↓
 

Carla Rising

What happens when greed rules?

Carla Rising
  • Home
  • Buy Carla Rising here!
  • Contact / About the author
  • Media/Press
    • Author’s Bio
    • Hi-Res Photo, Topper Sherwood
  • Topper’s Blog
Home→Tags Ronald Reagan

Tag Archives: Ronald Reagan

Trump & Co: An Old, Familiar Story

Carla Rising Posted on May 25, 2017 by Topper_SherwoodMay 25, 2017

It strikes me that so much of Trump’s administration is blatantly recycled Reagan policy — whose failures, remarkably, have been buried in the American public memory. US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, for example, says he’s reviving the “War on Drugs.” … Continue reading →

Posted in History writing, US history | Tagged CIA, Donald Trump, Edwin Meese, Iran, Iran-Contra, Israel, Mideast, Nicaragua, Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Scandal, Sentencing Guidelines, special investigator, Trump, War on Drugs | Leave a reply

Readings

History lesson: Bush administration’s chickens come home to roost

Carla Rising Posted on November 22, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodNovember 22, 2019

What people might want to remember today is that the US Justice Department has convicted the sitting president’s closest associates — including his attorney and his former election campaign manager — as criminals. They are sitting in prison for financial … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

EU publishing: German PEN acts to protect Turkish writer

Carla Rising Posted on November 20, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodNovember 20, 2019

Press Release: 19 November 2019 Ahmet Altan becomes honorary member of the German PEN Centre The PEN Centre Germany is following with great concern the fate of the Turkish writer and journalist Ahmet Altan, arrested in July 2016 for “supporting … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

American Models

Carla Rising Posted on October 26, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodNovember 9, 2019

Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 — I was talking to a dear, old friend of mine some time ago. She was thinking-out-loud about her current work — for a US food processing giant — and comparing it to the work she … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

Joblet: Playing Charles Duhigg’s Anger Translator

Carla Rising Posted on October 11, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodOctober 12, 2019

* I met Jonathan Franzen at a big signing of his, some weeks ago: “You know, Amazon is killing the American publishing industry,” I told him. He was nonplussed, saying “But Amazon has some really good book people….” The picture … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

Troll-Dog’s Cabaret Song

Carla Rising Posted on September 28, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodOctober 6, 2019

(c) Topper Sherwood Based upon by a song by Erich Mühsam (1878-1934). A radical poet and writer, Erich Mühsam — like so many other German and Austrian men — had been shattered by his experience in World War I. Mühsam … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Tagged 1920s, German history | Leave a reply

Biden, Trump, and the Ukraine Crisis: Losing the Point of 2014 US Policy

Carla Rising Posted on September 24, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodSeptember 24, 2019

US President Donald Trump is currently using US allies in the Ukraine to ‘out’ 2014 business ties between Hunter Biden and a “shady” Ukrainian energy executive, so that the president might bring down Joe Biden as a Democratic contender in … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

Brexit Satire

Carla Rising Posted on September 17, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodSeptember 17, 2019

16. September, 2019 — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in Brussels today, where he was told that the responsibility for proposing yet another ‘deal’ for the UK’s exit from Europe falls upon him, not the EU. EU ministers also … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Tagged Brexit, European English | Leave a reply

At Last: US View of Amazon is Changing

Carla Rising Posted on June 17, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodJune 17, 2019

This segment of the “On the Media” podcast is, simply, excellent. Amazon is being seen for the US monopoly that it is. (AP illustration for linked “On the Media” podcast) https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/making-america-antitrust-again-on-the-media … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Tagged Amazon, monopoly, Publishing, writing | Leave a reply

A book of books

Carla Rising Posted on April 28, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodApril 28, 2019

I have to share my enthusiasm for a book I’m reading, by a writer-editor who has “earned his epaulettes,” so to speak. Martin Puchner’s “The Written World” is a ‘must’ for any member of the world’s Scribe Nation. I’m planning … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Utopian Society, Writing & Publishing | Tagged Martin Puchner, Textbooks

Mueller Report: Another Take

Carla Rising Posted on April 18, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodApril 28, 2019

It’s fairly clear by now that the sitting US president is an unindicted criminal — his lawyer says so and, unlike other oligarchies, this is not the reason he is in jail. Having been prosecuted by thorough investigators and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Tagged Trump | Leave a reply

What People Are Saying...

"Carla Rising will lure many readers into imagining what it would have been like to have been part of the struggles (for change)....likely to engage both your thoughts about history and your emotions about this intense conflict."
— Paul Nyden, Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail

"Very strong first novel from Topper Sherwood.... Sherwood's writing gave me a real feel for the landscape of West Virginia, as well as the landscape of the times. I'll eagerly read anything else he writes."
— Catherine in L.A.

"Carla Rising left me entertained and curious — so curious, in fact, that I did a lot more research into the U.S. mine wars; the book captured the time period very well."
— Forbes writer Ken Silverstein

"I read Carla Rising twice. Enjoyed it even more the second time."
— John Alexander Williams

"...a propulsive, compelling and readable drama."
— Doug Imbrogno
Charleston Gazette-Mail

"Anyone who likes a good mystery, thriller, historical drama, or just a plain fantastic read...buy this book. ...(It) deserves to be a major motion picture."
— Paula Grgich-Warke

"I can think of five friends who should read Carla Rising."

"What an adventure!"

"I just finished reading this - couldn't put it down until I did.... It's really, really good!"
— Joan C.

"What a deeply engrossing novel, Topper! You fleshed out the characters until I could visualize each one. The plot was heart-pounding, like a thriller. ...The research was astounding and made me want to dig deeper. ...Kudos, Topper, to a novel I will gladly suggest to others."
— Lynne Sandy

"A Novel Worth Reading"
— Paul Epstein

"(Topper Sherwood) has a vast reservoir of original ideas...with very worthy motives as his aim."
— Hallene M. Dick

"A tense book, skillfully evoking the Appalachian landscape and the miners' hopes of bettering their lives."
— John Borland

"(Carla Rising) has captured my heart. I cannot wait to continue reading today. ...I love how you describe in detail the characters' feelings, senses and surroundings. I feel like I'm there. The book definitely draws me in...."
— R.M.

"Carla Rising is a DAMN FINE read."
— Fish!

“I gave Carla Rising to a good friend here. She talked to me a long time about it today. She loved it, and whizzed through it in less than 36 hours. Could not stop reading. … She gets it. All of it.”
— Hilary Chiz

"Hell of a great read! I hope everyone reads this book."
— Ren Parziale

Get Carla Rising here!

CarlaFrontCoverClick here to get Carla Rising as softcover or ebook!

Author’s Statement

As a journalist in the 1990s, I enjoyed researching articles on the “West Virginia Mine Wars” of 1890-1923 – although these labor battles are not easy stories to tell.

To me, the traditional “heroes vs villains” story – even the “poor underclass vs. wealthy oppressors” – wasn’t enough. Both sides could claim “victory,” for example, following the 1921 “Battle of Blair Mountain.” And both sides clearly suffered abysmal defeats in these conflicts which continue to polarize the region a century later.

In writing Carla Rising, my first novel, I was extremely mindful of parallels/allegories for today’s audience. Most notably perhaps: the rise of oligarchs, like my Sheriff Riley Gore, in local/national politics around the world today.

The political domination of energy companies of that time reminded me of the rise of “Big Data” today — of Amazon’s and Google’s effect on publishing, and media-making, especially in the United States. In a word, I personalized the plight of coal miners whose lives and work were cheapened by their employers – much in the same way that Internet firms have cheapened conscientious and time-consuming work of research and writing for news media, for books and nonfiction broadcasts.

Another allegory: During years of studying and publishing about these events of 1921, I was struck by the collaboration between the coal company’s private police/military force and public officials. Federal and state officials did not challenge the presence of a private company’s paramilitary force playing a role in the mining conflict – similar to Blackwater’s role in Iraq or, perhaps, private prisons in today’s United States.

Carla Rising also presents the split on the Left during that time – a split that resulted in the conscious purge of leftists during and after the New Deal, including the black-listing of Socialists and Communist Party members. After the 1980-88 administrations of Ronald Reagan (who participated in black-listing in Hollywood), it was easy to see how more mainstream liberals filled the void left by yesterday’s “reds,” a process of demonization that continues today (2017), pushing the United States further and further to the right.

Some of Carla Rising‘s characters represent the vulnerable middle class – most notably, Mary Rising, Carla’s mother – caught in the middle and pressured to take sides in an increasingly polarized environment.

So, there are plenty of modern allegories to find in Carla Rising. I hope you enjoy it.

– Topper Sherwood,
Berlin, 2017

©2019 - Carla Rising - Weaver Xtreme Theme
↑