It seems my last few entries are more book-review’s then any talk of God, and for that I am truly sorry. I just really haven’t been in a good place personally, and maybe that’s something I can blog about too, but for now, here is another book review.
A Forgotten Man: A Life of Julia Story
The Review
As per FTC guidelines, I received a copy of this book in return for my unbiased review, no other compensation has been offered, asked for, or accepted. What follows is my opinion on the aforementioned book.
There are few books which I consider ‘page turners’ and this one – despite it being a well-deserved criticism of progressivist/liberal/socialist ideology – is definitely a page turner. I managed to read the entire book, in e-book format (I do not normally enjoy doing much reading on a computer screen in one sitting), in one day. Mr. Bryars has managed to take a campaign ad – admittedly one which I’m still ignorant of at the time of writing this review – from President Obama’s re-election campaign, and use it to paint an accurate picture of not just what life would be like under such policies but how they actually are because of those policies. It is really poignant in my own life as well due to my own circumstances.
The characters of Jack, Donita, and Julia Bosarge are believable. I could almost mistake them for my next door neighbors or even my best friend and his family. From having a good steady job to losing it all, this scene is really played out in America and – as in the book – most of the players do not care about who they hurt in the process.
Ultimately A Forgotten Man is a story not of a man and his family, but of the effects that the liberal agenda has on the very people they claim to be helping. From radical environmentalists who care more about animal welfare then human welfare to the government who just tries to shut up the squeaky wheels so they can remain in power. A government big enough to set aside wildlife refuges where there were none before is big enough to send whole communities of Bosarge’s into the poor house, unrecoverably so, by the very policies put in place that claim to try and help. This is a story of government excess, and why socialism/progressivism/liberalism cannot exist without a strong central government, something our Founding Fathers sought to avoid. They understood the problems associated with it, and such problems have played themselves out throughout history. The U.S.S.R., China, Cuba, North Korea. Anywhere socialism exists in its purist forms, there exists equally impoverished people and equally brutal governments. China succeeds not because of socialism, but in spite of it. With the loosening of governmental reigns over business, China’s economy is able to blossom. With the tightening of governmental reigns in the U.S. the economy is stagnating and slowly dying.
A Forgotten Man reminds us of the kind of men who managed to succeed. Not the ones who took the hand-outs, but the ones who took chances, worked hard, and never complained about how tough it was because they understood they were entitled to nothing they didn’t earn themselves. Jack Bosarge continues to want to work not out of stubborn pride, but because he knows that hard work is needed to succeed and pull oneself up out poverty, not government programs which tell you that you can’t work and actually incentivize not working.
In the end, the children whom progressives claim to want to help, are the ones ultimately harmed by the very policies they have implemented. A Forgotten Man should be read not just because it’s a good story, but also because it’s an excellent illustration of the realities of socialism, a reality which the current generation of ideologues on the left want to forget and have forgotten. It’s a harsh criticism wrapped up in a poignant example wrapped up in a beautifully written tale of one family’s struggle to make it when even the government has turned against them.
The Rating
As always, the rating is on a 5-point/star scale.
I give this novel a full 5-stars. Poignant, gut-wrenching, true. For a work of fiction it starkly illustrates the realities of life under progressive/liberal/socialist policies, and as if history isn’t a reminder enough, it is a reminder of what otherwise good people could feel forced into because of well-meaning but ultimately faulty policies when the government stretches beyond providing for the national defense, the enforcement of contracts, and enforcement of laws protecting life and property. I recommend this novel for all readers ages 15 and up. For the younger readers it will give them a broader perspective then what is currently being taught in schools, and for older readers it will hit home just exactly what happens when you keep asking the government to intervene.
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The Ameliorated Man 