Red, White and Blue [Paperback]

In the first half of the book, we trace the fortunes of our heroes' common ancenstors, in the second half our heroes meet in an effort to expose a violent racist group. In this way, the author seems to try to juxtapose the American experience with the teaching of the extremist group. This fails, perhaps because one has nothing to do with the other, which makes you think that you are reading two different books.

The book may let you down in its more general ambition to explain what makes an extremist different from an ordinary person, but as the plot keeps going, likeable characthers and a good pace manages to keep you interested.

Do the twain ever meet in Susan Isaacs always fresh, sometimes frightening eighth novel, Red, White And Blue? You bet. But first we're introduced to the great-great-grandmother they share: A century ago 15-year-old Dora trembled by the rail of an immigrant laden vessel nudging New York Harbor. She was pregnant and unwed. Therefore, when fellow passenger, winemaker Herschel Blaustein, proposed marriage, Dora uttered her first word of English: yes.

They were a mismatched, unhappy pair. He yearned to return to Cracow; she searched crowded streets for the face of her former lover. And, Jake, their early-arriving firstborn is a bit of a crank, perhaps due to the fact that "Dora had never actually exhibited any behavior that might be construed as mother love."

Ruthie, their second child, with two top front teeth so crooked that they practically made an X was sanguine, believing in romance.

As a young man, what glib, handsome Jake lacked in formal education he made up for in legerdemain, raking in jackpot after poker jackpot. Inevitably, he was caught cheating and forced to leap from a moving train smack into frigid Wyoming.

Had it not been for the warmth of Queenie Smith's bed and body, Jake would have become a tall ice cube. He changed his name from Blaustein to Blair, remained with Queenie, and sired four children.

Willie, their eldest, had dreams. He didn't want to be like his father who couldn't do anything a man was supposed to do - split a log, ride, or shoot. Willie yearned to own a ranch. Fortunately for the cash poor young man along came Lois, heiress to the Circle B.

They produced Charles Bryant Blair who, in the fullness of time, fathered our hero, Charlie Blair.

In parallel begettings, Ruthie married a brutish ne'er-do-well. She named their daughter Sally Ann because "It was the most American name Ruthie could think of for a child who, she knew, was going to be in need of a land of opportunity."

Marty Freund was the man Sally Ann married. Their progeny included Barbara, a dependable girl, prone to considering her place in the universe. She wondered if there was any place for her "from sea to shining sea." During a Catskills singles weekend Barbara found her niche when she met history teacher Jed Miller. Their daughter, Lauren Miller, has her father's red hair, the black eyes of her great-great-grandmother Dora, and a favorite question - why?

Lauren became a reporter, presently employed by the New York based Jewish News. Hearing of a video store bombing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, supposedly a hate crime perpetrated by a group called Wrath, Lauren is convinced that this story is her ticket to fame. She heads West.

Suspecting that their Wrath informant is double-dealing, the FBI needs an undercover agent to infiltrate the brace of bigots. Divorced, dissatisfied with his status quo, and willing, Charlie is dispatched to Wyoming.

At this point the novel's pace accelerates, spinning into a gripping, rapid-fire thriller. Especially noteworthy is the author's ability to mime the prurient invective spouted by white supremacist groups - one shudders.

Working as a garage mechanic, Charlie ingratiates himself with Wrath's leader, Vernon Ostergard - "Not an obvious nutcase, but a guy who had no interests beyond his own bigotry." In the process of winning the degenerate leader's confidence, Charlie alienates Ostergard's general, Kyle McIntyre, a psychopathic killer, and one of the slimiest characters to slither across a page.

Lauren asks too many questions, and is stalked by Ostergard's lieutenant, Gus Lang, "A bully, a man who liked to crush things."

Nonetheless, Charlie and Lauren have found each other. They're in love and in danger, as they pit themselves against unspeakable evil.

A bit like a virtuoso's solo recital, Red, White And Blue gives Ms. Isaacs an opportunity to display her many faceted talent. And, she gives a bravura performance in offering a story which is at once a moving exploration of what it means to be an American, an expose of mankind's darker side, and a touching romance.