This book was an interesting reading for me. It was one of the best school readings I have been assigned. It was a up front look at a man looking to uncover his fathers past. His style of writing was upfront and direct. We did not feel compelled to censor his minds work of placing swear words in the text where needed, or being vague about intimate love sessions that had taken place. I most enjoyed the idea of the go-cart club. The inventiveness of having this club to lure in the king is one of the most original ideas that I have read in a long while. The book also has a sense of being a bit personal. I do not know Henry Bromell, only that he is good friends with ny english teacher, but from reading this book I have a sense that I know a little about him. That is why I believe people write books, is to allow the readers to have a brief glimpse inside the authors mind and life. He has, in my opinion, succeeded in doing so with Little America.

Californian Henry Bromell uses international intrigue and a vexing family mystery as linchpins in his cleverly plotted novel, "Little America." One might expect a slightly quirky take from the writer/producer/director of the popular offbeat TV series "Northern Exposure." We're not disappointed.

What matters history, personal or global? Readers may decide for themselves as they follow the path of history teacher Terry Hooper while he pries into past lives and navigates the globe in an attempt to discover the truth about his father, Mack. Terry is interested in "what happens inside history, what history hides, what gets left out and what is forgotten."

The elder Hooper, a C.I.A station chief in a Middle Eastern country during the 1950s, was charged with the most diplomatic of tasks - ingratiating himself with the King of Kurash, a cold, inaccessible desert monarch. The King was killed at the age of 23.

Years later, when Terry reads a newspaper article stating that a C.I.A. official carried cash to the young King and a book stating that the King was assassinated by U.S. agents, Terry wonders about his father's involvement, if any, in these crimes. Thus, begins a quest that reveals the past and probes the present.

Once again, Henry Bromell proves his mettle as a stellar producer of first-rate entertainment.

The mysteries at the heart of Little America will keep readers turning pages, but the melancholy soul of its narrator is what endures. By researching the fall and disappearance of a desert kingdom, Terry hopes to penetrate the iron curtain that separated him from the father he saw but never knew. In the process, he tries to claim some integrity for himself in a world of failed gestures, conflicted loyalties, and ambiguous circumstances. Henry Bromell has a wonderful feeling for the self-hatred that accompanies "the nostalgia of defeat." Arabs and Americans alike are portrayed with complexity and sympathy; nobody escapes scot-free. The plot is beautifully constructed but even more impressive is the grace with which Henry shifts from past to present narratives. There are several outstanding moments when the narrator's acuity of perception and depth of feeling mesh perfectly, as when Terry describes a girl playing tennis or when he is overwhelmed by forgiveness and love. The politics of the book are particularly timely - the shadows of Palestine and Iraq never entirely fade from the shifting sands of his narrative. The particularly heinous behavior of the Dulles brothers remind us forcefully of the arrogance that has so often accompanied American power. In the end, Terry's father relies more on patience, trust, and even love than he does on poisoned handkerchiefs and coded messages. Would that there were more like him! This is that rare book that satisfies on many fronts - political, literary, and emotional. Read it.