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Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus
To fight a war you know you cannot win; to accept only the few, small victories along the way, because that is all you can get; to advance boldly into a future, when you have already seen what that devastated future will be; to put one more foot in front of the other, when you feel that you can't go on, and you do it because you believe you can save just one more person-then, my friend, you are a hero.
So it is with our young protagonist, Daniel French, and his friends.
It is the spring of 1929. The stock market hasn't crashed yet, but in the agrarian South a severe depression has been running rampant since the end of the Great War. In order to view this misery first-hand, Daniel and his friends visit with legendary financier and presidential advisor Bernard Baruch in South Carolina. In this Southern state alone, 647 banks have failed, farms have been foreclosed on, families have been evicted and displaced, and hope has vanished. After this revelatory visit, Daniel is prepared to describe to any audience what the future portends when the economy collapses.
People listen to the twelve-year-old Daniel, but they don't want to hear the message. Why should they? The experts say the economy is sound. But Daniel persists, believing that if he convinces only one person every time he speaks, he is at least saving someone from potential financial disaster. Some mock him because of his age and stature. Others attack him verbally and even physically. He makes long-term enemies, and he's over-extended to the point of exhaustion. But when Harvard University invites him to speak, Daniel doesn't feel he can decline...though in addressing some of the greatest minds in America...he'll face his greatest challenges yet.
So it is with our young protagonist, Daniel French, and his friends.
It is the spring of 1929. The stock market hasn't crashed yet, but in the agrarian South a severe depression has been running rampant since the end of the Great War. In order to view this misery first-hand, Daniel and his friends visit with legendary financier and presidential advisor Bernard Baruch in South Carolina. In this Southern state alone, 647 banks have failed, farms have been foreclosed on, families have been evicted and displaced, and hope has vanished. After this revelatory visit, Daniel is prepared to describe to any audience what the future portends when the economy collapses.
People listen to the twelve-year-old Daniel, but they don't want to hear the message. Why should they? The experts say the economy is sound. But Daniel persists, believing that if he convinces only one person every time he speaks, he is at least saving someone from potential financial disaster. Some mock him because of his age and stature. Others attack him verbally and even physically. He makes long-term enemies, and he's over-extended to the point of exhaustion. But when Harvard University invites him to speak, Daniel doesn't feel he can decline...though in addressing some of the greatest minds in America...he'll face his greatest challenges yet.
264 pages, Hardcover
Published June 11, 2018
4 people want to read
About the author
Peter Pactor
13 books19 followersI have spent all my life with young people. I started out their age and now I'm over four times as old as they are. I retired from teaching in June of 2016 after a half-century of being in the classroom. I feel that one should change careers every fifty years. Now I am an award winning author. My "Daniel Series" currently has six volumes, written with the reader in mind.
Besides the pleasure I get from writing, I also enjoy reading, painting, playing folk music on my banjo, and storytelling, which I have been doing for almost three decades.
Besides the pleasure I get from writing, I also enjoy reading, painting, playing folk music on my banjo, and storytelling, which I have been doing for almost three decades.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 22, 2018
This is an extraordinarily good book continuing the Saga of Daniel as he confronts the upcoming 1929 stock market crash and the coming depression. Daniel and his friends travel to South Carolina at Bernard Baruch's invitation to get a first-hand view of the depression in the South which began at the end of the Great War and is still continuing in 1929. For Daniel, it is a view into the future—a very painful view.
Returning home through Washington, D.C. after a short, but valuable visit at the White House and other significant sites, he renews his campaign to warn people about the dangers of speculating in the stock market.
This third book in the Daniel Series presents an accurate, historical picture of the financial events of 1929 as seen through Daniel's eyes. It is a well written book, and may be even better than the second book in the series, Daniel: The Age of Anxiety, which recently won two awards from Reader Views:
First Place in Young Adult Literature & Second Place in General Fiction.
Returning home through Washington, D.C. after a short, but valuable visit at the White House and other significant sites, he renews his campaign to warn people about the dangers of speculating in the stock market.
This third book in the Daniel Series presents an accurate, historical picture of the financial events of 1929 as seen through Daniel's eyes. It is a well written book, and may be even better than the second book in the series, Daniel: The Age of Anxiety, which recently won two awards from Reader Views:
First Place in Young Adult Literature & Second Place in General Fiction.
November 3, 2018
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (11/18)
During the spring of 1929, a young man named Daniel French was educating himself on the economics of that time. As a twelve-year-old, he was personally able to witness the devastating effects of the depression in the south. Further research and the chance to speak with knowledgeable men gave Daniel the belief that a huge depression was going to hit the whole United States. Wanting to warn people about this, so that they could prepare, Daniel sets out on a mission, with some of his friends, to educate others and to help gather contributions for relief funds to help people who have already been hit.
In “Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus” by Peter Pactor, Daniel gets to meet with famous people such as: President Hoover, Governor of New York Roosevelt, Napoleon Hill, and Will Rogers. There were notable people whose names are not so well known to us now, but in this story, they believed in Daniel and were willing to listen. Not everybody was so accepting of Daniel’s warnings partly because they found it hard to accept financial advice from a twelve-year-old. Others had issues because they saw him as a threat, especially one banker. Daniel persevered with his mission and was also to raise money to help buy out some of the farmer’s mortgages so that they didn’t lose everything. He was a modern-day Epimetheus in that he wanted to share his knowledge with others, by meeting with them to show them that by caring and working with each other, they could be helped.
I enjoyed reading “Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus,” it was an eye opener that made me realize how difficult things were for people when the Great Depression started to hit. Even though this was a fictional story, the author, Peter Pactor, did a great job of bringing it to life, so that it seemed real. At the end of the story, the author also provides a list of non-fiction books for further reading so that readers can gain more information about this era. I feel this book would make a great reading selection for middle school or high school classes like history or economics. Students will be able to relate to Daniel’s age, and in turn have an opportunity to learn about the precursors to The Great Depression from a well written fictional story.
Also Reviewed by Noelle Stout, YA Reviewer for Reader Views Kids (10/18)
“Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus” by Peter Pactor is an interesting take on what would happen if someone could have predicted the Stock Market Crash and the economic crash that would follow. Many believe that the Stock Market was the cause of the Great Depression and though it was one of the main reasons and the trigger that lead to it, it was in fact caused by many factors such as bad investing, unbalanced control of the America wealth, and faulty banks.
It is the spring of 1929; months before the Stock Market Crash will occur, but the signs leading up to this devastating event have been appearing all over the South since the Great War has ended. Hundreds of banks are closing, foreclosures are causing communities to disappear, and thousands are losing their jobs. Despite this grim epidemic no one seems to fully comprehend that the economy is heading into a downward spiral and eventually an economic collapse. Why should they when experts say otherwise? This seems to be the mindset of everyone who hasn’t been affected yet, but one person begs to differ: Daniel French, one very special twelve-year-old boy.
Studying the reoccurring events of economic collapses from the towns of the South, Daniel has come to the realization of the repercussions that will soon be caused by America’s current weak economy and wants to minimize as much damage as possible before it’s too late. This may seem like a difficult task for one boy, perhaps even impossible, but with the help of his friends, family, and wealthy backers who stand with him, Daniel knows that he can make a difference in helping others from the potential finical disaster that will surely come in the next following months.
Coming into this book I had little knowledge about the economic collapse of 1929, but I was open-minded in learning about it. The story starts off with Daniel French in his later years recapping his financial journey to a writer who’s in the process of making his autobiography. It then follows with the story of his tale and how he became a famous motivational speaker for hundreds about the economic crisis affecting the American people. In the beginning, I was a bit confused on how a 12-year-old was able to comprehend all this and be backed by so many famous people, but I know young prodigies exist and that this was apparently the case for Daniel French. It still would have been nice to have some background from the start on how he became so knowledgeable about the economy to make the story more believable because without this information he seemed to come across as more of a prophet than a regular person.
Alan, Daniel’s best friend, was one of my favorite characters due to how honest and good-willed he was. I believe everyone could use a friend like him in their life. I enjoyed the moments in the story where Daniel and his friends helped others by coming together and supporting them. Even if they were all strangers at some point they came together for the common good of the people and helped save countless communities. Perhaps if such people existed back then or if there were more of them, the events of 1929 would have been very different. I enjoyed “Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus” by Peter Pactor and recommend it to those who like historical fiction. Very enlightening.
During the spring of 1929, a young man named Daniel French was educating himself on the economics of that time. As a twelve-year-old, he was personally able to witness the devastating effects of the depression in the south. Further research and the chance to speak with knowledgeable men gave Daniel the belief that a huge depression was going to hit the whole United States. Wanting to warn people about this, so that they could prepare, Daniel sets out on a mission, with some of his friends, to educate others and to help gather contributions for relief funds to help people who have already been hit.
In “Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus” by Peter Pactor, Daniel gets to meet with famous people such as: President Hoover, Governor of New York Roosevelt, Napoleon Hill, and Will Rogers. There were notable people whose names are not so well known to us now, but in this story, they believed in Daniel and were willing to listen. Not everybody was so accepting of Daniel’s warnings partly because they found it hard to accept financial advice from a twelve-year-old. Others had issues because they saw him as a threat, especially one banker. Daniel persevered with his mission and was also to raise money to help buy out some of the farmer’s mortgages so that they didn’t lose everything. He was a modern-day Epimetheus in that he wanted to share his knowledge with others, by meeting with them to show them that by caring and working with each other, they could be helped.
I enjoyed reading “Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus,” it was an eye opener that made me realize how difficult things were for people when the Great Depression started to hit. Even though this was a fictional story, the author, Peter Pactor, did a great job of bringing it to life, so that it seemed real. At the end of the story, the author also provides a list of non-fiction books for further reading so that readers can gain more information about this era. I feel this book would make a great reading selection for middle school or high school classes like history or economics. Students will be able to relate to Daniel’s age, and in turn have an opportunity to learn about the precursors to The Great Depression from a well written fictional story.
Also Reviewed by Noelle Stout, YA Reviewer for Reader Views Kids (10/18)
“Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus” by Peter Pactor is an interesting take on what would happen if someone could have predicted the Stock Market Crash and the economic crash that would follow. Many believe that the Stock Market was the cause of the Great Depression and though it was one of the main reasons and the trigger that lead to it, it was in fact caused by many factors such as bad investing, unbalanced control of the America wealth, and faulty banks.
It is the spring of 1929; months before the Stock Market Crash will occur, but the signs leading up to this devastating event have been appearing all over the South since the Great War has ended. Hundreds of banks are closing, foreclosures are causing communities to disappear, and thousands are losing their jobs. Despite this grim epidemic no one seems to fully comprehend that the economy is heading into a downward spiral and eventually an economic collapse. Why should they when experts say otherwise? This seems to be the mindset of everyone who hasn’t been affected yet, but one person begs to differ: Daniel French, one very special twelve-year-old boy.
Studying the reoccurring events of economic collapses from the towns of the South, Daniel has come to the realization of the repercussions that will soon be caused by America’s current weak economy and wants to minimize as much damage as possible before it’s too late. This may seem like a difficult task for one boy, perhaps even impossible, but with the help of his friends, family, and wealthy backers who stand with him, Daniel knows that he can make a difference in helping others from the potential finical disaster that will surely come in the next following months.
Coming into this book I had little knowledge about the economic collapse of 1929, but I was open-minded in learning about it. The story starts off with Daniel French in his later years recapping his financial journey to a writer who’s in the process of making his autobiography. It then follows with the story of his tale and how he became a famous motivational speaker for hundreds about the economic crisis affecting the American people. In the beginning, I was a bit confused on how a 12-year-old was able to comprehend all this and be backed by so many famous people, but I know young prodigies exist and that this was apparently the case for Daniel French. It still would have been nice to have some background from the start on how he became so knowledgeable about the economy to make the story more believable because without this information he seemed to come across as more of a prophet than a regular person.
Alan, Daniel’s best friend, was one of my favorite characters due to how honest and good-willed he was. I believe everyone could use a friend like him in their life. I enjoyed the moments in the story where Daniel and his friends helped others by coming together and supporting them. Even if they were all strangers at some point they came together for the common good of the people and helped save countless communities. Perhaps if such people existed back then or if there were more of them, the events of 1929 would have been very different. I enjoyed “Daniel: The Age of Epimetheus” by Peter Pactor and recommend it to those who like historical fiction. Very enlightening.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews