A RIVETING THRILLER, A HAUNTING PICTURE OF AMERICA Could two people
be more enviable than Richard and Helen Bittenberg? They love each
other, have two healthy, intelligent children, and are financially
comfortable. Richard is at the top of his profession. Their home is
in a desirable Washington, D.C., neighborhood. The culturally rich,
cosmopolitan atmosphere of the capital of the most powerful nation
in the world forms part of their privileged existence. But to
Richard it seems that perverse, irresponsible forces are destroying
the country he loves. He feels compelled to resist. But how? Deeply
troubled by his powerlessness, he seizes a daunting opportunity
that he could never have foreseen. His life changes drastically. He
is drawn into tension-filled, sometimes harrowing circumstances.
They tax his moral conscience, courage, and endurance to the
utmost. Helen worries about his increasingly fraught and stressed
condition and tries to make him change his ways, but she does not
know their real cause. Then, when she least expects it, she finds
herself in the middle of a nightmare of her own. She has to muster
all her willpower and wile. Helen and Richard must independently
handle daunting ordeals, one involving secret, nerve-racking
political machinations, one involving an agonizing police
investigation. The milieus of the novel are Washington, D.C., Paris
and environs, and Charleston, South Carolina. This is a political
and psychological thriller that sneaks up on the reader and then
only tightens its grip. It also has the fully developed characters
and the trenchant, nuanced narrative of a serious work of fiction.
Telling the story of the existential crises that Richard and Helen
must face, the novel becomes a disquieting and thought-provoking
commentary on the state of America and the Western world. Does the
novel's poignant picture of contemporary society suggest merely
fictional possibilities? A DESPERATE MAN deeply engages the reader,
raising profound moral and cultural questions. About the author:
CLAES G. RYN has lived for most of his adult life in Washington,
D.C., where he is Professor of Politics at the Catholic University
of America. He and his wife reside outside the District line in
Potomac, Maryland. His teaching and research have focused on
politics as it relates to philosophy, history, culture, and ethics.
Ryn has taught also at Georgetown University, the University of
Virginia, and Louisiana State University. He has lectured widely in
the United States, Europe, and China. A frequent visitor to China,
he gave the Distinguished Foreign Scholar Lectures at Beijing
University in 2000 and was named Honorary Professor at Beijing
Normal University in 2012. He is the author of many scholarly
books. In addition to numerous scholarly articles, he has published
much writing in newspapers and magazines. He appears with some
frequency on radio and television.
General
Imprint: |
Athena Books of Fairview
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
February 2013 |
First published: |
2013 |
Authors: |
Claes G. Ryn
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 156 x 41mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Sewn / Cloth over boards / With dust jacket
|
Pages: |
672 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-9887508-0-7 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Genre fiction >
Adventure / thriller >
General
Promotions
|
LSN: |
0-9887508-0-5 |
Barcode: |
9780988750807 |
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