About
Rick Zalon first developed an interest in telling this particular story while teaching (as a part-time adjunct) in a progressive “green” MBA program at the now-defunct New College of California in Sonoma County, where he encountered many of the controversies, contradictions, passions and unique personality types/disorders portrayed in “Coyote Point Casino.” Trained as a journalist in the US Air Force during the Vietnam era (he served as a public affairs representative and TV network liaison during the last two Apollo missions), Zalon worked as a financial executive in Silicon Valley, wrote the original business plan for Office Depot, consulted for a number of joint-venture companies in China, and survived stage IV non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He currently maintains a small tax and consulting practice, coaches CPA exam candidates and teaches part time at Dominican University of California’s more conventional School of Business and Leadership.
Betrayal (Alex and Cassidy) (Volume 2)
Description
<p>There is no one to trust in Nancy Ann Healy’s thrilling new novel, <i>Betrayal</i>.</p><p>FBI agent Alex Toles is relieved to return to work at the NSA after a frightening on-the-job ordeal. Her life partner, Cassidy O’Brien, and Cassidy’s seven-year-old son, have also been instrumental in healing Alex’s wounds.</p><p>But their peace is short-lived when they discover that their good friend—and President of the United States—John Merrow, has been assassinated.</p><p>Little do they know, however, that President Merrow’s death is just the beginning. Even as Alex and Cassidy are forced to confront the loss of their friend and the ramifications that will have on the global stage, they must cope with problems much closer to home.</p><p>Battling intolerance over the nature of their romantic relationship and long-hidden secrets within their families, Alex and Cassidy must confront the truth of their pasts in order to build the future they seek.</p><p>On top of it all, they must confront a conspiracy that spans multiple governments, intelligence agencies, diplomatic services, and international corporations if they are to finally discover the truth about the mysterious group known as the Collaborative—and about themselves.</p>
Story Behind The Book
This semi-autobiographical novel is the story of a desperate small-time businessman whose travels through China on the eve of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre take him into a netherworld of corrupt local officials, Hong Kong’s criminal “Triads,” and renegade CIA operatives. Throughout, he is forced to confront his own inner demons from Vietnam, and the larger meaning of his Jewish heritage. The Jingwei Bird realistically portrays the political and economic tensions in China in the late 1980s at the dawn of its re-emergence as a world power. -
Reviews
<p>~~The Jingwei bird is part thriller, part romance, and a large part true experience. An eager young businessman from Northern California tries his hand a making his fortune through investing in newly opened China in the 1980s. He becomes a pawn of Chinese gangs, politicians, and the CIA. Scoundrels abound! Up is down and who can you trust? A fun read.</p>
