Introduction

Wild World is the Independent Press Award Winner 2018 for Debut Fiction!
 
Set against the backdrop of the protest era of the early 1970s, Wild World is a gripping novel about one tenacious young man whose determination to overturn the system holds unexpected consequences for his own life.
 
Peter S. Rush brings the '70s to vivid life in his stunning debut novel WILD WORLD, a tour de force, both poetic and realistic, and based on his experiences as a student and police officer. Even though it takes place during a time of protest to the Vietnam War, WILD WORLD could not be more timely.
 
"Wild World is a crime novel, a love story and a mystery all rolled into one... well written and keeps your attention."          --Peace Corps Journal  
 
"A deftly crafted and inherently engaging read from cover to cover, Wild World is an extraordinary and impressively entertaining read from beginning to end ..." --Midwest Book Review  
 
"(Wild World) is so very pertinent to our time that reading it brings into sharp focus those flaws in our present political condition: change is not only possible, but inevitable." --San Francisco Review of Books
 
"An intricate and captivating read throughout.... with the kind of narrative twists that prove wholly addictive...Wild World proves an extraordinarily powerful debut from Peter Rush."  --BookViral
 
In the spring of 1970, Steve Logan, like college students across America, takes to the streets to protest authority and the Vietnam War. Fueled by a strong sense of moral justice, he wants to make the world better--a belief his girlfriend Roxy passionately shares. Weeks before his graduation, Steve's life is upended when National Guard troops kill four students at Kent State University. Then,he meets a reform-minded cop who convinces Steve that to change the system, he has to get involved.
 
Eager to make a difference, Steve decides to give up law school and join the city's police department. While the rookie cop with an Ivy League degree knows that change is difficult, the reality of fighting the establishment is making him different. His education makes him an outsider, and his honesty makes him a threat to the corrupt cops. His college friends think he's a traitor and even Roxy, the woman he loves, has begun to pull away.
 
ButSteve isn't going to give up. Devising a dangerous plan to radically shake upthe system, he begins to collect the evidence to take his enemies down . . .unless they take him out first.

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Excerpt

Chapter 1
Four Dead in Ohio
May 1970
When Steve Logan stepped into the sunlight that Monday, he began to make small decisions that would change his life. He felt a very different vibe on the Brown University campus. The mellow spring weekend had turned to an eerie chill. Students were pouring out of classrooms, not in their normal sleepy stroll but in panic and confusion. The action passed in slow-motion chaos as a knot grew in Steve’s stomach. What didn’t he know? ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. After hearing about Kent State, Steve delays law school to stay with Roxy. What do you think of his decision?

2. "You can't change a system unless you understand it and are part of it... You want to know how things are? You get involved," Durk declares. Do you agree with his statement?

3. Andy is so terrified of being drafted that he joined the Peace Corps instead. What would you have done?

4. Does Steve think Crowley is an effective police officer? If you were months away from retirement, would you play it safe like Crowley?

5. When Steve pulls over his lacrosse coach, he doesn't recognize Steve in his uniform. He receives "a certain satisfaction at the change in power." Is Steve becoming power hungry?

6. Partway through the novel, Steve visits his college neighborhood and sees it with new eyes, "small single-family homes squeezing in kids who lived on munchies and beer. A pizza joint and a package [liquor] store—what else does a college neighborhood need?" Why is he feeling nostalgic instead of comfortable?

7. Roxy has matured in the months since Steve became a cop. Is he foolish for deciding to wait for her?

8. "I've never had to look at corruption so close," says Professor Whitney. What's the difference between knowledge and taking action?

9. Is Father Schmidt right for endangering the lives of his followers in orchestrating a protest?

10. If Steve hadn't discovered what he did, how long do you think he would have remained a cop?

Weblinks

»	Author's web site
»	Publisher's Book Info
»	Peace Corps Book Review
»	Book Life and PW Book Review
»	Foreword Book Review

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