DiDonovan

Burton Blake is a sweeping historical fiction epic that will also interest business novel readers because it focuses on corporate greed, family business involvements, historical conundrums revolving around financial decisions, and more. 

Historical fiction and business novel audiences receive an astute, compelling story that provides a sequel to Robert Tucker's The Revolutionist, but doesn't require prior familiarity with that book in order to prove satisfying. 

Burton's father, Elias Blake, fostered the rise of a real estate empire from his parents' initial efforts to start an international company. At a very young age, Elias has absorbed the drive for material gains which has helped him create a giant legacy for his son, Burton. 

Tucker takes the time to explore the entire dynamic of this inheritance, beginning with the roots of the financial behemoth in the 1940s, when a lower-class taxi dancer births a son who will never know his father. At a very early age, Burton inherits his stepfather's real estate fortune, made in the post war real estate boom of the 50's. 

This legacy comes with a price tag, as the usual youthful endeavors are set aside for business pursuits and a drive for financial success and stability that successfully answers many business challenges and keeps the company on an upward trajectory. But what is successfully won comes at a big cost. 

Burton inherits not only the company, but a wealth of problems. He also cultivates a different awareness about third world peoples and poverty when world travels bring him into contact with diverse peoples and economic struggles. Thanks to these journeys, he returns to the fold with a revised attitude about life's values. In many ways, a company cannot grow and change without the concurrent evolution of the leader at its helm. 

The entire process of empire-building, inheritances of attitudes and economic strengths, and the personal growth of moral and ethical considerations that come from outside the family fold and original business focus lends to a compelling saga, indeed. 

Another plus is that Burton Blake assumes no singular path. Subplots about immigrant perceptions and struggles in America, political influences such as the rise and threat of Nazism, and outdoors training and hunting by mentor Web, who teaches Elias how to survive, create a multifaceted story that melds the lives of several generations into an engrossing story of personal growth. 

The road to social corruption and financial greed isn't a linear one, so readers receive a satisfying juxtaposition of daily living and lifelong lessons, along with insights into how these translate into bigger-picture thinking. 

The result is a powerful study in generational attitudes, measures of financial and personal success, and the evolution of Burton, who inherits more wealth than he'd imagined. 

Tucker creates a vivid, engrossing story that's highly recommended for readers of historical fiction and business stories. These usually-disparate audiences will appreciate the attention to psychological development and evolutionary detail that place Burton Blake more than a cut above the usual historical novel or multi-generational business fiction read.