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Book Review By Ryan Menezes
The Crash of '79 by Paul E. Erdman

Bill Hitchcock was one of America's great financiers, but having sold off his banks, he now works for the government - the Saudi Arabian government. Hired as the official financial advisor to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Hitchcock finds himself in control of hundreds of billions of dollars, and is now one of the most powerful men in the world.

While a good portion of the book is devoted to details of economics, described in such a style as to blend in with the fiction, the main plot of the novel centers around the Shah of Iran - considered a fool by some, a madman by others. The Shah's plan to take over the middle east involves obtaining nuclear weapons by hiring the best scientist in the field.

Complications ensue when Hitchcock finds himself romantically involved with this scientist's daughter, and slowly begins to pick up on the details of the Shah's plan.


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - Dry-cynical
Time/era of story:
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 0 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 80 %
Who's the terrorist enemy here?
Search for technology?
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Eccentric: Yes
Motive of antagonist - power
The antagonists are: - evil politicians
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Dumb

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - California
Desert? Yes
Desert: - hostile arabs

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Explicit sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - actual description of sex - descript. of breasts - descript. of other female areas - rape (yeech!)
A lot of techno jargon? Yes
Kind of jargon? - math
Unusual forms of death - radiation
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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