Hearts on Fire is an historical novel set in Paris, 1968, about Robbie Samberg, a young American studying abroad who comes of age, finds love, and uncovers an alarming state secret amidst the turmoil of that fateful year. It's a love story and a tale of intrigue that unfolds in the tumult of the events of that May in Paris, on the front lines of the student revolt at Nanterre, at the secret peace talks to end the Vietnam War, and inside the political skullduggery of Richard Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign. As if life for a student in Paris at this time were not complicated enough, Robbie falls in love with a beautiful Vietnamese girl, Le My Hanh, the daughter of Le Duc Tho, the Foreign Minister of North Vietnam, who is in Paris to negotiate secretly with the United States to end the bombing and start peace talks. Robbie soon discovers Richard Nixon's attempts to interfere with the peace process to protect his campaign from a last-minute settlement that might deny him the presidency and is drawn into a web of espionage, testing his love for My Hahn and challenging his loyalty to his country and his family at home. Robbie's escapade as a secret go-between Le Duc Tho and Lyndon Johnson is a political adventure story designed to thrill and amuse. As the story unfolds, the reader enjoys a bird's-eye view of the movements that rocked the period--anti-war, civil rights, woman's liberation, and the anti-Semitism and racism that stained and still stain France and America. It's a joyride through the chaos of 1968 with important lessons for the polarized climate of 2018, capturing the intense passions of a year of hearts on fire.
Author Biography:
Bill Pearl is an American author who lives in Palm Beach County, Florida. Bill's novel Hearts on Fire, Paris 1968, was inspired by his experiences as a student in Paris in1968. He attended the American University in Paris, Colby College, Waterville, Maine and the George Washington University, Washington, D.C. (B.A., M.A.) Formerly, Speech writer to the Administrator, Federal Energy Administration (FEA), Washington, DC '75-'77, Bill wrote the column "Energy Sense" for 800 weekly newspapers in the United States for former FEA Administrators John C. Sawhill and Frank Zarb. Prose & poetry published: George Washington University Hatchet; Time Magazine; Paris Voices, Paris, France; Fiesta Magazine, Boca Raton, Florida; Encore Magazine, Albuquerque, NM; The Poet, Peu a Peu, Mishawaka, Indiana, The Advocate, Prattsville, New York. Author of "Heart Songs" Second Place of 34 books entered in 2003 Annual Poetry Book Competition sponsored by Poets of the Palm Beaches; Author of "China Heart", Inspirations of Chinese Characters, a book of poems published in 2012. Bill is a Rotarian and three times president of the Rotary Club of Palm Beach, Florida. He has also served as Chairman of the Rotary Foundation for Rotary District 6930. His proudest moments in Rotary have been in organizing professional exchanges between America and France, two countries he loves very much!
