Baruth, Philip. The X President. Bantam Books, 2003.
Reason read: I read somewhere that the topic of social studies is best read in July. I have no idea where I read that or if I even believe it.
We start X President in 2055 and Sal Hayden is in Little Rock, Arkansas, trying to write the biography of former president, William J. Clinton. She is his official biographer with all-access privileges, and Bill, at 109 years old, has given her a lot of years to cover. During this time, American is throat-deep in world war III (AKA the Cigarette Wars) and the nation is choking on the reality that it is losing badly. The fight has come to American soil and soldiers are dying by the thousands every minute. What if, by chance, Sal could rewrite history? Change one small detail and set history on a different course? The powers that be are convinced that if Bill could talk to his younger self, a global crisis can be averted. And so begins Sal’s adventure back in time. The year is 1963…
[I don’t know why, but Las Vegas as the location for a central militarized zone of the Allied Freeman does not surprise me. It’s a lawless place where the military can be shut down, and frequently are. If someone can prevent Timothy McVeigh from bombing the Murrah Federal Building, the need for the Allied Freeman movement would go away.]
Author fact: at the time of publication, Baruth was a professor at the University of Vermont.
Book trivia: The X President is Baruth’s third novel. It’s the only one I am reading for the Challenge.
Playlist: “Star Spangled Banner”, Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “No Woman No Cry”, Liberace, Sam Cooke, Lawrence Welk, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Brahms, Patsy Cline, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Gipsy Kings, Fleetwood Mac, Cher, Sting, and Madonna.
Nancy said: Pearl did not say anything specific about X President.
BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Time Travel” (p 220).
~*LunaSea*~ 