Julian Stansfield is a US Naval officer on a nuclear
submarine, his wife Olivia, is a Classic Studies major at Dartmouth. The two
share a love most couples only dream about. They have four children, three boys
and a girl.
Olivia, being a political exile from Cuba, has an
extraordinary love for America. The following is what Olivia inscribed in a large
laminated bookmark, to go along with a book she gives to one of her sons for
his birthday; it sums up the entire book:
“Love of democracy can be likened to a mother’s love for her
son. It must be nurtured and protected for all time. Happy birthday, Julius,
Love, Mom.” With the inscribed bookmark
came a single preserved Red Globe Amaranth flower.
Because of Olivia and her family’s adversity in Cuba, Julian
and their children learn the true meaning of liberty. Their three sons graduate
from Annapolis and join the Navy, like their dad, and their daughter becomes a
world renowned pianist.
American Amaranth is a novel which begins in the future,
2016. It follows Julian Stansfield in a world war as he is now Director of
Naval Intelligence at the Pentagon. He has personal vested interest in the war,
because his sons are fighting and his beloved Olivia dies. He makes a promise
to bring their boys home safely.
Instead of reading a history book about a war already
fought, or in the midst of fighting, American Amaranth is a history book of a
future war. We get to experience it through a family’s eye. As with any war, it
is never a pretty sight.
J.R. Ortiz manages to intertwine the hell of war with the
love of his family. It is a well written novel including all the elements of a
good story.
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