Martin Shapiro's 2039

Martin Shapiro's 2039 President's Day, February 21, 2039 Life in the United States is much different than we remember it. No nuclear explosions, widespread epidemics, or other catastrophes have devastated the countryside. But the America we grew up in and the land that we loved is gone. The freedoms that the Republic was founded upon have been trampled, shackling the individual "for a more equal greater good" and for the "security of the nation," so says the government. * Retirement age is seventy-five. * Healthcare is rationed. * The NSA, FBI and the IRS monitor everyone, our communications, movements and finances. * More than marijuana is legal. * There is no escape. * Exit Permits are required to leave the country, ...even for a cruise or vacation in the Caribbean. * And that's... just the beginning! The sum of a country's wealth is its ENERGY . America is energy independent and has prohibited export. We don't share. The rest of the world is scrambling. Alliances have shifted. Relations with Israel are severed after their bombing of Iran. Our military protection is for sale. We're the modern Hessians. The budget is balanced and the surplus nearly a trillion. Our total debt peaked but was reduced by a bail-in of our own. There's full employment and the population is growing. But not everyone's happy! Jonathon and Ida Kadish have had enough. Diagnosed with a health issue for which the National HealthCare Plan offers no treatment, Jon and his wife decide to get out, to seek treatment elsewhere. A retired Navy Commander and former skipper of submarines, Jon is a vice president in the Defense Industry Cabinet with a high-level security clearance. His travel is restricted. But they have a married daughter with children, living in Canada. They manage a Family Assistance Exit Permit to visit them in Sherbrooke, Quebec. And they don't plan to return! It's President's Day weekend. Jon and Ida embark on a tension filled drive to the Canadian border, but it's not as easy as they had hoped. Once again Martin Shapiro tells of a journey; of mysterious people they meet, of bureaucratic obstacles, new opportunities and intrigue - that envelop them from startling places and how they manage to weigh through their hopes, plans and options in just the next few days... VISIT AMAZON.COM FOR KINDLE VERSION; $7.99 . (now available)