You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. 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. Also problematic is the disconnect between the two periods; apart from the different path onto which Kennedy’s decisions send the young Bill Clinton, there is no real sense of how the events in the 1960s might have influenced those of two and three decades later (and Silver argues for some radical changes as a result of Kennedy’s survival). 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? To enable personalised advertising (like interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies.

Etsy’s 100% renewable electricity commitment includes the electricity used by the data centres that host Etsy. g., Clinton as an Army General) but those with an open mind and a sense of humor, and particularly historians, should find much to ponder (the way in which Ken Starr becomes a Supreme Court Justice is only one of many, many inventive twists).Both Republicans and Democrats would at least agree that our near-miss with nuclear annihilation in 1962 was The Event to define the character of any presidency. Kennedy was not murdered in Dallas and in the book not murdered at all, and secondly, the book does contain some sexual content that may not be appropriate for all, especially if you are fond of the character.

His term (or terms) might have played out very messily considering what time period he would have served in (would anyone really have wanted to be in the Oval Office in 1968? Personalised advertising may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have a right to opt out. The evolution of this alternate timeline without the JFK assassination: Vietnam, Watergate, Iran-Contra, the Space Program, all are changed. The shocking surprise ending will leave the reader wondering just what is reality and what is fantasy after all. The novel is split into two sections: JFK is one half and Clinton the second, and both men, whose handshake was captured on camera in actual history, veer from that innocent point to grand reversals of fortune in an alternate, more Democratic dominated universe.But again, the story was not improved by long drawn out descriptions of the characters' sexual activity. Other authors have made such an effort in nonfiction works, so Silver’s novel is a change of pace in that regard. 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. A quote attributed to Ben Franklin establishes the theme: "impeachment is the political equivalent of assassination.

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. So, I walked into the bedroom, and the president's just coming out of his dressing room in his underwear,” Allen said. Alternate histories have become a genre in their own right, with WWII being by far the most popular historical period re-examined, but this is the first alternate history I've encountered that addresses perhaps the most fascinating single episode of the 20th century: the JFK assassination. Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections - they may also appear in recommendations and other places. It provides an unusual perspective Bill Clinton, but ultimately squanders the promise offered by the premise to create a fully realized alternate history.

To me this is why Frank Sinatra is in many ways the book’s best-developed figure, as by taking him on a very different historical path Silver spends the time to explore his motivations.

More than a work of fiction, Naked Presidents is a philosophical novel which explodes conventional wisdom and destroys some of our most cherished myths. This allows Silver to make his underlying argument for Clinton’ achievements as a president, an implicit argument he makes explicit at the end in a passionate and rambling epilogue. 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. They have their public face and their private face, and when we were around, it was the public face. Perhaps stating the obvious, the plot itself goes a long way toward achieving that in this novel-as-thought-experiment, although the characters of JFK and Clinton ultimately remain two dimensional men; we get to see very little of their thoughts aside from their shared sexual obsession, and interestingly it is the two leading women in this saga, Judith Exner (in the JFK section) and Hillary Clinton, who become fully realized human beings.Silver’s focus is on recounting events in his alternate timeline; because of this, his development of his novel’s characters is much weaker. In this quirky, yet fascinating book, James Silver turns History inside out to show what might have happened. While the document was designated "for the President's eyes only," Allen would end up seeing more than he bargained for that day in 1981: a naked president. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions.