Review of Sacred Freedoms

[Nonso Samuelson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sacred Freedoms" by Robert P. Frueholz, Ph.D..]

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3 out of 4 stars

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When the Soviet Union shoots down a passenger plane that loses its way and flies over its airspace, the stage seems to be set for military action between the Soviet Union and the West (USA). Until this point, relations between both sides have been finely poised on a knife's edge. The immediate and expected reprisal from the United States never comes, but this singular act of the Soviets set events in motion that will threaten the very existence of humanity.

In Sacred Freedoms, Robert P. Frueholz goes to great lengths to capture the political, economic, and military machinations at play during the height of the Cold War. The nuclear arms race between the West and the Soviet Union and the intelligence and counterintelligence efforts of both sides at the time were brought into sharp focus. I enjoyed the variety in the characters and how they slotted into their places in the character hierarchy. These included Colonel Stan Carlson, a man with a misguided and near-fanatical sense of patriotism; Jim Weiss and Phil Wilson, small fishes in a big pond who have only the best interests of their country at heart; and Jerry O'Neill, a diplomat skilled in the art of international relations who will be crucial to salvaging humanity's fate. In all, Robert did a fantastic job of recreating the state of affairs between the world powers and the inherent political tension as events unfolded.

Robert's explanation of the science behind the production of nuclear warheads and communication and network channels was a nod to his knowledge of chemical physics and his four decades in the aerospace industry. The detailed explanations of these systems may have been a little over my head, but it pointed to the level of research that went into this book—I have to appreciate that.

Sadly, while the content of this story was terrific, the execution of the plot fell short due to the author's writing. It didn't feel as intriguing and pulsating as the premise promised. I noticed this in increasing measure as the story progressed.

This book was littered with grammatical errors. I had to pause countless times to get the implied meaning of a sentence. This was a sore sticking point for me.

Overall, it was a good story. However, I can only rate this book 3 out of 4 stars due to the lack of professional editing. I recommend it to lovers of history and international relations. Students of politics, diplomacy, and strategic warfare will also find it interesting.

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Sacred Freedoms
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[Chinaza Nnabuenyi]

I think this book is so different, the controversy between the Soviet Union and the West (USA) brought out the light of this book. Good job!

[Luchris_michael]

The book has a controversy within it. I would love to read it fr information. Good review.

[Gabriella1997]

History and international relations is such an interesting study, am adding this to my book shelves, beautiful review.

[Samuel Segun 1]

Good review of the book, what I read from the book is that Robert's explanation of the science behind the production of nuclear warheads and communication and network channels was a nod to his knowledge of chemical physics and his four decades in the aerospace industry. So that war start between two country.