The Rowan Tree
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3.8 • 48 Ratings
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Publisher Description
Rowan Ellway is a young college president; Easter Blue, an impassioned student leader. Upon graduation, she takes a fellowship to Africa, and they lose touch. When, decades later, they meet again, they discover that their prior bond was but a rehearsal for the world stage.
THE ROWAN TREE reaches from the tumultuous 1960s into humanity’s future, encompassing the worlds of politics, sport, ballet, presidential leadership, and world governance. An international cast of characters personifies the catalytic role of love in political change.
Replete with illicit loves, quixotic quests, and inextinguishable hope, THE ROWAN TREE foretells a dignitarian world much as the story of King Arthur and the round table sowed the seeds of democracy.
Customer Reviews
The Roman Tree
In all my reading life I have never read a book so moving and inspirational as this book The Roman Tree by Robert W Fuller. I want to thank you for the privilege to read this story and I will certainly be passing it on. It will also be a book that will be read over and over.
I thank you brilliant.
Me no dig
Author
US Physicist educated at Princeton and Columbia. Penned the well-known page turner 'Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics.' You probably read it during a beach holiday. After a stint as President of Oberlin College, Fuller threw in his academic life to become a “citizen diplomat improving international relations during the Cold War.” Way to go, Bob. After 1989, he turned his attention to philosophical matters and coined the term “rankism," meaning abuse of persons of lower rank by those of higher rank. We used to call it life. Now we call it being a CEO. Bob came up with an answer too: "dignitarian society."
Precis
It’s the sixties. Rowan Ellway is a young, newly appointed College President when he meets Easter Blue - really, that’s her name - an idealistic, indefatigable student leader. There follows a disjointed narrative on politics, sport, ballet, presidential leadership, world governance, and hope for - you guessed it - a dignatarian world. Sprinkled in for reasons not apparent to me: 1. Longstanding incestuous love for a sibling, and 2. Assorted Don Quixote impressions by Easter.
Writing
The narratives, such as they are, never really integrate. There's more than a modicum of misogyny as well. I’ve never read a book where the word “bellicose” appears more often. When it comes to novels about political philosophy, Mr Fuller is no Ayn Rand. Hers have a plot.
Bottom line
I picked this up thinking I'd like to learn more about dignitarian politics. Turned out I didn't.
In a perfect world ...
A very long read, full of what ifs.
I think I wasted a lot af precious reading on this one.
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