The main character of Emperor of America is Chay Appleton, whose sense of right and wrong was perverted by his rapaciously greedy mother. At the age of five, Chay was sent to a military school in Alaska. In her own memoirs, Chay's mother asserts that the fouryear-old Chay relentlessly badgered her and his father to be sent away to military school. She tells of him abandoning her at age five. She is a chronic liar. In fact, Chay was underfoot, so as a matter of convenience, he was packed off and kept in military schools all the way through West Point. Chay deeply yearned to please his parents; while young, his mother had impressed on him that his goal in life should be to earn a large pension for his retirement.

He took this advice to heart. Even though he is a brilliant military leader who frequently saves...