The Balancer

The Balancer

One of the great social problems facing our society today is that of mass homicides. Despite their increasing frequency, no one, thus far, seems to have a solution.The central character in this novel, a brain surgeon, looks at this dreadful problem as a disease that needs to be treated. Unbeknownst to him at the onset, the road he chooses becomes a complicated and dangerous one.In today’s world, yet another mass killing seems commonplace when Americans turn on their television sets each evening. In point of fact, these horrific events have been occurring exponentially since the late 1990s, with a sharp rise in the curve during the last five years.The heartache and devastation from the loss of loved ones understandably has created a resounding public outcry to end it all. But despite an increasing law enforcement presence and sometimes oppressive security measures, the slaughter continues.Of course the first response by many is to curtail the sale of firearms. This has become the standard voice of many politicians and citizens. But tearing away at the fabric of the Second Amendment is not the solution. As a case in point, in 1995 Timothy McVeigh managed to kill 168 people with a bomb ── not a gun! Years later, on August 3, 2019, multiple victims both in El Paso and miles away in Dayton were tragically gunned down, again igniting a loud outcry from those against guns. Yet, the following week during two separate incidents, innocent people were attacked by deranged individuals wielding knives. When confronted with a solution to the bomb and knife tragedies the gun protesters and the politicians remain silent. In essence, there is no easy fix to this serious social problem of mass homicide.The central character in this novel, a neurosurgeon, agrees with many that it is not the weapon that causes the harm but the individual using it. He is convinced that once a deranged mind decides to extinguish the lives of others there are a myriad of ways in which it can be done. The surgeon concludes that we must go directly to the source of the problem as a means of averting a disaster ── the potential killer himself. The doctor later comes to view the mass murderer as someone with an illness that needs to be treated.However, unbeknownst to our brain surgeon at the onset of his plan, he has elected to go down a long and complicated path in implementing his treatment ── a matrix of uncertainty and danger. James D. Geissinger Jr., M.D. is a board-certified neurosurgeon whose early medical retirement was prompted by illness. Throughout his professional life he also enjoyed teaching medical students and resident physicians in addition to clinical research and authoring articles for the neurological literature. As one who has always enjoyed being physically active in the outdoors he then turned to raising purebred Beefmaster cattle on his Florida ranch for the ensuing 20 years. In later years the doctor's long hours spent in his workshop were very self-gratifying as evidenced by the production of museum- quality furniture, including beautiful Windsor chairs. The author's autobiography, Memoirs of a Neurosurgeon─ A Perspective from the "Lucky Few" Generation, captures the dramatic advancements in medical technology and neurosurgery during the latter half of the 20th century. His novel, The Balancer, addresses the social dilemma concerning a solution to the mass murderer problem. Dr. Robert L Doherty is an attorney, CPA and, in recent years, an adjunct professor of business law and international business at Florida State University. He was a tenured professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and taught at Princeton University as a postdoctoral fellow. He holds advanced degrees in accounting, business administration, public administration, and several foreign languages. He also served as an army officer and diplomat for nearly 32 years, retiring as a colonel. As a Diplomat and Fellow, he was named to the Legal Advisory Board of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute in 2012. W.B. Devarieux is a well-recognized teacher and artist whose exhibited work focuses primarily on the natural beauty Of Florida's Forgotten Coast.