DISPATCH :: Operation Warrior Library author Lawrence Goldstone♦

While I was writing yesterday's post introducing the new group of OWL authors, I somehow missed adding Lawrence Goldstone's name and contribution. Which is an absolute shame because I just finished his book, THE ANATOMY OF DECEPTION, last night and I'm so pleased to be able to tell you about it and thrilled that this great book will be heading to Afghanistan shortly.

Lawrence cleverly crafts a suspense story involving some of the real life doctors who created modern medicine as we know it. As you know I'm a sucker for mixing reality and fiction. Lawrence does a first-rate job here and I would have run to Wikipedia more often if I hadn't been so eager to turn the page and see what happened next. Among the great details in this book is a sub-plot showing the twisted relationship between heroin and aspirin. They're more darkly intertwined than I ever imagined. Wild stuff.


I actually saw a man on a train reading this book this week, so jump on the train yourself before the train leaves the station.

Lawrence is also one of those rare writers who is able to seamlessly move between fiction and non-fiction. The other book he has contributed to our cause is THE ACTIVIST: JOHN MARSHALL, MARBURY V. MADISON AND THE MYTH OF JUDICIAL REVIEW. I haven't read this one yet but it sounds like a fascinating glimpse at one of those lynch-pin moments in American history when everything changes. Here's a brief description:

The story of the landmark case that put the “Supreme” in Supreme Court.

Among the many momentous decisions rendered by the Supreme Court, none has had a greater impact than that passed down in 1803 by Chief Justice John Marshall in the case of Marbury v. Madison. While the ruling itself was innocuous—denying the plea of a minor functionary named William Marbury on constitutionally technical grounds—its implications were enormous. For Marshall had, in essence, claimed for the Supreme Court the right to determine what the Constitution and our laws under it really mean, known formally as the principle of “judicial review.” Yet, as Lawrence Goldstone shows in his compelling narrative, that right is nowhere expressed in the Constitution and was not even considered by the Framers or the Founding Fathers, who would never have granted such power in a checks-and-balances system to unelected officials serving for life.

I'm betting it's every bit as exciting as his novel.

Remember, you can support Lawrence Goldstone by purchasing his books and messaging him directly in the new OWL Forum. Any purchase you make in the OWL Shop goes to supporting our continuing efforts to connect great books and authors with our troops.

Thanks Lawrence (and sorry about leaving you off the list!)!

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