A Great Local Choice For This Weeks’ Quarantine Reading Pick

Many of you are family with former Vacaville City Manager John Thompson; he’s a wonderful, philanthropic fellow who’s served the city in one capacity or another for multiple decades. Did you know that he’s also a novelist? Neither did I, until I came across his 2017 book Without Purpose of Evasion, published by North Loop Books. In it, John weaves the tale of a veteran city manager, Brad Jacks, who is accustomed to being on the hot seat as he leads his small California Central Coast city through the review of the most controversial private development project in its history. Along the way, Brad discovers some little-known incidents of government deception that led to unintended consequences, including the worst man-made disaster of the 20th Century. How can Brad Jacks align his professional responsibilities and personal values with the greater public interest he has sworn to uphold? I’m not down with the book, so I don’t know, but this story is a real page-turner so far! I asked John about the novel before I actually bought my copy, and he explained that he drew upon his nearly 30-year career in city management to create Without Purpose of Evasion. John indicated that he wanted to write a “riveting, realistic story of government accomplishment born of pure deceit, of the battlefield that is community development, and of a public official trying to sort it all out.” Enjoy a great book with a decidedly local feel to the story; you can order your copy on Amazon 🙂

John Young