Bøger af Steven Fortney

Kendall Thomas Fortney 2 June 1941-27 February 1968 his life spanned the height of America's power, so he is Empire's Child as we who lived through that time are Empire's Children. His family and friends have not forgotten that time. Empire's Children remembers Kendall lost, those names on that black wall lost, what America lost. This is his book.

In Heg's story, and for those Scandinavian-Americans but a few generations removed from our European roots, we find how a courageous, liberal, and humane politician-soldier could love his country with its ideals of liberty and community. Ours is the only successful Enlightenment Revolution the world has ever seen-and as such was a magnet in the 19th century for many Norwegian immigrants, disaffected by their experiences in old Europe. We also discover a new appreciation for that melancholy genius, Abraham Lincoln, and those he inspired in the defense of popular rule to consolidate what James McPherson has rightly called the Second American Revolution that has defined for us so much of our national character and is the envy of all those disadvantaged and oppressed of the world. This is the story of one such patriot, Hans Christian Heg, who gave his life for the love of his adopted country. He fell at Chickamauga in September,1863, the highest ranking officer from Wisconsin to have died in a Civil War battle. Steven Fortney, author of books of fiction, essays, and poetry lives in Stoughton, Wisconsin a city with strong Norwegian roots. Because he is of Norwegian-Swedish descent, the heroism and tragic early death of Hans Christian Heg to him is of special importance. In a time of continued national divisions, whose roots are in a Civil War still with us, Heg shows that a devotion the ideals of our Founders even now requires effort and sacrifice.

The Wisconsin countryside here is lush and green. A very large man dressed in worn work clothes and scuffed hiking boots whom many will think is the Maitreya, the last incarnation of the Buddha from the West, stands in front of an enormous circular building that at first appearance looks to be a sporting arena or a cathedral. It is in fact an unusual monastery that houses a group of teachers, a dangerous quartet called the Masters of Revels, workers, monks engaged in researches and practices that portend radical changes of the symbols of transformation that might save or destroy the world. The tramp decides to join this community at the risk of his sanity and life, but in which he will help to take the path of this subversive place. He barely survives his various ordeals and leaves the ABC Center to make mischief in the wreckage of the America of his time. In the distant present-future occurs a gigantic battle led by him where many issues between warring monist and dualistic philosophies will finally be settled.

They are a large tribe. Every two years or so this Norwegian American family holds a reunion on one of the family farms located in Hay River Township of Dunn County, 10 miles north of Menomonie, Wisconsin. This family of farmers, laborers, lawyers, school teachers, businessmen, environmental specialists, Lutheran clergymen, professors including a celebrated nuclear physicst, politicians, computer wizards, journalists including one ex-Times man, writers, novelists, musicians, poets, artists, have established themselves as American citizens without ever forgetting their Old Country roots. This novel is centered on one of the frequent family reunions that took place in 1983. The story of that gathering, however, deepens through its fictional elements, and becomes darker, grander, and more passionate. This is that story.