The Last Winter

Two worlds--one story. Two worlds falling apart: Romania from the agony of Ceausescu's reign and under his successors to this day and Nineveh the doomed shortly before the Babylonian conquest in 612 BC. One story: rampant corruption lawlessness pervasive moral degradation and cruelty. Rulers and robbers are almost impossible to distinguish from one another. A thin minority of honest people still try to change their worlds: some fight in bloody revolutions others devise new laws. Do they have a chance? The lead character a researcher comes from their ranks. His is a long-term vision. He seems to think that beyond their decline and punishment both worlds have something left to salvage--their libraries their cultural identities. <I>The Last Winter</I> relates his dreams his struggle and implicitly his hope. He has essentially one friend a cat and one hope--that future generations will appreciate and need the heritage he's striving to preserve. Wish him luck.</P>