The Downfall and Rise of Steven Leroy Zienner

The year is 1956. Because business is booming, a misanthropic entrepreneur and businessman, Steven Leroy Zienner, decides to open a fourth U.S. meat processing plant, this one in Mississippi. The larger-than-life Zienner is the 20th-richest man in the United States, and has a genius for making money. But he is also a man of many character flaws. Zienner's son, Boris, refuses his father's offer to enter the family business; instead, Boris leaves home for Paris, France, to get away from his domineering father. After Boris leaves, Zienner opens the new plant in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Due to exploitation, the employees soon rebel against Zienner's company. Some employees spread false rumors to reporters that dogs and wild animals are being used to make the company's frankfurters and cold-cuts. The falsehoods are reported as fact. Trying to dispel the rumors and win over his employees, Zienner addresses them at a company picnic, where he is struck by a flying object thrown by an employee and knocked unconscious. This sets off a chain of events that includes the loss of his wife in a car accident. In his grief, Zienner loses interest in his company and business suffers. Can he come back after such adversity? This is the story of The Downfall and Rise of Steven Leroy Zienner.

Jerry Dampier is studying for a doctorate in psychology at Argosy University in San Francisco. He is inspired by larger-than-life characters in novels and in film. He is currently publishing another book, Alphatopbetics, and is writing his next novel, The Romantic Comedies of Clover.

Jerry Dampier is studying for a doctorate in psychology at Argosy University in San Francisco. He is inspired by larger-than-life characters in novels and in film. He is currently publishing another book, Alphatopbetics, and is writing his next novel, The Romantic Comedies of Clover.