American Odyssey

About the Book

American Odyssey, a novel set in the not-too-distant future, is the chilling story of a totalitarian America that has plummeted to a nation set on world domination. 

The protagonist, Herb, is a young "everyman", a schoolteacher.  He falls in love with a colleague who introduces him to the resistance movement.  A series of personal misfortunes, including the death of his soldier twin, impel him to become a dedicated activist against the dictatorship.

His group is soon exposed, and he and his love, Tony, become fugitives.  She is soon killed.  At that point Herb's odyssey begins as he travels the nation in search of "the movement".  The preponderance of  the novel reveals the state of the nation and of the people.  He comes into contact with a cross-section of the United States.  They are men and women -- laborers, farmers, professionals, students..They are Black and white and Hispanic, and each is unique in the manner in which his/her life has been degraded under the dictatorship.  At the beginning they are impoverished, fearful, dispirited. 

In time, as the economic crisis deepens and battlefield losses mount, there are changes in the populace.  Apathy turns to anger and then to resistance.

Herb becomes reconnected with the opposition to the dictatorship.  The American people in large numbers, disheartened by the desperate quality of their lives, simply "opt-out" of the system.  The military, too,  appalled by the unending wars and bloodshed, also becomes disaffected.

Millions converge upon Washington, D.C. the dictatorship falls, and the foundation is laid for the re-establishment of  democracy in the United States.

About the Author

Alvin Levie was born in New York City in 1927. He has had a varied work life. Following his discharge from the Navy in 1945 he worked as a seaman for the Army Transport Service. After a short stint as a baker's helper he worked for 10 years as an open-hearth steelworker in Pittsburgh. While in the mill he studied writing at Carnegie-Mellon University. He then found employment as a public relations professional in an advertising agency. From Pittsburgh he moved to Hartford. Connecticut where he worked as a union organizer. In 1984 he traveled to Nicaragua and researched Nicaragua - The People Speak, which was published by Bergin & Garvey in 1985. Levie and his wife, Edith, have recently re-located to Bradenton, Florida. They have four children and 10 grandchildren.