ENTRY FIVE

Final thoughts on the book......................

BORING

I don't mean to disrespect anybody out there who liked this book but really? From pages 40-153 were just about the people in his life and we never hear anything else about the Iran-Contra or the Nicaraguan incident. So pretty much there is no closing the the book. He continually talks about his friends and family and I'm sitting here thinking to myself what the heck. Honestly when the book ended talking about this guy Norman Starr and how he pretty much had no relation to the main plot, I wanted to throw my book out the window because of the waste of time it was. I would have been nice with some sort of conclusion but all there was was a United States Constitution. I guess they put it there because they had no real ending. The Constitution didn't have anything to with the plot of the book at that time and the ending was pretty abrupt. I was really suprised when I realized that the book was so bad because the author James A. Michener is a world renoune author of novels and such. When I read some things online there was stuff about how the book was a great novel and really gave depth the the United States cover-ups, but it didn't. Overall, I hate to say this but, NOBODY READ THIS BOOK. I may seem like I am being really negative, but you would understand if you had read this.

ENTRY FOUR

Nothing very relevant to the main plot happened during this part of the reading. Michener did have the main character Jared Starr go over how one of his relatives Emily Starr's life and he significance to the story and to the United States of America. Sadly she has none and it was a very boring section to read in general. My two Glogsters® are about the main character Jared and the Iran Contra, which has come up numerous times in the book and has proved to be the main plot of the whole story. The one about Jared basically sums up his life and how he is so important in this story. The whole layout in general is supposed to resemble how patriotic he is and how he would do anything for his country. I mostly showed this with the colors, backgrounds, and pictures. The next golgster which is about the Iran-Contra is meant to be more strait forward and informational. It is a basic layout of what the Iran-Contra is and it has some interesting facts about it. To learn more about this historical event refer back to ENRTY THREE and read the link. Overall this section of the book was the dullest thus far and I am really starting to hope the rest of the book is not like this or I will not be able to keep my eyes open.

ENTRY THREE

So far the novel has not progressed as well or as far as I would have liked. Many of the things that the author touches upon are quite repetitive and there isn’t always a point to what Michener is saying. Sometimes he just ends his thoughts without a conclusion. Right now I am reading about Justice Edmund Starr who is the Chief Justice and is related to the main character Jared Starr. Basically he is talking about how this man is somehow involved in the Nicaraguan controversies and the Iran-Contra cover-ups. He apparently got the job of Chief Justice because James Monroe, the Secretary of War, liked Edmund a lot and when Monroe became president he quickly appointed Staff to the Supreme Court. After this his life went “boom” and he was in the heart of many of the historical court cases that swept our nation.



This video has to do with the conspiracies of 9/11. This is just an example of how the government tries to cover things up even though there is still outstanding evidence that they are wrong. Almost everyone has heard of the Plane hitting the Pentagon on 9/11 and how there was a big conspiracy because all of the evidence pointed toward a missile hitting the East wall instead of a large airplane. This relates to my book because of the government cover-ups with the Iran-Contra and the Nicaraguan ordeal that is going on. This video is just supposed to be an example of how well the government can keep valuable information away from the public and do it fairly easily.

Link - The Iran-Contra

This website has some very interesting information regarding the Iran-Contra and what the conspiracy is behind that event. This website ties perfectly into my book because it is mainly about controversy and what problems the nation has had regarding secret missions. Even though the Iran-Contra is just one of many, it is mentioned a whole lot in my book and that is why I thought it was appropriate to show you what it is all about. This whole thing is what Jared Starr is mixed up in because he was basically the head of sending people away on secret missions and having them be kept quiet. Since he did not do a very good job he is being asked by a committee about his involvements in Iran and Nicaragua.

ENTRY TWO

The main character Jared Starr, along with his wife Nancy and Zack McMaster his attorney, are caught in a lot of legal trouble. Jared has approved and appointed a lot of secret military missions in Nicaragua and the Senate Committee apparently wants to interrogate him because of all of the legal woes going on there. They also accuse him of being involved in a secret Iran mission that he did not take any part of. That is how the book begins.

The first thing that surprised me in the book is the lack of background knowledge. The author kind-of abruptly brings the court case upon you without letting you know why or about any of the background information to why he might be brought up on any charges. I hope the whole book isn’t like this because it will be pretty hard to follow. I had to read the first section of my book twice to actually get what was going on because of the way that the author presented what was going on upon you. On the contrary, this book is very interesting and goes in depth about secret missions that the United States ran and how the were ran. Many of the things that Michener talks about are real life and pertain to us even today because of the long-term effects.

I believe that the novel will progress in a slow way. Since the whole book is about Jared Starr reflecting on the things in his life over the span of one weekend before his Committee hearing, you can assume that the book will move at a snail’s pace. I think that Jared will go more in depth about the Nicaraguan ordeal and what really went down so that we as the readers can more easily understand the whole situation. Overall I think that the book is bound to be interesting for the rest of the journey.

ENTRY ONE (prologue - basic knowledge)

Reading Schedule
Entry One 2/27 - Prologue/Background info

Entry Two 3/6 - pg. 3 - 44
Entry Three 3/13- pg. 45-91
Entry Four 3/20- pg. 92-126
Entry Five 3/27- pg. 126-173
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Legacy, from what I have read a researched, is a book about a man that is shortly about to be brought in font of a congressional committee. He reflects on his life and the long line of proud Americans that he had descended from. He takes us back to the people that had affected him most on his life and tell us many interesting stories about his ancestors and people that he loved and still looks up too. Many critics agree that he is the painter of a "timeless family portrait and an eloquent lesson in American history."* The author James A. Michener has written many other loved classics, from Tales of the Pacific to Texas and forthcoming Alaska. Michener created over forty titles, the majority of which are novels of sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in a particular geographic backdrop and incorporating historical facts into the story as well. Michener was known for the meticulous research behind his work. Something that you might find interesting is that he was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Some predication that I have about the book are that he will go over and tell us about the people that affected him the most in his life. For example he might talk about his life in general, from his childhood to his adult years and the people that were in his life during that time. He will reflect on all of the things that he enjoyed and hated and all of this will happen in a short time span before he gets called in front of the congressional committee. I am positive that this will be a very interesting books to read over the next month because I personally love books that are based in the early 1900's.

*Quote From: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/
˚Picture From: http://www.shsu.edu/