(5) = Best; (4) = Better; (3) = Good; (2) = Fair; (1) = OK
These abstracts serve as reminders to myself; they serve to "jog" my memory on what a book was all about. That's all. This is not a literary critique, not a social commentary, and certainly nothing profound to warrant further discussion.
(5) = means that I really enjoyed this book; (1) = means I finished reading it but wonder if my time could have been better spent elsewhere.
I enjoyed this book. In the words of the author, “I must say that there is a lot of truth in this story. As long as private money is allowed in judicial elections we will see competing interests flight for seats on the bench. The issues are fairly common. Most of the warring factions are adequately described. The tactics are all too familiar. The results are not far off the mark.”
This is a story of how one man – a wealthy, powerful corporation president - can manipulate the elections process by replacing a state supreme court justice with one who will vote in favor of the corporation. He hires a specialist who knows how to manipulate a vote; he is charged 8 million dollars for this service: One million is by contract, the other seven to be “under the table” – monies wired to Swiss and Offshore bank accounts. That’s cheap, considering how much they would have to pay if they lose the appeal.
We are introduced to characters who maneuver around the legal, judicial, corporate and underground world to get their chosen candidate elected. Of course, there are subplots along the way that might disrupt their plans, but eventually, their candidate wins. The company’s stock drops when the jury voted against them, but the president continues to buy stock in the company as he expects the appeal will rule in their favor and their stock will go up again. He buys stocks in small blocks to avoid drawing attention to what he is doing. He buys millions of shares when it drops significantly, and of course, when they win their appeal he is worth at least 3 billion dollars…but he really wanted 6 billion.
Read all about it and see how the judicial system in this country can be so easily manipulated by the rich and powerful. (4).
This is Batista’s first book. As an attorney he gets embroiled too much in legal details, but he writes so well you can’t help but get sucked into the narrative and plot. He sucks you right into the story with our Heisman Trophy winner who is killed while jogging in Central Park. Who is he, who is his killer, and why was he shot? Fun, heh?! Batista then tells you what transpired several hours before the shooting…and you can no longer take your eyes off the pages.
The story involves corrupt officials in the Attorney General’s office and corrupt FBI officers who are in league with Mexican drug lords, gunner runners and money laundering. A member of congress is charged with criminal acts such as accepting bribes and pay offs, and his Defense Attorney, Vincent Sorrentino, is the hero who falls in love with the Heisman trophy’s widow and eventually decides to help her in discovering who her husband’s killers are.
We learn that Tom Perini, the celebrity football star who use to play for the Jets, has been money laundering for the drug lords. He leads a double life. His wife knows nothing of his business ventures. He is killed when he skims 98 million into several secret bank accounts in different parts of the world. The killers assume that his wife would know where the money is. She claims she knows nothing, but in her zeal to find his killers, she discovers more and more of her husband’s secret life. I can’t say any more than this otherwise I’d have to tell you what happens. (5).
Again…I was kicked out of the program after typing 30-40 minutes in a book review and losing all that content! Don’t know what caused it. I’ll have to remember to save everything every so often!!!
Kane and Abel is an excellent book. A wonderful novel describing the lives of our two main characters. We learn of their contrasting early childhood, how they grew up and eventually what happens to them. William Kane is a 3rd generation blue blood from Boston. He is destined to become Chairman of their family’s small bank. He is precocious and has a natural acumen for making money; he is a mathematical genious like his father and grandfather before him. His best friend at Harvard is Matthew Lester, son of one of the largest bank in the country. William is determined to become the Chairman of the Lester’s bank.
Wladek is the bastard son of a Polish Baron. He is brought into the castle as a young boy to be the Baron’s son’s playmate and student, so the two can live, study and play together. Wladek becomes one of the family. Poland is invaded by Germany. The Baron’s entire household is imprisoned and destroyed. We realize later on that he is the bastard son of the Baron from a genetic mutation.
Eventually, the Russians take over, and Wladek is shipped off to Russia as a prisoner. He is befriended by a Jewish doctor who helps him escape. The escape led him to Moscow and Constantinople, and eventually, to the British Embassy. He eventually winds up on Ellis Island and is given the name of Abel.
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