PIC No. 74:
• Title: The Reckoning: A Novel
• Author: John Grisham
• Publisher: Doubleday (Oct. 23, 2018, 432 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket
Welcome to Issue No. 74 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.
Another John Grisham Page-Turner
Clearly, John Grisham doesn’t need my recommendations to help him sell books. Per Wikipedia, “according to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide.”
You’ve likely read one or more of his books. I’ve read several Grisham novels over the years, but none in the last 10-15 years. My wife keeps prodding me to read something outside of my leadership/management obsession, so I bought The Reckoning when it was first published in October 2018. And LOL…I finally read it last month on vacation!
Did you know that Grisham’s first book, A Time to Kill, was initially rejected by 28 publishers? The first print run was just for 5,000 copies back in 1988.
The Reckoning is another page-turner. I’ve always been interested in World War II books, movies, and documentaries. (My favorite movie: The Hunt for Red October.) Grisham tells the story of decorated war hero Pete Banning who survives the Bataan Death March in the Philippines and returns to his Mississippi home and farm, there to commit an egregious crime. His lackluster defense: “I have nothing to say.”
In addition to the legal complexities that the author weaves into his books, The Reckoning mixes in the Jim Crow South, the local Methodist Church, a pastor, a murder, deep secrets, and the insanity of war.
This would be a great read for a book club. I would want to discuss these themes: the consequences of sin and guilt, forgiveness and redemption, the impact of secrets and lies, justice and judgment, and the power of love and sacrifice. While I wouldn’t recommend that clergy turn this into a five-part sermon series, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone has already referenced the book from the pulpit! (Warning: some of the sections are brutal.)
Note: While reading this book, The Wall Street Journal ran a piece on June 6, 2024, by Bob Greene, “Ike Returns to Normandy: In the 1964 anniversary film, Eisenhower recounts the D-Day invasion for CBS’s Walter Cronkite.”
Greene quotes Dwight D. Eisenhower, “I devoutly hope that we will never again have to see such scenes as this.” Amen.
While The Reckoning is a novel, it dramatically captures the “war is hell” theme. I was reminded of a family friend of my father-in-law and mother-in-law who miraculously survived World War II. Writing in the Notre Dame News on Jan. 7, 2003, Bill Jauss pays tribute to Notre Dame football star Mario G. `Motts' Tonelli (1916-2003):
“The life of Mario G. ‘Motts’ Tonelli reads as though it was scripted in Hollywood. But Tonelli, who died Tuesday at 86, wasn’t a Hollywood-type hero. He was a blue-collar, Chicago-type hero. Tonelli grew up the son of Italian immigrants on the North Side and became a star fullback at Notre Dame in the late 1930s before playing for the Chicago Cardinals in the National Football League in 1940. After one season, Tonelli entered the U.S. Army and eventually survived the infamous Bataan Death March in World War II and 42 months of brutal treatment in three Japanese prison camps. His weight dropped from 188 pounds to under 100.” (Read more here.)
To all veterans and those serving today—thank you for your service.
PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies.
[ ] Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand. (Read my review.)
[ ] Hitler in the Crosshairs: A GI’s Story of Courage and Faith, by John Woodbridge and Maurice Possley. (Read my review.)
[ ] Rumsfeld’s Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life, by Donald Rumsfeld. (Read my review.)
[ ] Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, by Ben Macintyre. (Read my review.)
[ ] See also the reviews of five books in “Part 14: Leadership & Management at War,” in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books, by John Pearson with Jason Pearson.
[ ] In the classic 1949 film, Twelve O’Clock High, Gregory Peck plays an Air Force general tasked with rejuvenating an exhausted and demoralized bomber group in World War II. (Read my review.)
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