When the Almond Tree Blossoms

by David Aikman

Defeated in the Persian Gulf and wallowing in the depths of a depression, the U.S. is torn apart by a war between the repressive People's Movement and the freedom-loving Constitutionalists

Genres: Fiction, Christian, Thriller

416 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1995

About the author

COMPILED FROM HIS WEB PAGE AND BOOK JACKETS:
David Aikman, former Time magazine Beijing bureau chief, is an author, journalist, and foreign policy consultant. After more than two decades with Time magazine - reporting from more than fifty countries and interviewing world figures such as Boris Yeltson, Billy Graham, Magnuel Noriega, and Mother Teresa -- Aikman became a freelance writer and commentator. He has written for several magazines as well as publishing books.

With special expertise in China, Russia, the Middle East, Mongolia and religious freedom issues worldwide, Dr. Aikman is frequently invited to deliver expert testimony at Congressional hearings and is a popular speaker at conferences, seminars, panels and to academic, church and professional groups at events all over the world.

He lives in Virginia with his family.

Reviews

[Antonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've owned it since my 2nd or 3rd year at University, I've read a bit of it, but never quite got the gist. I will read it again.

finished today, it's a good book once you get into it

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, albeit overlooked, coldwar adventure novel!

In some ways slightly dated and feeling a bit of the alternative-history genre, Aikman's novel is a fun read with plenty of energy and moments of deep thought.

The Biblical reference in the title interesting, as are the Shakespearian quotes.

Good fun fast read!

[Greg D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was reminenscient of the movie, Red Dawn in which a radical regime takes over the most powerful country in the world, America. Lots of adventure and intrigue as the main character makes his way through various occupied states and finds his true friends in the undergound resistance network. Could this work of fiction actually someday become a reality? Perhaps so.

[Neal Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book starts well enough, with a renegade nuclear sub surfacing for a rendezvous in hostile waters. Then we switch to the protagonist, a minor functionary of a future American revolutionary government, who starts to doubt whether he chose the right side in the civil war. He agrees to work for the Russian-backed government, but then becomes a double agent for the constitutionalist hold-outs. The plot, unfortunately, is infeasible, the characters are flat, the action is sparse, and tension is lacking. The book is ostensibly a political thriller, but there are no political dynamics, just some pep talks from the higher-ups on the different sides.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up solely because it was partly set in my hometown. It gets one star for so-bad-it’s-good writing, plot, and characters. Honestly even that’s being generous.

[Pamela Small · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is so suspenseful! A thrilling and politically captivating novel! I read this years and years ago, yet still vividly recall the emotions it produced in me- THAT fact speaks for itself.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is Christian speculative fiction. It was very interesting because it presents a possible future in which a second civil war takes place in the United States.

It has some wonderful plot twists. Basically it is the story of one man Douglas Richfield, a member of the peoples' movement (Socialist) who becomes a constitutionalist. It is the story of his development as a person, and as a person of faith. He is awoken from rote life living as a cog in the machine, to being a man of conscience, to finally a man of character.

It has elements of being a spy story, a love story, a story of political intrigue and faith all rolled up in one neat consistent package.

It is a good read that I could honestly recommend to just about anyone.

(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)

[Mystery Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Good!!!