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Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle
Why doesn't the United States have an effective, competitive third political party? What would it take to get one off the ground? To what lengths would the Democrats and Republicans go to prevent this from happening? Most importantly, could a new third political party really make a difference? Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle provides answers to these and other relevant questions regularly contemplated and discussed across America by a disgruntled and disconnected electorate. Volume I also serves as a primer for those who lack knowledge of the "behind the scenes" maneuvering that makes American politics the ultimate contact sport.
424 pages, Hardcover
Published August 22, 2016
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159 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 13, 2016
No matter your political affiliation, this is an intelligent and experienced look at third parties in the U.S. that is important for all voters to understand -- all wrapped into a thrilling story!
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September 18, 2025Third party: Creation of a third party and the politics behind it. The internal political battles and now suing Atlas to freeze his assets once they found out he was funding the 3rd party. The legality of the national democrats move. Likely taking place in the 2010’s. The 3rd party navigating the relationship between the two main parties. The consistency in attack campaigns and political opponents. Kc and atlas eloping at the end. Gaining seats in other states and making a deal with dems In the end which ultimately gets Tom elected, the former baseball player who atlas chose as governor. similarities ti real life in terms of the change from a 3rd party uprooting the system. just not in the same moral way. a disruptor with outside funding. trunp esque just opposite morally.
October 6, 2024
What a timely, fascinating, and well written book about what the country would desire – third-party that could actually win
Turn off all the political lying on TV, and read this wonderful story you will be hard-pressed to put down. I loved it and can’t wait for the next book, author Nemerovski writes. While this may be a novel, you will finish the book wondering why third-party candidate couldn’t be elected. I have told my friends this is a must read.
Turn off all the political lying on TV, and read this wonderful story you will be hard-pressed to put down. I loved it and can’t wait for the next book, author Nemerovski writes. While this may be a novel, you will finish the book wondering why third-party candidate couldn’t be elected. I have told my friends this is a must read.
September 18, 2025
Is a third party the answer to true checks and balances? Have a lot of thoughts, can’t wait to discuss with the author at bookclub :)
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December 1, 2016Steven Nemerovski’s Third Party: Volume one: Starting in the Middle is obviously fiction, but it reads more like journalistic non-fiction. In part, that’s because the first quarter of the book is full of detailed back-stories of the major participants in the establishment of a Third Party in the U.S. Most of the book to follow is apparent news clippings from fictional Illinois newspaper, The Back Bench (with the tag line “If you let it slip, we’ll catch it”) and transcripts of e-mails and phone calls. Verisimilitude is established quickly and the story is both believable and convincing.
Things are set in motion when self-made billionaire Alex “Atlas” Stein invites a handful of movers and shakers to his Aspen estate to talk about creating a viable third party. In that initial conference, two key components of his plan are established: to set the party’s sights on winning local legislative races in the Illinois General Assembly and create the party’s issue-based agenda. The party is quickly dubbed the “E Party” because of their three main objectives, to emphasize education, economics, and ethical reform.
Because of Stein’s wealth, fund raising isn’t a problem but rather finding viable candidates to serve in the Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives. While we learn precious little about those candidates, we know most of them are teachers wanting to push the issue of educational reform. Winning enough seats to become an important presence in the Assembly, the E Party quickly pushed their platforms of supporting education and putting the state budget on solid footing.
In short order, the two major parties strike back, not because of ideology or issues but rather to maintain the political status quo. Despite its small size, the E Party is well organized and innovative as it battles entrenched power players like David Kennedy, the long-running Speaker of the House who is a mastermind at maneuvering and manipulation. So the book becomes a long lesson in the processes of state governments, sadly not just those of Illinois.
The book then traces what happens the first year of the E Party’s involvement in working to pass their chosen legislation and then describes the next election cycle when dirty tricks become part of the campaign mix. The E Party’s goals increase, including finding candidates to run for the highest state offices and expanding into other states, although nothing is explained about how or what is going on outside Illinois. At first blush, it might seem their victories are too localized to be all that dramatic, but mastering their baby steps is what volume one of the saga is all about. What happens next, including nationally, seems to be addressed in volume two, Strange Bedfellows, which was published on August 9 if you’re ready for round two.
Along the way, some ideas are glossed over, notably just what’s in those supposedly well-written and significant white papers. We get only occasional splashes of non-political personal relationships as in the story of besieged ex-baseball player turned youth advocate Tom Robinson and the surprising love story of Atlas Stein that seems to come out of nowhere.
In the main, readers drawn to The Third Party will most likely already be political junkies, especially those with some experience in ground-level politics or have tried to urge responses from their own elected representatives. Despite the optimistic conclusion, witnessing state politicians function the ways they do is rather depressing. After this year’s elections, this literary x-ray of how things work, or don’t, suggests solutions to our problems are not going to be an easy fix, if our two main parties have anything to say about it.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com, Dec. 1, 2016 at:
goo.gl/eqZDbp
Things are set in motion when self-made billionaire Alex “Atlas” Stein invites a handful of movers and shakers to his Aspen estate to talk about creating a viable third party. In that initial conference, two key components of his plan are established: to set the party’s sights on winning local legislative races in the Illinois General Assembly and create the party’s issue-based agenda. The party is quickly dubbed the “E Party” because of their three main objectives, to emphasize education, economics, and ethical reform.
Because of Stein’s wealth, fund raising isn’t a problem but rather finding viable candidates to serve in the Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives. While we learn precious little about those candidates, we know most of them are teachers wanting to push the issue of educational reform. Winning enough seats to become an important presence in the Assembly, the E Party quickly pushed their platforms of supporting education and putting the state budget on solid footing.
In short order, the two major parties strike back, not because of ideology or issues but rather to maintain the political status quo. Despite its small size, the E Party is well organized and innovative as it battles entrenched power players like David Kennedy, the long-running Speaker of the House who is a mastermind at maneuvering and manipulation. So the book becomes a long lesson in the processes of state governments, sadly not just those of Illinois.
The book then traces what happens the first year of the E Party’s involvement in working to pass their chosen legislation and then describes the next election cycle when dirty tricks become part of the campaign mix. The E Party’s goals increase, including finding candidates to run for the highest state offices and expanding into other states, although nothing is explained about how or what is going on outside Illinois. At first blush, it might seem their victories are too localized to be all that dramatic, but mastering their baby steps is what volume one of the saga is all about. What happens next, including nationally, seems to be addressed in volume two, Strange Bedfellows, which was published on August 9 if you’re ready for round two.
Along the way, some ideas are glossed over, notably just what’s in those supposedly well-written and significant white papers. We get only occasional splashes of non-political personal relationships as in the story of besieged ex-baseball player turned youth advocate Tom Robinson and the surprising love story of Atlas Stein that seems to come out of nowhere.
In the main, readers drawn to The Third Party will most likely already be political junkies, especially those with some experience in ground-level politics or have tried to urge responses from their own elected representatives. Despite the optimistic conclusion, witnessing state politicians function the ways they do is rather depressing. After this year’s elections, this literary x-ray of how things work, or don’t, suggests solutions to our problems are not going to be an easy fix, if our two main parties have anything to say about it.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com, Dec. 1, 2016 at:
goo.gl/eqZDbp
February 27, 2017
Reviewed for readers favorite
Steven Nemerovski's political thriller, Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle tackles the question of why, after over two centuries of existence, America still doesn't have viable third party system.
It ponders what it would take to get a system off the ground and what lengths the established parties would goto stifle it.
And then it attempts to answer those questions and more in a tightly woven political thriller.
Obviously, a passion project of Nemerovski's, the language in Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle is easily accessible to even the most casual purveyor of politics.
I enjoyed reading Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle by Steven Nemerovski, while it starts off a bit slow Nemerovski spends that time wisely, establishing the characters and the stakes until the reader is fully intrigued by this behind the scenes look into the political machine.
Though Starting in the Middle is a work of fiction is does have a bit of a documentary feel with its focus on emails, news briefing and telephone calls. That focus while doing a great job of showing the reader the mechanics of an election cycle also robs the reader of a lot of emotional connection with the characters. And when aspects of Atlas' past come into play I wasn't as invested as I would have liked. Still, I thought it was a good read.
All in all, Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle by Steven Nemerovski is a good read for fans of shows like the West Wing and are looking for their next political fix.
Steven Nemerovski's political thriller, Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle tackles the question of why, after over two centuries of existence, America still doesn't have viable third party system.
It ponders what it would take to get a system off the ground and what lengths the established parties would goto stifle it.
And then it attempts to answer those questions and more in a tightly woven political thriller.
Obviously, a passion project of Nemerovski's, the language in Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle is easily accessible to even the most casual purveyor of politics.
I enjoyed reading Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle by Steven Nemerovski, while it starts off a bit slow Nemerovski spends that time wisely, establishing the characters and the stakes until the reader is fully intrigued by this behind the scenes look into the political machine.
Though Starting in the Middle is a work of fiction is does have a bit of a documentary feel with its focus on emails, news briefing and telephone calls. That focus while doing a great job of showing the reader the mechanics of an election cycle also robs the reader of a lot of emotional connection with the characters. And when aspects of Atlas' past come into play I wasn't as invested as I would have liked. Still, I thought it was a good read.
All in all, Third Party: Volume I: Starting in the Middle by Steven Nemerovski is a good read for fans of shows like the West Wing and are looking for their next political fix.
September 6, 2016
A compelling, fascinating, and timely book that addresses the very real question of why and how to create stronger, more viable third parties in the United States. In one of the most divisive election years in history, this book is essential reading. Intelligently and effectively addressing the third party issue and wrapped in masterfully-crafted political fiction, THIRD PARTY Vol I has something for everyone--and its message cannot be ignored.
September 6, 2016
This book is absolutely perfect this year, and something everyone needs to read and consider!! Especially during this election cycle where it seems that no one wants to vote for either major party candidate, Third Party begs the question, why are those as our only options? This fast-paced political thriller will keep you guessing as it unravels secrets of the American political system.
September 6, 2016
This book is an interesting combination of thriller and informative nonfiction. If you're looking for a really fun, fast-paced way to learn more about the US political system and third parties, this is exactly the kind of book you're going to love. Also, take note that this is only the first volume!!
September 8, 2016
If you're looking for an intelligent analysis of America's political system, read Steven Nemerovski's Third Party. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, his book is a fascinating read. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews