Overview

Welcome to Worstville, the apt nickname for Westville, a struggling city where hopes and dreams have been on an outbound train for a generation. As decades elapsed, Westville steadily devolved into Worstville - a sea of generic dullness and vacancy where neighborhood character has been sacrificed for the benefit of political expediency and shoddy development. Worstville is a novel depicting an effort to revitalize Westville and create a vibrant community where people flourish. Frank Clark, the naively idealistic City employee driven by his passion to reverse his hometown's decline, slowly comprehends the grim reality that spawned Worstville. Red Paley, the manipulative, erratic Mayor blinded by his unbridled political ambition and desperately seeking to become Governor learns that even he isn't immune to Westville's systemic mendacity. Amidst this conflict Roderick Campbell, the brilliant Chief of Staff, gets caught between Frank's community passion and the Mayor's political ambition and must resolve his conflicting values. Worstville is the result of a community crime committed over several decades by various power brokers who are aided in their crime by countless innocent conspirators including gutless political and civic leaders, and exploitative economic opportunists - all cannibalizing the community they claim to love and abetted by an apathetic and disengaged electorate. However, principled leadership and an engaged citizenry can overcome them. Is the light at the end of Westville's journey a beacon of promise or an on-coming train? Read Worstville to find out.

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9780960007912

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Reviews

Worstville, is addictive! It's a treasure trove of a book that shares secretive insights on economic development and how it should work and could work vs. how it works in most cases today. You will laugh a little, cry a little. And yes, even get ticked off a little. I'm on my fourth reading of it now. G. Ray Medlin For anyone who has been intimately engaged in the dynamics of municipal-community-development, Worstville; a community crime will resonate with familiarity as special interest groups and good ole boy alliances manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. James Hartung I know Ford and bought Worstville just to be nice and thinking I probably would not like it much since I really don't care much for politics and it would not be a book I would get at the library. Well lo and behold I started reading it and totally enjoyed it, found myself not being able to put it down and read it within 24 hours. When I was finished I was hoping that there would be a sequel so I could find out what happened to Frank and Roderick. So I did not have to lie to my friend and tell him the book was good: ) because it really is a good read. Well done Ford! Arla Boss

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