A tantalizing premise: an American president of the 1800s who suffered unbearable personal tragedy and had a lacklustre presidency is allowed to return to earth to correct his former life. He seeks out his eternal soulmate to aid him in rescuing the America he loves. Meet Franklin Pierce, Sally Weare, Nathaniel Hawthorne, H.W. Longfellow and Lafayette. Danger! Romance! Humor! Mysterious China beckons…
Franklin Pierce was handsome, intelligent and charming. He had an abyssmal life, however. How wonderful it would have been if he could have reached his potential. What Kind of Man… does just this sort of examination. In it, Franklin is encouraged to have a good time, this go-round.
This novel is divided into three sections. In Contact, the spirit of Franklin Pierce makes his re-entry into the mortal world and contacts his eternal soulmate, Sally Weare. On a “side trip” he whisks her back to a ball in the 1800s to meet his college mates, Hawthorne and Longfellow. One day Franklin leaves mysteriously, breaking Sally’s heart. In the section The Washingtonians, Franklin returns as mysteriously as he had departed. He and Sally must travel to Washington where he can try to get bills passed to improve America’s plight. On the train there, they are confronted by terrorists and Franklin must do some fancy footwork to save them all. When in Washington, Franklin observes some interesting activity going on in the top of the Washington Monument. He decides that they must go to China because of what he has witnessed. Shortly before they depart, they take part in a (life-threatening) wagon-train re-enactment at the encouragement of visiting British friends. Aine, Sally’s British friend has been her one confidant throughout her adventures with Franklin. In Beyond The Yellow Sea, their hair-raising adventures in China begin. They do get a glimpse of the long-lost bones of Peking Man, an obsession of Sally’s. The story is resolved in a most unusual way–with the help of a portenteous message from long-gone Nathaniel Hawthorne.
What Kind of Man… is filled with history, spoofy humor, and the Epilogue contains interesting tidbits.
It is an escapism/entertainment novel.
Average rating is “5 Stars.” A reviewer from St. Louis says, “Mind-boggling and thought provoking! This book caused me to review my history, but most of all it was entertaining. It held my attention and was written with much creativity. I was always trying to guess what was going to happen next. A lot of detail was put into the historical elements of this and I would be interested in reading more books by this author. If one tries to imagine how this story would play out, if real, it seems like it would be like this…It is a cleverly-written book of romance, intrigue and sci-fi. The characters come to life.”
John S. says, “I love the way Greenberry Baxter writes!” Effie M. says “Hang onto your hat for an exciting ride!” Phoebe S. says “Superb Writing!”
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