic, I find it so difficult to talk to, or have a meaningful conversation with people like Tom, but one passage in the book was an eye-opener. On page 262, "As my head hit the pillow, an image from many states ago lurked in my mind - the statue in Tuskegee of Booker T. Washington lifting the "veil of ignorance" from the newly freed slave. I had an unsettling thought: What if I was that slave, intellectually at least, bound by what I didn't know? And an even more frightening thought, did that make Bob my veil lifter?" So many currently live in a bubble and have little to no knowledge upon which to back up their beliefs, no understanding of the history that makes America what is or was. It was an eye-opener for Tom. Guess I need to keep being a "veil lifter".

[Lisa Mcg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I really enjoyed the road trip feel and learning about different locations and people in history. I can't afford to travel so it was nice feeling like I was sightseeing. Tom was very annoying to me. He was so pessimistic and whined only about the problems and couldn't see anything past his nose. I know that was probably to show his character development and transformation at the end, but it became a bit much after a while. I enjoyed the debates between Bob and Tom and respect the author showing both sides of several arguments. It's refreshing someone puts America first instead of party. I was disappointed in no growth for Tom's mom. I get hurt feelings are hard to move past, but it was distasteful for her to only care about money. I wished that Bob and Tom would have had the opportunity to discuss the trip and both of their growth at the end and thought the change in opinions was a bit rushed. Hopefully Tom and Amelia can find their happiness.

[Anna Zing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life is about opportunity!
You can’t get to where you want to be without effort and hard work.
A wonderful, entertaining and different kind of read. Educational and fulfilling that dives into both perspectives of political parties.
This book reiterates the beauty of America, and the potential this country has, while reflecting on our past history. A very cool read I would recommend to anyone, left or right.

[Daryl Knoch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good story of one American family

This is a story of a family that is divided by politics and not understanding each other. It was a road trip ,that started one man on a journey to find the real American story.

[Holly Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read that has made me curious about several historical places and people that I look forward to researching more!

The dialogue between Tom and Bob was a bit much and I started skipping some of those parts but overall I would read it again!

[McKenzie Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this!! A must read for all American’s (especially the cynical brainwashed ones lol)… truly a great story about history, hope, mistakes, life lessons, strength, and opportunity in our future as Americans.

[Courtney]

Read for work (local author event)