A Thousand Stones

The Age of Revolution, Lust & War

By: Michael D. Sanford

Narrated by: Nicholas Santasier

During the late 60s and early 70s, turbulence dominated both the world stage and the personal psyche of youth worldwide. It was an era of startling contrasts.

Make peace, not war. Flower power. Turn on, tune in, drop out. Passion for ear-splitting, loud music. Vegetarian heroin users. Open the mind, close the establishment.

Who could make sense of it all? College students, of course!

A Thousand Stones is an historical fiction about both peaceful and militant students in the age of the Vietnam War, young love, criminal sabotage, and, of course, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It is also an entertaining coming-of-age story about a 19-year old Texan, Nathan Davett Cooper ("Nate").

Europe was a magnet for the young and restless; Nate is both. He is presumed dead, along with 40 other Texas college students, in the crash of ICE Flight 54. Bodies wash ashore on the Normandy coast, amidst large clumps of grey-green paper wads: hundreds of thousands of dollars in US currency.

Infused with unusual travel adventures, seasoned with the songs of the times and the longings of early manhood, the story follows this young American, his revolutionary-minded gonzo-journalist best friend, Charlie, Custer, a worldly-wise hippie girlfriend of Charlie's, and others involved in the unfolding mystery of twin plane crashes, mystical Irish lore, a budding worldwide radical underground movement, and their surprising connections across time and space.

A Thousand Stones is a nostalgic look at what was happening between the Summer of Love, the Days of Rage, and Disco Dancing. It's both innovative and entertaining, blending little-known history, memorable fictional and historical characters, and an enrolling story into an amazing listen that will stay with you long after the end.

©1971, 2017 Michael D. Sanford (P)2017 Michael D. Sanford

Entertaining and Engaging

This book offers a look into the unique and confusing times of the late 60s and 70s when flower power, the move from rock into head-slamming loud music, the discovery of psychedelic drugs, and minds so far open they were closed. This story focuses on those with a passion for being more than mere purveyors of change and peace, they want to actively bring change to the establishment. Nate was one of these students who fought the establishment in order to bring about a better world, but then best-laid plans often go awry.

The author, Michael D. Sandford, captured the time period complete with emotions, actions, and beliefs very well. His characters were three-dimensional and authentic to the time period. Many of the lessons learned by Nate can still be relevant today just with different people and groups. The story flowed smoothly and was based on accurate historical information. Further, he captured the essence of the time in slang, action, and more.

The narrator, Nicholas Santasier gives a solid performance bringing the characters' voices to life through tonal inflections and the manner slang was used.

Having grown up and lived through the 60s and 70s, and with family serving in the Vietnam war, this book brought back all those emotions I had during that time including confusion, anger, love, and disbelief. This is a story that has continued to linger in the back of my mind and continues to invoke emotions and memories. It has taken me well over a week to write this review as I am still processing it. I highly recommend this book to learn about or relive the past or just to have an excellent entertaining and engaging book.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this book.