A warped dream, an overbearing father, and his son A handsome, brilliant man, the author's father-irascible, strong-willed, a compulsive womanizer-stands at the center of this strangely compelling story. In the mid-1970s, after a life in government service, which was shadowy in its depths, Ted Wertime built a fortress-like house on a mountaintop in south-central Pennsylvania. He had forged for himself a secondary career as a highly respected historian of ancient science and technology, and was convinced that it was his fate to lead a sweeping revolution that would cleanse the United States of energy abuse, political corruption, and an odd assortment of social ills. His "citadel" would serve as his revolutionary headquarters. He, his wife, and Joan, the last and most troubled of his succession of mistresses, lived in the house together in a bizarre ménage à trois. His dream was to recruit his four sons to take part in his cause. The author, Richard Wertime, is the second-oldest son. Citadel on the Mountain is the story of his struggle to escape from a domineering and, at times, hypnotizing father who sought to control the sexual and professional lives of his offspring. Three-quarters of the way through, this reviewer was prepared to pan this book. Why does a son have to air all his family's dirty laundryDe.g., his mother having to share a house with his father's mistress or his father's orchestrating an unwanted sexual liaison between the author and a family friend who had practically been a sister to him? Is it just to exorcise the demons of an autocratic, psychologically abusive, though brilliant parent? And do we really need to know about Wertime's (English, Beaver Coll.) childhood attempt to smother his disturbed younger brother or his pet name for his penis? Ultimately, however, this memoir proves as hard-hittingly poignant as Robert Anderson's play and 1970 movie, I Never Sang for My Father, and all this reader's memories of the minefield that is a father-son relationship come bubbling upDthe harsh words spoken and loving ones withheld, the desire to connect, and the need for independence. Truly, death ends a life, not a relationship. Recommended for most public libraries.DJim Burns, Ottumwa P.L., IA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Intense emotions infuse this memoir, lending it realism that those in complicated father-son relationships will recognize. They will become inescapably interested in the Wertime family dynamic, curious about what the author's father will say, do, or denounce next, for Ted Wertime brooked no disagreement with his plans, which on occasion bordered on the apocalyptic. After a career in the State Department (possibly as cover for intelligence activities), Ted set to writing, about ancient metallurgy, or about the future of civilization writ large, often demanding that second son Richard (then an English professor) critique his articles. Those critiques instigate searing moments in the memoir, as occasions for paternal thunderbolts about the terms of their relationship. Other disturbing actions of the father (such as foisting a mistress on the family and shooting dead the family dog) add menace to the warring sentiments that animate the author's recollections. The three-dimensional vitality of the father's characterization is a superb effect of Wertime's subtly drawn family life. A finely written memoir. Gilbert Taylor Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved " ... a beautifully written and painful account ... What can you do when you have a Cold Warrior father? Become an artist." -- John Casey "... Citadel on the Mountain has the trembling urgency and intensity of a book that simply had to be written." -- Rupert Thomson "... hilarious touches, very fresh ... the story of a visionary, half-mad father as seen by his son, a born realist ..." -- Eleanor Ross Taylor "... rivalry of father and son ... written with a novelist's ear for dialogue and a poet's eye for the telling image." -- Guy Davenport Richard Wertime was a longtime editor at Archaeology magazine and is now a professor of English at Beaver College in Pennsylvania.