Reviews
"This deeply felt and precisely written story of two young lovers — Bill, undercover for the CIA, and Liz, privileged and openly revolutionary — immerses us in the turmoil of the 1967-70 student protests that lead inexorably to reckless violence and ruthless police repression, testing the breaking point of American democracy. The novel puts us there to show how devotion to altruistic government can go wrong, foster intransigent revolutionary idealism, painfully wither the human heart, and destroy love even as it proclaims saving humanity. This is a vivid story for to- day, too. The tragedy of Liz and Bill reminds us of our duty to seek fair justice in a world newly yanked apart by zealous, vengeful divisiveness."
— William Conger, artist; professor emeritus, art theory & practice Northwestern University
Photo by Bill Hood
Photo by Bill Hood
"In Rebellion, Love, Betrayal, Jack Heinz takes us into the hearts and minds of young Americans who were simply trying to do what was right during a time when it was hard to know what was right. Through the eyes of Heinz’s characters, we learn about the politics of the Vietnam War era, on all sides, in compelling terms. This is a “must read” for anyone interested in the history of that era. You can’t leave this book without looking more deeply into your own convictions about freedom, loyalty, and, most of all, love."
— Linda Hughes, award-winning author of
Secrets of the Summer
"The novel artfully draws the reader into a respectful engagement with the antagonistic characters. It makes us like them before we undertake to judge them. We find no clichéd vilification of the CIA honcho in Langley, even as he orchestrates the undercover operation central to the plot; no dark caricatures of antiwar activists as bloodthirsty anarchists, even as they plot boneheaded acts of violent resistance; and no sanc- timony from the protagonist, even as he struggles with irreconcilable loyalties to his CIA employer on the one hand and his activist-lover on the other. Each character is credibly human, so we hear them out. And we find they have a lot to say about a complicated and still-painful chapter in American history."
— David A. Collins, JD, PhD former president of the American Bar Foundation
"Jack Heinz masterfully combines the eye of an historian with the in- sight of a novelist dealing with the complexity of characters. Through Bill and Liz and their relationship, the novel explores the political, social, and moral issues that the tumultuous period of 1967-1970 raised. Those who lived through that period, and those who want to understand the issues raised then that have helped to shape our current attitudes, should find this novel fascinating."
— Rayman Solomon, JD, PhD
former Provost Rutgers University, Camden
"Rebellion, Love, Betrayal is a compelling story. Heinz, a renowned scholar in law and the social sciences, has brought his formidable skills to a work of fiction—to the good fortune of his readers. He has produced an important novel concerning the troubling events of 1968 as well as an enjoyable read."
— Irvin Slate, retired lawyer
Hot Springs, AK
Photo by Bill Hood