Bücher von William F. Weld

This unusual combination of suspense and political humor tells the story of Terry Mullally, a man forced out of his position as US attorney in New York under a cloud of official misconduct and ends up running for Senate, only to have his past catch up with him. For Terry Mullally, ambition has never been in short supply. Orphaned young and driven to succeed, Mullally isn’t one to let the rules stand in his way. But when his bosses at the Justice Department don’t agree with his boundaryless tactics and force him from his job, Mullally finds himself at a blue-blood Boston law firm with a wood-paneled smugness that can’t compete with his growing political aspirations. Possessing a rakish charm, acerbic wit, and an utter disregard for morality, Mullally is perfectly fit to run for political office. At home in a world where image really is everything, he promptly and shamelessly wheedles a stint as District Attorney into a headlong run for Senate. But even as his campaign, and his advances on a married cohort, gather a seemingly unstoppable momentum, Mullally finds the prizes he seeks are haunted by the ghost of his scandalous past, leaving him with the only option any amoral candidate would seize: the unexpected.

In 1938, five towns in western Massachusetts were flooded to create a huge reservoir.In this beautifully rendered novel of coming of age, of loyalty and betrayal, good and evil, and of bravery and an abiding love, Stillwater marks a significant literary step forward for William Weld in what has already emerged as a notable writing career.Fifteen-year-old Jamieson, who lives on a farm with his ironic and strong-willed grandmother, watches life unravel for the men and women whose world is about to be obliterated. Some take refuge in whiskey or denial, some give in to despair, some preach hypocrisy -- and some decide to turn a profit on their fellow citizens' misfortunes.Jamieson falls in love for the first and hardest time with the unforgettable Hannah, a dreamy girl from the poor farm. She enriches his sense of what is being lost by recalling lives that were lived in the Valley during the French and Indian War, the insurrection of Daniel Shays, and the War between the States. Jamieson feels in his bones that the living are surrounded by the dead.As the seasons turn during the towns' final year, events spin out of control. Church services are supplanted by pagan rituals in the woods, public morality is undone by the exposure of a "disorderly house," and any semblance of a normal life on the farms is undermined by the impending flood. In September, the hurricane of 1938 completes the Valley's destruction.As Jamieson is losing the world of his boyhood, it is Hannah who opens his eyes to wider possibilities and helps him taste a measure of revenge on the men who sold out the Valley towns. It is not so difficult, after all, for the living and the dead to change places.Weld has been praised by the New York Times for his "writer's eye and ear." Stillwater illuminates nature's magnificence, man's inhumanity, people's courage, and the destiny of place that is characteristic of America.