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Middle America
Five years after having led his state to an epic standoff with the federal government, former Montana Governor Ben Kane once again finds himself reshaping the nation's political landscape.
392 pages, Paperback
First published May 17, 2006
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About the author
Anthony F. Lewis
8 books13 followersI started my first novel sometime in mid-2000, on a Metro-North commuter train traveling into Manhattan, writing on my then new Mac Powerbook. The title stuck—The Third Revolution—but the rest of the work I'd completed was tossed out in early 2002 when I started the project anew. I completed that manuscript, found and worked with a professional editor, and, after spending about a year learning how not to attract a literary agent, I eventually took a chance on the then cutting edge publish-on-demand technology and got the book "out there." The first paperback edition of The Third Revolution appeared on Amazon (as well as in several local bricks-and mortar bookstores) in May of 2004. I have to admit, I liked the feeling.
Better than a decade later, the Mac has finally been retired (recently replaced by a new Dell Inspiron 7000 running a hot i7 processor) and I've somehow managed to write and publish six novels (The Third Revolution, Middle America, Little Birdies!, The Last Bartender, The Cenacle Scroll and Aqua Vitae). A seventh book, tentatively titled Free State, is presently in the works.
In my pre-MBA days, a time when I had ready access to fast motorcycles and sympathetic women, I worked as a bartender at the historic Peter Luger Steakhouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, the El Morocco Club (Elmer's) on Second Avenue (circa 1981, when it was operating as a steakhouse), the infamous Diamond's Whisky Parlor in Flushing and poured shots-and-beers (and kept my head down) through several stabbings and the occasional gunfire at Pirate's Pub in Kew Gardens, Queens. I re-entered the industry in 2011, working the bar at Frogs End Tavern within the elegant Glenmere Mansion, an exclusive eighteen-room boutique hotel in Chester, NY, and from behind the stick at the President's Bar at the venerable Powelton Country Club in Newburgh, NY. For most of 2012 I was at The Cellar Door Bistro in Ridgefield, CT. and at the MTK Tavern in Mount Kisco, NY.
I was last found plying my trade at the King Street Restaurant & Bar in Chappaqua, NY, which, unfortunately, closed its doors during the summer of 2014. During that time I also worked the busy Sunday brunch shift at the Bissell House in Ridgefield, CT (apparently now the Dog and Pony, under the same management), and picked up a few lunch shifts at the still popular Hideaway, also in Ridgefield. The motorcycles and women have yet to reemerge, but I remain ever hopeful in that regard.
Better than a decade later, the Mac has finally been retired (recently replaced by a new Dell Inspiron 7000 running a hot i7 processor) and I've somehow managed to write and publish six novels (The Third Revolution, Middle America, Little Birdies!, The Last Bartender, The Cenacle Scroll and Aqua Vitae). A seventh book, tentatively titled Free State, is presently in the works.
In my pre-MBA days, a time when I had ready access to fast motorcycles and sympathetic women, I worked as a bartender at the historic Peter Luger Steakhouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, the El Morocco Club (Elmer's) on Second Avenue (circa 1981, when it was operating as a steakhouse), the infamous Diamond's Whisky Parlor in Flushing and poured shots-and-beers (and kept my head down) through several stabbings and the occasional gunfire at Pirate's Pub in Kew Gardens, Queens. I re-entered the industry in 2011, working the bar at Frogs End Tavern within the elegant Glenmere Mansion, an exclusive eighteen-room boutique hotel in Chester, NY, and from behind the stick at the President's Bar at the venerable Powelton Country Club in Newburgh, NY. For most of 2012 I was at The Cellar Door Bistro in Ridgefield, CT. and at the MTK Tavern in Mount Kisco, NY.
I was last found plying my trade at the King Street Restaurant & Bar in Chappaqua, NY, which, unfortunately, closed its doors during the summer of 2014. During that time I also worked the busy Sunday brunch shift at the Bissell House in Ridgefield, CT (apparently now the Dog and Pony, under the same management), and picked up a few lunch shifts at the still popular Hideaway, also in Ridgefield. The motorcycles and women have yet to reemerge, but I remain ever hopeful in that regard.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 23, 2015
Three and a Half stars. This is a continuation of the story started in The Third Revolution. The storyline is a little tighter than the first book, and the characters while not gaining any depth, at least seem more human overall.
This is more Libertarian Fantasy, but it does make an effort to really examine how a volunteerist society might function. I found it at first discouraging that the politicians of Middle America would look to business to meet the needs of a developing state. Further reflection, however, lead me to realize that it is human nature to 'go with what you know' I believe these days it is called the "Normalcy Bias", and while the politicos wanted to look to the successful businesses to solve their problems, in the end they found a market solution of sorts to meet the perceived needs of the state (State?). It may have been an overly convenient solution to the story, but it did help add a more human dimension to some of the ancillary characters.
This really needs a good edit, there must have been a half dozen instances of though instead to thought, and some other 'spell check' misses. Liberty isn't easy and can be very messy, but it seems to be worth the effort to adapt. I like Lewis' ideas, and his writing gets better with each book, I think he is worth the effort as well.
This is more Libertarian Fantasy, but it does make an effort to really examine how a volunteerist society might function. I found it at first discouraging that the politicians of Middle America would look to business to meet the needs of a developing state. Further reflection, however, lead me to realize that it is human nature to 'go with what you know' I believe these days it is called the "Normalcy Bias", and while the politicos wanted to look to the successful businesses to solve their problems, in the end they found a market solution of sorts to meet the perceived needs of the state (State?). It may have been an overly convenient solution to the story, but it did help add a more human dimension to some of the ancillary characters.
This really needs a good edit, there must have been a half dozen instances of though instead to thought, and some other 'spell check' misses. Liberty isn't easy and can be very messy, but it seems to be worth the effort to adapt. I like Lewis' ideas, and his writing gets better with each book, I think he is worth the effort as well.
Displaying 1 of 1 review