Comparativists evaluate democratization by looking at regimes in the transition and consolidation phases of democracy without considering the essence of democracy. This book argues the need to consider democracy as a combination of rights and virtues, and that problems of democraticization are those of balance. Scott Waring and his wife are privileged young Americans, but on their honeymoon trip to Berlin in 1939 they experience deadly Gestapo tactics. Some years later, as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers, Scott helps to liberate Buchenwald concentration camp, suffering further psychic wounds. Trying to recover from these accumulated traumas, he sees a psychotherapist, undergoes a symbolic circumcision, and searches for more than a decade for someone to love. As an engineer during the war, Scott frequently demolished bridges, but now he labors to build connections among people. Fast (Seven Days in June, LJ 7/94) is a veteran novelist who provides skillful narration. In one key detail, however, his story may test the limits of credibility. That Scott would unthinkingly carry a revolver within yards of Adolf Hitler, casually fondle the gun inside his pocket, and hence be accused of trying to assassinate the Fuhrer may seem implausible, but such events are crucial to Fast's entire plot. Recommended for public libraries. -?Albert Wilhelm, Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. The latest feather in the cap of a prolific writer, this riveting new novel proclaims Fast's remarkable prowess for storytelling. The plot centers on Scott Waring, a privileged New Yorker with a blue-blood heritage and a brilliant future. Waring's perfect life is shattered when his lovely young bride is killed during their honeymoon in Berlin, at the hands of Hitler's Gestapo. Carrying the burden of guilt over his wife's death, Waring himself bears witness to the Holocaust during the ensuing war years. The demons that distance Waring from others are ultimately exorcised through psychotherapy, and in an unexpected twist, he finds love again with a survivor of Dachau. Fast's acutely rendered, riveting tale is sure to satisfy readers. Alice Joyce When Scott Waring married the woman he adored and took off on a European honeymoon in 1939, he felt he had all that life might offer any man. But the honeymoon turned into a nightmare, and Scott Waring was plunged into the most horrific episode of the 20th century, Germany under the Nazis and WWII. Faced with an agonizing loss, Waring embarked on a desperate search for healing, redemption, and love. Howard Fast Used Book in Good Condition