Disturbance of Fate

"A daring and compulsively page-turning historical what-if fiction. . . A remarkably realistic alternative world story. . . Unapologetically opinionated, challenging, and thought provoking."
-Publishers Weekly
"I am simply blown away by the imagination and scholarship that has gone into Mitchell Freedman's fabulous novel, A Disturbance of Fate. Incredibly, Freedman pulls off this historical fantasy and tells a truly fascinating, though very controversial, tale."
-Dan E. Moldea, author of The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy
"A Disturbance of Fate is fun and imaginative. It presents a fascinating extrapolation from what we know about our history and reaffirms the importance of Robert F. Kennedy's legacy and vision."
-Peter Edelman, author of Searching for America's Heart: RFK and the Renewal of Hope, and legislative assistant to Senator Robert F. Kennedy
"A Disturbance of Fate is a powerful and creative work of social realism."
-Dr. Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California and award-winning author of the series, Americans and The California Dream
"Whether you agree with Mitch Freedman's political views or not, his book is an exciting and imaginative exercise in what could have been."
-The late Alan W. Bock, senior editorial writer, Orange County Register and author of Waiting to Inhale: The Politics of Medical Marijuana
Enter a history where Robert F. Kennedy was never killed, and where he went on to win the Presidency of the United States of America.
Contrary to what some may believe, the time in which RFK survives is not tidy and perfect; it is not the utopia that many of his supporters have come to believe over the years.
As in life, this daring alternate history twists and turns at the surprises and ironies along the way. Drawing from political, economic, and cultural trends to paint a realistic vision of what might have been, A Disturbance of Fate is guaranteed to leave you thinking about the fluidity of history.
"[Freedman's] is a bold . . . look at a vital era,
when many roads seemed possible."
-Los Angeles Times Magazine
"A Disturbance of Fate is more than a 'disturbance.' The book weaves a tale that transcends the end of an era...The portrayal of Robert Kennedy is at once, painful, yet undeniably picturesque."
-The late Paul Conrad, three-time Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times
"Mitchell Freedman's A Disturbance of Fate is a novel of marvels: offering readers a gripping political narrative, vividly realized in every detail, Freedman invites us to imagine an alternate universe whose origins lie in the epochal year of 1968 and whose fate is as strange and surprising as history itself."
-Michael Berube, president-elect, Modern Language Association; Joseph Paterno Professor of Literature and Cultural Studies, Penn State University, and author of Higher Education Under Fire: Politics, Economics and the Crisis of the Humanities

"...(A) radically different...(and) ambitious view of what would have happened had Robert Kennedy lived...It deals with...every domestic and foreign issue, and twenty-plus years of alternate American history following Robert Kennedy's election in 1968."

-Jeff Greenfield, author of Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics: JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan and distinguished political reporter for CBS News
Mitchell J. Freedman has history and political science degrees from Rutgers University and a law degree from California Western School of Law. He has been published in newspapers and journals on historical, political, and constitutional issues. He lives with his wife and two children in Southern California.