Books by Mark Spivak

A power-hungry vice president, a bad batch of shady intelligence, and a sinister plot to destroy Western civilization.Just another day in America.On May 1, 2001, a group of radical Islamic terrorists crash a Boeing 737 jet airliner into the Mall of America-and Vice President Robert Hornsby knows his moment is coming.The attack kills three thousand American citizens and throws an entire nation into a panic, but all Hornsby sees is an opportunity, a chance to imprint his fanatical values on the soul of the country he loves and become the most powerful vice president in American history.With the aid of his affable but ineffectual president; the reluctant, conscience-stricken secretary of defense; and a preening, foppish faith leader with more than a few skeletons in his closet; Hornsby declares war on terror-and anyone who stands in his way. But as media scrutiny of the administration's actions overseas intensifies, Hornby's one-man campaign against evil begins to unravel-with striking parallels to the thirteenth century's doomed Fourth Crusade-and sends the nation spiraling toward another deadly tragedy.The American Crusade paints a grim and often cynical picture of America's recent past, reflecting the attitudes, politics, and fears that shaped our nation in the new millennium. By sampling the contemporaneous French text on the Fourth Crusade, On the Conquest of Constantinople, author Mark Spivak reminds us of that ever-vital adage: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."Fans of The Castle by Jack Pinter, The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, House of Cards by Michael Dobbs, The Whistler by John Grisham, and the Aaron Sorkin-penned TV drama The West Wing will love this book.This book is for anyone who likes reading about:¿ American politics¿ American history¿ Conspiracies¿ Global politics¿ Political intrigue¿ Terrorism

Moonshine is corn whiskey, traditionally made in improvised stills throughout the Appalachian South. While quality varied from one producer to another, the whiskey had one thing in common: It was illegal because the distiller refused to pay taxes to the US government. Many moonshiners were descendants of Scots-Irish immigrants who had fought in the original Whiskey Rebellion in the early 1790s. They brought their knowledge of distilling with them to America along with a profound sense of independence and a refusal to submit to government authority. Today many Southern states have relaxed their laws and now allow the legal production of moonshine provided that taxes are paid. Yet many modern moonshiners retain deep links to their bootlegging heritage. Moonshine Nation is the story of moonshine's history and origins alongside profiles of modern moonshiners and a collection of drink recipes from each."