"In a corporation, if the bad behaviors are not checked, there is always the potential for the worst kinds of behaviors to reinforce each other."
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The Last CaveBear IV Freedom by Shannon van Slyke D.E.W.I.
book review by Dylan Ward
Slyke's latest work, the fourth in the Last Cavebear series, is a timely novel in the wake of the great recession, which brought to light the divide between the very wealthy and powerful and the ordinary, every day citizen. The novel's protagonist, Wainwright, is a former Patent Attorney, who evaluates the Dynasty Tire company and the realization of the similarities in behaviors between corporate and government leaders. He relies on his own psychological understanding of human behavior as he remembers the way each employee was influenced by the behaviors of others and how greed crippled the minds of the corporate leaders.
Good and bad behaviors certainly abound in this book, and the reader follows Wainwright in his growing understanding of how those with power in a company or even in government can control and exert their influence over others. As Wainwright observes, "At some level, some executives must realize that they are not the most intelligent person in the room, but their conscious mind has a tendency to reject the realization, and even if they feel it, they have a need to keep it hidden. They have a need to demonstrate that they are stronger than those who would replace them…But their competition to reach the top…has little to do with the welfare of the company."
Through Wainwright's mind, Slyke notes the historical importance of major figures such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, and demonstrates how behavior and influence of major leaders, past and present, shapes the course of history. By the novel's end, Wainwright is able to fully appreciate what freedom is and what it means to be human.