Author WM. G. HOLST in his debut novel BICENTENNIAL TRIFECTA explores many of the cultural and social circumstances in which the American Bicentennial occurred in 1976. Set in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate, new opportunities present themselves to bring meaning to historic phrases such as "Pursuit of Happiness".
WM. G. HOLST
Bill Holst was born in 1952 and grew up on Long Island, New York.
He served as an Army journalist in the mid-1970s after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University, where he majored in journalism. He was part of an award-winning newspaper staff at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and received an Army Commendation Medal for his reporting in Japan.
After his service in the Army and graduation from law school, Bill worked for several years as a litigator and broadcast counsel in Manhattan. He later served on Long Island in several appointed and elected governmental positions.
Bill has been married to his wife, Laura, for forty-two years and has two children and three grandsons.
Q & A with WM. G. HOLST
​
Why did you write Bicentennial Trifecta?
"At some point, while I was working as an Army journalist at Fort Knox, I got the sense that everyone has at least one great story to tell. A story revealing an inner truth that will resonate with many other people. As a reporter, I came to understand that it often takes people a bit of time and some trust to offer up an incident or experience shaping who they are, or shedding a light on one of life’s great mysteries."
​
What was the basis for such confidence in a future for humankind?
"Perhaps it was the power of the music of the 60s and 70s that took over the shelves of the record stores that gave the young people of that era the hope that they would be controlling more things and shaping a brighter future. For me, there were things that seemed to resonate and start falling into place around the time of the Bicentennial. What seemed like a majority of Americans were willing to suspend the anger lingering after Vietnam and Watergate and celebrate a special moment on July 4, 1976. That moment in our collective history should not be forgotten nor the context in which it occurred. That historic celebration might even be instructive today."
​
What can you share with us about the Cold War era?
"Glib media personalities have speculated on whether the fathers and mothers or the grandparents of the Babyboomers were the 'Greatest Generation'. Such pandering was at the expense of the legacy of the mods, the hippies and the peaceniks, who not only survived the Vietnam years and the collateral damage to our institutions but confidently marched on to raise families and lived to see the end of what has been called the Cold War."
The Book
Armed with his camera, notepad, and '73 Super Beetle, an Army journalist sets his sights on being in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and NYC, all on July 4, 1976, so to witness how far we have come and how far we have to go.
Through their various experiences, some of the characters discover that true "Patriots" are those who seek to help make the United States what it is capable of becoming, not just a vessel in a turbulent world, but a sanctuary where the aspirations of all its citizens are encouraged.
​
This first novel by U.S. Army veteran WM. G. HOLST is spiced with many of the counterculture elements of the 1970s to create a page turner that heats up the Cold War era.
