Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Simon & Schuster Audio (2010), Edition: Unabridged
Description
An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Exposing the plan and revealing the conspirators behind it, PR executive Noah Gardner hatches his own plan to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted.
Media reviews
Suffice to say that, the subtitle notwithstanding, there is nothing even remotely thrilling about this didactic, discursive — sporadically incoherent — novel. The image of a train wreck comes quickly to mind, though this book actually has more the character — and all of the excitement — of
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a lurching, low-speed derailment halfway out of the station. Show Less
Anyone who has tuned in to Beck's show knows that he is sometimes joined on-screen by best-selling thriller writers such as Vince Flynn and James Rollins. In his foreword, Beck notes his love of the genre and acknowledges that "the goal of most thrillers is to entertain." Sadly, he seems to have
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learned little from his thriller-writing friends. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member ServusLibri
Glenn Beck is a remarkable radio and TV personality but is difficult to classify. He has been embarked on a campaign to educate and disseminate the period and the views of America’s founders. The “Overton Window” is his attempt to bring this campaign to another media. He both succeeds and
The tale itself is a mystery, a love story, a history, a revolution, and an education. One hero, a public relations practitioner, moves from his world of apolitical and highest payer ‘spin’ to a world of revolutionaries by following and falling for a girl. We follow him through events and through his education. The only way to evaluate the book is to look at the different parts of the author’s campaign as presented.
As a mystery it is a moderate success, a page turner with surprises. As a love story it is a failure. As a history the “Overton Window” is somewhat confusing. Beck does introduce some of the ideas of America’s founding, and couples those ideas with current events, Tea Party activists, Homeland Security, and new laws. He must select from this broad range those elements that support the mystery, but the selection is a hit and miss success. The revolution is to be continued.
As an education, the book is also spotty. Beck has some elements of “Atlas Shrugged” as his protagonist goes introspective and attempts to establish in his own mind where he stands. He goes into some detail, but Beck tries to accomplish in ten pages what required a hundred for Ayn Rand. You can learn some things by careful attention, but no overwhelming reasoning seems likely to create a generation of fans. You do learn the meaning and use of the ‘Overton Window’ used to describe the politically possible.
In a somewhat unique feature, Beck gives us a 28 page ‘Afterword’ pointing out where some of his elements connect to history, politics, and current events. This may be as valuable as the rest of the book.
Now for the hard part… will you like the book? If you are already a Beck fan, you will absolutely enjoy the read and the ride; if you strongly oppose him, you will probably consider it ridiculous. If you are drawn to the Tea Parties, the partial education makes this a worthwhile read. And if you support the growth of government, you may still learn something of your opposition by reading the “Overton Window”.
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fails at this effort.The tale itself is a mystery, a love story, a history, a revolution, and an education. One hero, a public relations practitioner, moves from his world of apolitical and highest payer ‘spin’ to a world of revolutionaries by following and falling for a girl. We follow him through events and through his education. The only way to evaluate the book is to look at the different parts of the author’s campaign as presented.
As a mystery it is a moderate success, a page turner with surprises. As a love story it is a failure. As a history the “Overton Window” is somewhat confusing. Beck does introduce some of the ideas of America’s founding, and couples those ideas with current events, Tea Party activists, Homeland Security, and new laws. He must select from this broad range those elements that support the mystery, but the selection is a hit and miss success. The revolution is to be continued.
As an education, the book is also spotty. Beck has some elements of “Atlas Shrugged” as his protagonist goes introspective and attempts to establish in his own mind where he stands. He goes into some detail, but Beck tries to accomplish in ten pages what required a hundred for Ayn Rand. You can learn some things by careful attention, but no overwhelming reasoning seems likely to create a generation of fans. You do learn the meaning and use of the ‘Overton Window’ used to describe the politically possible.
In a somewhat unique feature, Beck gives us a 28 page ‘Afterword’ pointing out where some of his elements connect to history, politics, and current events. This may be as valuable as the rest of the book.
Now for the hard part… will you like the book? If you are already a Beck fan, you will absolutely enjoy the read and the ride; if you strongly oppose him, you will probably consider it ridiculous. If you are drawn to the Tea Parties, the partial education makes this a worthwhile read. And if you support the growth of government, you may still learn something of your opposition by reading the “Overton Window”.
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LibraryThing member Ozedasgirl
This is one big ole fact/fiction story. I like the story line and the way the author pulled it all together. I also like the way Mr.Beck sites his sources in the back of the book and shows the difference from fact and rumor. I did find the build up at the beginning a bit slow but once the story
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started moving it kept me interested. I would recomend this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member McCarthys
An excellent book which builds on reality and fact and takes logical and possible steps forward in a cautionary tale of what can happen when you stop paying attention to your government.
LibraryThing member caroren
A scary book, which rings true, somewhat like 1984, but not the greatest writing -- but it will scare the pants off of you! A plan to destroy America, a hundred years in the making, is about to be unleashed . . . can it be stopped?
There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can
But all of that changes when Noah meets Molly Ross, a woman who is consumed by the knowledge that the America we know is about to be lost forever. She and her group of patriots have vowed to remember the past and fight for the future--but Noah, convinced they're just misguided conspiracy-theorists, isn't interested in lending his considerable skills to their cause. And then the world changes. An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Amidst the chaos, many don't know the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact--or, more important, which side to fight for.
But for Noah, the choice is clear: Exposing the plan, and revealing the conspirators behind it, is the only way to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted.
There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can
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shape our lives, our laws, and our future. It works by manipulating public perception so that ideas previously thought of as radical begin to seem acceptable over time. Move the Window and you change the debate. Change the debate and you change the country. For Noah Gardner, a twentysomething public relations executive, it's safe to say that political theory is the furthest thing from his mind. Smart, single, handsome, and insulated from the world's problems by the wealth and power of his father, Noah is far more concerned about the future of his social life than the future of his country. But all of that changes when Noah meets Molly Ross, a woman who is consumed by the knowledge that the America we know is about to be lost forever. She and her group of patriots have vowed to remember the past and fight for the future--but Noah, convinced they're just misguided conspiracy-theorists, isn't interested in lending his considerable skills to their cause. And then the world changes. An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Amidst the chaos, many don't know the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact--or, more important, which side to fight for.
But for Noah, the choice is clear: Exposing the plan, and revealing the conspirators behind it, is the only way to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted.
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LibraryThing member Ti99er
First the government concocts a plan on where to lead the people. Then it formulates a strategy on how to enact such a farfetched scheme. Enter the Overton Window. Slowly move a previously unacceptable process into an accepted way of life. Let me give you a simple example, before 2001, in depth
The Overton Window uses some creative license to get its point across, but Beck paints a very vivid picture of his view on what our government is doing behind the scenes. At the end of the book (story) he devotes a chapter to his source material and challenges his readers to look into it in greater detail for themselves.
An entertaining read, especially for the conspiracy theorists among us.
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random searches of both belongings and body would not have been tolerated. Enter the events on 9/11 and now it is an accepted practice.The Overton Window uses some creative license to get its point across, but Beck paints a very vivid picture of his view on what our government is doing behind the scenes. At the end of the book (story) he devotes a chapter to his source material and challenges his readers to look into it in greater detail for themselves.
An entertaining read, especially for the conspiracy theorists among us.
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LibraryThing member schatzi
I'm a liberal, and I think that Glenn Beck is a complete charlatan. But that doesn't mean that I wasn't willing to give this "novel" a fair chance; I tried my very best to go into this book with as few preconceived notions as possible.
And in the end, this is a horrible read. I'm not saying that
The characters are wooden and incredibly two-dimensional, and they were prone to monologuing for entire chapters. Seriously. This "novel" was more like several speeches strung together with a bare minimum of plot.
I won't even start on the grammar mistakes. Has the semi-colon become extinct? Are comma splices the newest rage?
This book was a complete waste of time for me. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'm just glad that I didn't waste any money buying it!
And in the end, this is a horrible read. I'm not saying that
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because it doesn't mesh with my politics (or reality). I'm saying that because, in spite of being billed as a "thriller," there is no suspense. Reading this book was like slogging through molasses. Nothing is pushing the plot forward. This is probably the most boring book I've read all year.The characters are wooden and incredibly two-dimensional, and they were prone to monologuing for entire chapters. Seriously. This "novel" was more like several speeches strung together with a bare minimum of plot.
I won't even start on the grammar mistakes. Has the semi-colon become extinct? Are comma splices the newest rage?
This book was a complete waste of time for me. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'm just glad that I didn't waste any money buying it!
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LibraryThing member morrisonhimself
“The Overton Window” will be a big disappointment to mainstream critics: It’s actually pretty good.
Too often, political tracts in the form of a novel can be stultifying. Henry Hazlitt tried it and, while his economic ideas were, of course, right on, his attempt at a novel was a failure, as
Mr. Beck’s though, is a pretty exciting story, suspense and crime set within a period that ominously parallels our own – in fact, pretty much is our own.
Mr. Beck frequently disparages his own intellect, but the fact is he reads voraciously. His title comes from this idea, as spelled out in Wikipedia:
The Overton window, in political theory, describes a "window" in the range of public reactions to ideas in public discourse, in a spectrum of all possible options on a particular issue. It is named after its originator, Joseph P. Overton, former vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Mackinac Center, by the way, is a freedom-oriented think tank.
Anyway, Glenn Beck creates a revolutionary movement within an increasingly oppressive nation-state and, along the way, discusses ideas and history.
In fact, his last chapter is an “Afterword” in which he lists actual people, actual quotes and publications of the past, and draws the lines that, at least in his opinion, connect them all.
From Threshold Editions – Mercury Radio Arts, division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2010.
Highly recommended.
Too often, political tracts in the form of a novel can be stultifying. Henry Hazlitt tried it and, while his economic ideas were, of course, right on, his attempt at a novel was a failure, as
Show More
even he realized. (“The Great Idea” or “Time Will Run Back” is still worth reading, though, if only for the novelty.)Mr. Beck’s though, is a pretty exciting story, suspense and crime set within a period that ominously parallels our own – in fact, pretty much is our own.
Mr. Beck frequently disparages his own intellect, but the fact is he reads voraciously. His title comes from this idea, as spelled out in Wikipedia:
The Overton window, in political theory, describes a "window" in the range of public reactions to ideas in public discourse, in a spectrum of all possible options on a particular issue. It is named after its originator, Joseph P. Overton, former vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Mackinac Center, by the way, is a freedom-oriented think tank.
Anyway, Glenn Beck creates a revolutionary movement within an increasingly oppressive nation-state and, along the way, discusses ideas and history.
In fact, his last chapter is an “Afterword” in which he lists actual people, actual quotes and publications of the past, and draws the lines that, at least in his opinion, connect them all.
From Threshold Editions – Mercury Radio Arts, division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2010.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member cwflatt
Another freighting book of what the future could be. How easy it would be to topple our government while the country livse in a "I don't know, I don't care" attitude.
Freedom is prescious and fragile the only way the constitution to work is for the citizens not the politicans to remain on watch for
Freedom is prescious and fragile the only way the constitution to work is for the citizens not the politicans to remain on watch for
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those wanting to take our freedom away. Show Less
LibraryThing member JayInAmes
Pretty good, a little predictable. Pretty prescient, considering it was written a few years ago, but many topics applied to current events.
LibraryThing member cmeilink
I just finished this book, and, to tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure how to rate it.
It's the type of book that makes you think and consider the possibilities; unfortunately, the possibilities offered in this book are frightening.
What if some of the known horrendous events that have happened in
Although this book is fiction, many of the references are based in fact and the combination is riveting.
When Noah, a young man associated with one of the most powerful public relations firms in the country meets Molly, an idealistic believer in the power of the people, the result is a story that is shocking in its believability.
A good read.
It's the type of book that makes you think and consider the possibilities; unfortunately, the possibilities offered in this book are frightening.
What if some of the known horrendous events that have happened in
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this country had been orchestrated with an ulterior purpose in mind? What if a power group had arranged some events to ultimately have the public think the way they want them to think, react the way they want them to react?Although this book is fiction, many of the references are based in fact and the combination is riveting.
When Noah, a young man associated with one of the most powerful public relations firms in the country meets Molly, an idealistic believer in the power of the people, the result is a story that is shocking in its believability.
A good read.
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LibraryThing member atdCross
Unfortunately, I could not get into the book. It was actually slow moving from first page to last and I struggled to finish it thinking it might get better. To be honest, since it was boring reading to me, I kind of lost what the whole premise was all about, so if anyone at LibraryThing has read
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this, please let me know what I missed. :( Show Less
LibraryThing member Jeani1512
What can I say? I couldn't put this book down. I hear that is a sequel coming this year. I can't wait. The thing is , all this could and most probably is happening now. It makes you wonder about every thing you see and hear about. It sure opened my eyes as to how we are lulled into a false sense of
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reality. Highly reccommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member gmicksmith
Easy read, plausible, and based on actual documents or suggested by evidence.
LibraryThing member KR_Patterson
This was better than I thought it would be. It was a little heavy-handed at times, and there were a few things I was confused about. But overall a good thriller. I especially loved the concept of the Overton Window, which is basically ( I hope I don't slaughter this too bad) the window of truths
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the general population are willing to accept at any given time. Depending on who you are and your motivations, the goal is to push the boundaries of this window. I liked how the book itself (as with most any other) is a type of Overton Window in that it pushes us a little further to expand this window. I know this is a thriller, but I think that's why I love the Dystopian genre so much. If we can (in at least part of our minds) accept a fictional, crazy future, we will be better prepared to handle a reality that will probably be far less extreme. Show Less
LibraryThing member fulner
Wow! I went into this book with low expectations. Really would you expect ANYTHING good from a Fiction book written by Glenn Beck? I only picked it up because I like the title as I had read other items on the concept of the Overton Window.
This story follows Noah Gardner, the heir apparent of a
Molly the patriot girl has an elaborate story, and a family, and a love interest who appears to be this universe's Alex Jones. They convenience Noah to break into his father's business to get more data on a coming false flag.
Or did they? Was it all a trick, are these patriot wack jobs trying to frame him?
While from a guy who invited the idea of a "9/12" group about "how we all loved America right after 9/11" I had heard Beck had been trying to steal some of the audience of Alex Jones, but I didn't realize how far down the rabbit hole he had gone.
But the deception in this book is on all sides. The sexual tension is much more than I would expect from a Mormon, and all in all I cannot recommend this enough, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, but certainly if you have had any ongoing with the "patriot" movement in your life, you'll get a kick out of this, and I suspect the lefty hippies will too.
This story follows Noah Gardner, the heir apparent of a
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super powerful "Marketing firm" used by the global elite to swing thing in their direction and his short lived love affair with the new mail girl, a "patriot" in some sort of Tea Party movement. Molly the patriot girl has an elaborate story, and a family, and a love interest who appears to be this universe's Alex Jones. They convenience Noah to break into his father's business to get more data on a coming false flag.
Or did they? Was it all a trick, are these patriot wack jobs trying to frame him?
While from a guy who invited the idea of a "9/12" group about "how we all loved America right after 9/11" I had heard Beck had been trying to steal some of the audience of Alex Jones, but I didn't realize how far down the rabbit hole he had gone.
But the deception in this book is on all sides. The sexual tension is much more than I would expect from a Mormon, and all in all I cannot recommend this enough, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, but certainly if you have had any ongoing with the "patriot" movement in your life, you'll get a kick out of this, and I suspect the lefty hippies will too.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2010
ISBN
144230524X / 9781442305243