Naked Presidents: An Alternate History

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Conservatives will find much of the plot twists pushing, if not puncturing the envelope of credibility (e. It’s premised on a reversal of historical fate, which allows him to show how differently historical reputations might have evolved for two men with similar problems. More than a work of fiction, Naked Presidents is a wild romp through an alternate universe, where conventional wisdom is overthrown and some of our most cherished myths are destroyed.

In Silver's world, JFK's infidelities become public knowledge thanks to enemies like Hoover, and spark the nation's first independent counsel investigation and impeachment trial, whereas Bill Clinton is shot and killed by an ex-Marine named McVeigh in revenge for the Waco tragedy. Silver clearly knows his history: the most important single episode that informs this narrative is not the JFK impeachment or the Clinton assassination but the Cuban Missile Crisis, which he details in his prologue.Kennedy does not face an assassination attempt in Dallas, but goes on to a successful reelection, only to face impeachment when his affair with Judith Campbell is revealed. Because of this, his book ends up being more an artifact of the Clinton years than an enduring work of alternate history that is valuable in its own right. By contrast, his development of the rest of his cast is much weaker, leaving it to the reader’s familiarity with their real-life personages in most respects.

The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.Allen declined to provide any details on any tensions in the Clinton's private quarters during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In most respects, his speculation of a post-Dallas presidency is the more interesting of the two sections, particularly when postulating Frank Sinatra’s renewed friendship with the Kennedy family. A quote attributed to Ben Franklin establishes the theme: "impeachment is the political equivalent of assassination. It was refreshing to see a novel that didn't make a "Kennedy survives his assasination" plot into the second coming for America. What if Kennedy was the President who was impeached because of a sex scandal, and what if Clinton was the one struck down after only a thousand days in the White House?

The evolution of this alternate timeline without the JFK assassination: Vietnam, Watergate, Iran-Contra, the Space Program, all are changed. Silver’s focus is on recounting events in his alternate timeline; because of this, his development of his novel’s characters is much weaker.The Vietnam era generation (of which I am not) and those longing for the success of the 90's will appreciate the intertwining of worlds both invented, inverted, and completely true--as JFK survives Dallas, Clinton is a whistle blower, Sinatra lives the latter part of his life sans tongue--while sex permeates the novel just enough to make it as slick as the real and reinvented presidents who play the lead roles. By contrast, his allohistorical path with Clinton is more tortured, as Silver makes him a general in the 1980s so that he can stop the Iran-Contra affair (which, as he points out in an insightful aside, would have been perceived as more scandalous without Watergate to compare it to) before entering electoral politics. com, the Sell on Etsy app, and the Etsy app, as well as the electricity that powers Etsy’s global offices and employees working remotely from home in the US. What if Kennedy had been the President impeached, and Clinton the one struck down after a thousand days in the White House? In this quirky, yet fascinating book, James Silver turns History inside out to show what might have happened.

More than a work of fiction, NAKED PRESIDENTS is a wild romp through an alternate universe, where conventional wisdom is overthrown and some of our most cherished myths are destroyed. Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections - they may also appear in recommendations and other places. The shocking surprise ending will leave the reader wondering just what is reality and what is fantasy after all.Allen’s stories, and those of many other White House residence staff, are revealed in detail in a new book “The Residence,” by author Kate Andersen Brower.