Inheritance of Crises and Dysfunction

Inheritance of Crises and Dysfunction is a novel about the daunting challenges waiting at home and abroad for the next US Administration, the search for innovative responses and people asked to implement solutions. In addition to global and domestic political issues, the book grapples with the stubborn trauma that accompanies the loss of a spouse, the pain of moving, the mixed emotions associated with contemplating retirement, and the psychological need to remain relevant and connected as one grows older. It is designed to be thought-provoking as well as entertaining, and light enough to stir an occasional laugh or smile.

The book opens on inauguration day in 2021. Through the eyes of the protagonist, "Salt Pepper," whose career included stints with the US Government and a Washington law firm, it portrays the deep disagreements and partisanship that divide our citizens from one another and their Government, and the US from the rest of the world. Salt thinks he has retired and moved to his ancestral farm near the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains in rural Virginia. Then an old acquaintance, who is about to become the Secretary of State in a new Administration, talks him into accepting a temporary clandestine diplomatic role that takes Salt and a new and able female colleague to the White House, London, Berlin, and Prague and into sensitive meetings with diplomats there and from the Middle East.

With roots in history, current events, and human nature, the book provides insight into an inheritance of international disarray, toxic domestic politics, the harmful dissonance emanating from our battered small town and rural America, small business and manufacturing, as well as global clamor for US leadership. The crises and dysfunction are not imaginary; neither is the need for leader willing to grasp nettles and contribute to much-needed solutions, even when risky and inconvenient.

James J. Maiwurm, is Chairman Emeritus of one of the world's largest global law firms. He implemented an aggressive global vision for the law firm, significantly expanding its footprint in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia and building relationship with firms in Larin America. In 2012 he was named by Law 360 as one of the ten most innovative law firm managing partners. For a time James served as Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Group International, which included elements of the renowned Kaiser Engineers. He has substantial domestic and international transactional experience on behalf of clients. In addition to his executive experience with Kaiser Group and the law firm, James has served on the boards of a leading community bank, an employee-owned government contractor, and a joint venture that accomplished an extremely difficult nuclear clean-up, as well as numerous non-profit organizations. James grew up in small town America, remains very thankfully married to his high school sweetheart, earned a degree in history at the College of Wooster in Ohio, attended the University of Michigan Law School, and has resided in the Cleveland area (where his two children were born) and, for the past 30+ years, in the Washington, DC region. In this book James draws on a lifetime of relevant experience. In his life he draws inspiration from a wonderful family.