Overview

A Naval Academy midshipman from Nebraska is being groomed by the powers that be in Omaha for the governor's mansion. At the Academy he discovers a plot by a cadre in the military to establish control of government. Efforts to foil the coup take events from the family ranch in Nebraska to the Supreme Court in DC to dealing with FARC guerillas in Colombia. Events lead to the fall from favor by the midshipman, betrayal by his beloved brother who is a law clerk for Justice Kennedy, desertion by his father, and a time of loss and remorse. The story is entertainment, but also cause for reflection on matters current and disturbing, universal and enduring. It's a hero's journey, taking the midshipman from privilege to outcast, from arrogance to discernment. It's a discovery of soul, an understanding of the 'other'-evoking themes of Lewis's It Can't Happen Here, Steinbeck's East of Eden, and Hesse's Siddhartha. In 2017 the author was awarded recognition by Glimmer Train Press for his short story South of 18, one of seven short stories in a collection entitled One with Bird.