A feel-good story: An evangelist, a thug, an aspiring dictator—all against the government; with all trying to use telepaths as an excuse for violence. While things start out painfully leisurely, the character development is done well and the plot thickens. Meanwhile the “bible” of this story, “Sense and Non-sense”, provides a back-drop of mental & emotional stability from which we gain a certain distance from the different characters of the book—and an understanding of them…and maybe, even of the “real life” characters of today’s political turmoils.

“It’s time for me to come clean and confess that there truly is magic afoot. If you wish to have unlimited power, the proper spell is writ ‘E = mc2’. For the ability to shape the destiny of the world with words,
read the speeches of Winston Churchill. This is white magic. It takes both talent and years of study to master it, as any scientist or statesman can tell you, but if you persevere you will develop the ability to
do everything a wizard might do, and then some.”

This book was written in 1988…and, while it is well written, it lacks the emotional strength to make the necessary impact today (2021). So, even though it provides a useful message for modern America, I can’t recommend it for other than the benefit of a pleasant story with a positive (and sad) ending. [The story gets a solid 3-stars from me, and the moral gets an extra 1/2-star] And I don't like the cover illustration....it looks like a bunch of interns at a carnival.

“Indifference to me, is the epitome of all evil.” Elie Wiesel ( )