Sun, 10 Aug 2025 16:35:01 -0700WeeblySun, 24 Feb 2019 18:57:13 GMThttp://www.rmtauthor.com/journal/mystery-of-the-secret-list-in-the-revolutionistJulie Josephson, and her brother, Newt, risk their lives to protect a secret list that is not only a record of political resistance fighters in Emperor Bismarck's Germany (1888), but is a link to the former identity of their immigrant mother and father. The children's coming-of-age odyssey at the heart of the American Industrial Revolution follows the tradition of their parents and determines their destiny entering the 20th century. ]]>Thu, 13 Dec 2018 16:33:28 GMThttp://www.rmtauthor.com/journal/toxic-masculinity-in-burton-blake​Beginning with World War II, Burton’s father, Elias Blake, was born into and raised in a society that institutionalized and defined masculinity through the manifestation of physical power. His primary model is his guardian, Web Dawson, an ex-Marine, who trains him in the lore of guns and hunting.
 
The influences of accepted physical male behavior and the repression of genuine sympathy, love and emotion has the effect of alienating his son, Burton. Upon Burton’s return from South Africa to become the company CEO, he is confronted with the deeply-rooted tradition in the company culture of toxic masculinity in the characters of his two vice-presidents, Lawrence Harden and Earl Frederickson, who attempt to block and control his efforts to make changes in the philosophy of how the company operates, which is profit over people.
]]>Thu, 13 Dec 2018 16:29:31 GMThttp://www.rmtauthor.com/journal/the-strength-of-burton-blakes-character​Burton Blake is a likeable young man. As a generous and altruistic person, he becomes a Rhodes Scholar. In keeping with his desire and personal standards to help others and to learn about different cultures, he is committed to working with impoverished people in other countries. He does not consider himself privileged. His unselfish intent is to help people with whom he works to improve the conditions of their lives.
 
My research for the book placed Burton in South Africa where he works as a Red Cross volunteer. He is reluctant to leave and resentful at being called home to replace his deceased father at the head of a company in which he initially has no interest and does not share his sense of ethics and morality learned from his mother and stepfather, as well as other childhood influences. These differences are the core conflict of his story.
]]>Wed, 05 Dec 2018 16:04:41 GMThttp://www.rmtauthor.com/journal/burton-blake-as-a-millennial-icon​Burton Blake is more than a name. He is a contemporary iconic protagonist whose father emerges from World War II and mid-century America to pass along his corporate empire to a young idealist in modern society. Not only is the novel a suspenseful entertaining story with a large cast of colorful real-life characters, it explores events and influences of the last century that resonate with the country we have become today.

The sequel to The Revolutionist, Burton Blake is historical fiction that shows how billions of dollars and the greed and desperation to hold onto it can lead to corporate espionage, and even murder.
]]>Thu, 29 Nov 2018 16:18:58 GMThttp://www.rmtauthor.com/journal/cultural-symbolism-in-burton-blake​What is the physical and the symbolic significance of the grizzly bear in the story?
Why does the hunting and fishing cabin in Alaska become a sanctuary for Burton? How does he use the location to protect himself?
 
How does Dr. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Dawson provide Burton with a link to his father’s childhood years and a new realization about Elias Blake?
 
What confidential information does Elias Blake’s second wife, Alexis Andamiano Blake, provide that is further insight into the nature and behavior of Burton’s father? In learning more about his father, what does Burton learn about himself?
 
What role does the news media play in the story?
 
What role do regulatory agencies play in the story?
 
Who is the unexpected source that comes to Burton’s rescue?

​Burton Blake is a story about social justice and is a moralistic or cautionary tale.]]>Thu, 29 Nov 2018 16:16:01 GMThttp://www.rmtauthor.com/journal/the-challenges-of-burton-blake​As Burton undertakes the challenges of leading the company in a new direction that corresponds to the values of his own millennial generation, who in the company tries to prevent and stop him? What means and methods do they apply? Are they successful? What is Burton’s reaction? What does he do to fight against them?
 
How would you describe the corporate culture or the prescribed and shared values of the Blake Corporation? Who and what are the sources of the corporate culture? Social, psychological, political? Describe the personalities of management that dominate the company.
 
What is meant in the novel by The Cult of Wealth?  
 
What is the role of the corporation in engaging in various forms of corruption and exploitation of human and natural resources to gain profit at any cost? Who are the victims?
 
Who does Burton discover he can count on as friends, mentors, and collaborators to support him and cover his back?
 
Various social and political forces block Burton’s efforts to change the company. Although he is the CEO, he is excluded from the “inner circle.” How does his exclusion handicap him?
 
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