The Lincoln Myth: A Novel (Cotton Malone Book 9) Kindle Edition

First, I enjoyed parts of this book, but others may have been interested in sections other than those that engaged my imagination. I gave four stars because Mr. Berry is meticulous about his sources. Some best selling authors in recent memory have been less than honest about how they use other's materials. Further, the content of this book has many possible links to sociology, economics, religion and politics.Second, insertions of dense historical quotations and long imagined letters from characters made reading a struggle at times. It is a difficult task for even as gifted a writer as Mr. Berry to attach character motivations to their acts, especially using letters or lengthy quotations. The "thriller mystery" genre needs clear flow. For actions interrupted by long letters or vignettes from history, I would give the book three stars, but citing sources trumps that for me. Readers might start with the afterword from the author first, to give a sense of the reasons long discourses illuminate conflicting parts of the story. Conflicts are many and lead to understanding about the character of myth. There is an engaging quotation from President Kennedy about the power of myth, waiting for readers' discovery.Third, religion and politics play important roles in this tale. Sociologically inclined readers might pick up Max Weber's "Sociology of Religion" as background reading. Mr. Berry is faithful to the collision of religious authority (legitimated EX-ternally by appeals to nature or to the divine) and of American political authority (legitimated IN-ternally by legal rational means of a bureaucratic administrative staff). The Lincoln mythos is admirably presented in this book, the author understanding that President encountered often lethal hazards of heading a modern state with a Constitution that balanced powers (in the dynamic manner of Scissors-Paper-Rock) simultaneously with a Federal and State system. Mr. Berry makes extensive use of the posthumous release of James Madison's account concerning what probably happened at the Constitutional Convention. This is another example of the value of this book in that its links to our history and literature lead to further exploration. We live in an Age of Organizations: political, academic, corporate/economic, religious. Each of these entities presents a need to know how their operation makes demands on our behavior. Which brings up the sociological ideas presented in my favorite Dr. Seuss tale, "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins." It is available as a PDF while the other materials can be ordered in various formats from Amazon. Bartholomew's status hats are emblematic of our multiple relations to authority (Weberian "imperative coordination") and to its structures in each organization we encounter in a "modern" ("post-modern?") democracy. Those definitions are a further link interested readers might investigate.Fourth, reading this book gives an interesting understanding of The Gettysburg Address. In it did Mr. Lincoln succinctly state the uniquely clever construct that is American democracy? Does it "long endure" by changing precisely because it juxtaposes mutable safe harbors for opposing social, economic, religious and political architectures? Is the character of our political economy hiding in plain sight?Fifth, if it seems useful to you, the Book of Mormon is available as a free PDF.

This is a difficult review to write. I consider myself a Berry fan and this new book is a fitting addition to the Cotton Malone series. However, I find the book disturbing. First, the manner in which Berry handles the relationship between Cotton and Cassiopeia is very distressing from a purely fan basis. I didn't care for this treatment at all. Next, and far more serious, is the subject matter of this book. While the issue is timely in light of the polarization that has taken place in this country over the last few years it is this timeliness I find objectionable. I certainly hope Mr. Berry has not used his book to express a personal political belief because such a belief would cause me to cease purchasing his books. If I want to read political theory then that is what I will purchase and read. I read Mr. Berry's books for entertainment and, unfortunately, this type of entertainment can fuel pointless divisive debates that undermine our unity as one people. There is no legitimate legal theory to allow for secession and Mr. Berry, as a lawyer, knows that. Further, as a lawyer he also knows the first rule of legislative interpretation is that the words of a document take their plan and obvious meaning and secondary sources are resorted to only when that meaning is not obvious. The fact that our Constitution contains no language allowing for secession means that the drafters did not intend that such a process to be allowed. Every state or colony has the right to quit the mother country as our founders did 2 centuries ago. The trick is that for this secession to be legal you must succeed with your break. To fail means treason and its consequences. Our Founders won their battle and our independence. The South lost their war and any expectation that secession is a right of any of our states. Mr. Berry has used a very volatile subject for an entertainment and this I find unnecessarily risky and disturbing.

The Lincoln MythThe ninth book featuring Cotton Malone comes from Steve Berry. The retired Justice Department agent comes out of retirement yet again to save in this case the constitution of the United States. This is the ninth time over a two-year period Malone has come out of retirement. It makes you wonder how much time off he actually had when he was a fully-fledged member of the Justice Department.The United States fought a brutal civil war between 1861 and 1865 ostensibly to end slavery. However the rights for states individually and collectively to secede from the Union was also an integral part of the conflict. President Abraham Lincoln and the Union argued that this right was in breach of the constitution.In the present day evidence appears to exist that questions Lincoln’s interpretation of events. It appears that in order to assist the Union’s war effort Lincoln transferred this evidence to the care of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City. Details of the evidence have been passed to each successive Prophet of the Mormon Church.Malone and his friend Cassiopeia Vitt are requested to assist the quest to get this evidence returned to Washington. Extreme factions within the Mormon Church have become aware of the document and endeavour to obtain it to enable Utah to secede from the Union and become the independent nation of Deseret in its own right.Steve Berry writes an excellent book drawing heavily on Mormon history and folklore. He highlights well albeit within a fictional setting the tension and conflict prevalent between Church and State. He also claims that Lincoln’s legacy has perhaps benefited more from historical interpretation than the reality of what he said and did during his Presidency.

I enjoy historical crime fiction as a genre and enjoyed Berry’s early stories. However, I found the Lincoln Myth a struggle to finish. I think one needs to be a serious American history buff to enjoy this. This and the subject of Mormon’s did not pique my interest and even the odd escapade from Cotton Malone and Vitt did not save the plot for me. We have now had the US Tax system and the Constitution covered by Berry. These are quite technical and dry areas. It must be time for Berry to travel overseas and find some real inspiration from more ancient nations.

Not the best in the series by any means. Some fascinating historical detail as one comes to expect from Mr Berry, but some strange interactions between the usual team members, now not working as a team, push the story in strange directions. The introduction of a new Billet member is not unwelcome, but he has a lot to learn, and the part played by Salazar’s angel was very annoying at times, although it did emphasise his mental instability. Relationships between team members are very much strained now and whether they will recover remains to be seen.

It's a very clever book. I read a lot of thrillers/mysteries with ex special forces/intelligence main characters and sadly some are becoming shadows of already well written books. I've never seen this topic before and it was well researched and written. I've really enjoyed this latest installment in Ben Hope's saga.

Could not get my head around this story. Disappointed, as have read all of his books to date, and loved just about all of them! Wanted to give up, but didn't. Story just dragged and dragged on some more. A dud sorry to say.