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Wish You Were R Guide.final 10/27/00 11:00 AM Page 1 WARNER BOOKS OTHER BOOKS BY DAVID BALDACCI: David Baldacci, in all countries except in the country MSNBC, Late, Late Show with Tom Snyder, Fox News, of my ancestors, Italy, where I am compelled to pub- C o u rt TV, BBC, and NPR, and I have been featured in Absolute Power lish under a pseudonym. The reason for this require- national and international publications. Saving Faith ment remains unclear to me! My wife and I participate in numerous charities, and I The Simple Tru t h Nearly 20 million copies of my books are in print sit on boards at the Library of Vi rginia, the Multiple R E A D I N G Total Contro l w o r l d w i d e . Sclerosis Society, the Vi rginia Blood Services, and The Wi n n e r Castle Rock Entertainment made Absolute Power Vi rginia Commonwealth University. I also hold various GROUP GUIDE into a major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood honorary chairs. and Gene Hackman. The novel Absolute Power w o n B r i t a i n ’s W.H. Smith’s Thumping Good Read Aw a r d About the author of for fiction in 1997, and was nominated for a literary WISH YOU WELL, award in Italy. D AVID BALDACCI Total Contro l was sold to Columbia TriStar for a I was born in Richmond, Vi rginia, in 1960. I f o u r-hour mini-series to be aired on CBS. The paper- received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from back version of Total Contro l was a bestselling Vi rginia Commonwealth University and a law degree favorite of the traveling public for over one year, from the University of Vi rginia. I practiced law for even though it opens with a plane crash. nine years in Washington, D.C., as both a trial lawyer and a corporate lawyer. The Wi n n e r’s sales topped those of my first two nov- els, no doubt aided by revealing in the novel how to I am married, have two children, and remain in my fix the lottery and win a hundred million dollars! T h e home state, Vi rg i n i a . Wi n n e r received a starred review in P u b l i s h e r s I have published five novels—Absolute Power, We e k l y, its highest rating. Saving Faith, The Simple Truth, Total Control, a n d The Simple Tru t h was the first of my novels in which The Wi n n e r—and have completed my sixth novel, part of the plot was based upon an actual event. WISH YOU W E L L, scheduled for release October President Clinton selected The Simple Tru t h as his 24, 2000. I have also published a novella for the favorite novel of 1999. Dutch entitled Office Hours, written for Holland’s Year 2000 “Month of the T h r i l l e r.” I was featured Saving Faith is a novel about how Washington really writer for this year’s celebration. d o e s n ’t work, and why so many people are just fine with that. During my research for the novel, I spent My works have also been published in U S A To d a y so much time with politicians that I briefly contem- m a g a z i n e , B r i t a i n ’s Tatler m a g a z i n e , New Statesman, plated running for office, until my wife sensibly put a U VA L a w y e r, I t a l y ’s Panorama magazine, and stop to that nonsense. Saving Faith reached number G e r m a n y ’s Welt am Sonntag. one on the Publishers We e k l y national bestseller list. I have also authored six original, but unproduced, My books have been publicly discussed and/or read AVAILABLE AT LOCAL BOOKSTORES screenplays, the most current of which has nothing to by everyone from Howard Stern and Don Imus to ORDERING INFORMA T I O N do with murder or mayhem. It is a family drama set Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, from Georg e in the South during 1940, and it is the inspiration for Bush and Bill Clinton to Charlie Rose and Larry Copies can also be ordered directly by contacting the my newest novel, WISH YOU W E L L. K i n g . publisher: Warner Books, Special Sales Department, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 My works have been translated into over 30 lan- I am currently working with producers Lee Rich, or call 1-800-222-6747. guages and sold in more than 70 countries, which far Karen Spiegel, and Paramount Television on a televi- Also available as a Time Warner A u d i o B o o k™ exceeded my rather modest ambition of becoming a sion mystery series that is being developed in con- and as an eBook short-story writer, content with receiving free copies junction with a television series created by two other of the publication my story appeared in as payment. n o v e l i s t s . All of my books have been national and international bestsellers. I am published under my real name, I have made many television and radio appearances including the To d a y s h o w, CNN, CNNfn, CSPA N , Visit our Web site at www.twbookmark.com © 2000 TIME WARNER TRADE PUBLISHING, INC. PRINTED IN USA Wish You Were R Guide.final 10/27/00 11:00 AM Page 5 READING GUIDE: triumphant story about family and adversity from times 8 . Several scenes in the novel refer to the characters’ 1 9 . The novel deals with prejudice and hatred at the WISH YOU WELL past that resounds forcefully today. WISH YOU W E L L actions and reactions that deal with human life and individual rather than group level. Is that an impor- BY DAVID BALDACCI is a breathtakingly beautiful achievement from an its value. What underlying story or stories do these tant distinction? his guide is designed to enhance your reading author who has the power to make us feel, to make us references create? 2 0 . Southern Valley officials made the argument that experience of WISH YOU W E L L by David care, and to make us believe in the great and little 9 . Children have difficulty sometimes learning to the importance of preserving the mountains should TBaldacci. Whether it is the story of a young miracles that can change lives—or save them. trust others when they have lost a loved one. How not take precedence over using its resources to ensure woman on the run in The Wi n n e r or a violent intrigue and why does Lou come to trust Cotton Longfellow? economic prosperity for people. At what point, if any, convulsing Washington, D.C., in Saving Faith, D a v i d DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: does that argument fail? Baldacci has delivered great stories, authentic charac- 1 0 . Baldacci makes several references to threats to ters, and thought-provoking ideas since he burst on the 1 . B a l d a c c i ’s eloquent use of language in WISH Y O U the land. What are the references and how do the 2 1 . Cotton Longfellow remarks that people often literary scene with Absolute Power. Now this versatile W E L L transforms readers to another time and place— characters react to them? spend much of their lives chasing dreams they know writer sets his sights on a new field of fiction with a time when A m e r i c a ’s agrarian existence was begin- 1 1 . During the early part of the 20th century, will probably never come true, and also that that ten- WISH YOU W E L L. This compelling and touching tale ning to transform into industrialization and a place industrialization claimed various American rural dency may be part of what makes us human. Do you of the human spirit, set in the southwest Vi rg i n i a where the land was the heart and soul of the communi- landscapes for the sake of “economic gain and mod- agree with that statement, and if so, why? mountains, reveals the power of family, endurance, t y. What are Lou and Oz’s first impressions of the ernization.” What affects of industrialization did 2 2 . Lou has great trouble believing that her mother and triumph. southwest Vi rginia mountains? Baldacci express in this novel and how did the will get better, while Oz’s faith never wavers. Do Southwest Vi rginia, 1940. WISH YOU W E L L is the 2 . Louisa Mae Cardinal believed that one must be characters react to them? you believe that the older we get, the less we believe story of Louisa Mae Cardinal, a precocious twelve- willing to listen and learn from the land. How does 1 2 . In the novel, the mountains seem to be living in the possibility of miracles? Is that solely because y e a r-old girl living in the hectic New York City of Louisa Mae help begin this process for Lou and Oz? beings. Why is that important in the overall context of the accumulated failures most suffer in life which 1940 with her acclaimed but sadly underpaid writer What does Louisa Mae mean when she states that the of the story? What point is Baldacci attempting to chip away at the idealism of youth, or is there anoth- f a t h e r, her compassionate mother, and her timid mountains have a lot of secrets? c o n v e y ? er reason? young brother, Oz.