Rating: 
Summary: Excellent characters make good literature!
Review: A Hole in Texas his first book in a long time, and it is apparent that Mr. Wouk was motivated by/consulting with his scientist son. As expected from an author of his stature, there is a hefty helping of unusual words and references to literature. But this book also blends in mystery, national security, Hollywood extravagance, politics, and cross-society naiveté. His theme is that the Chinese have succeeded in finding the theoretical Higgs Particle while the US was "sleeping." The unifying plot element involved placing blame for "killing" the Superconducting Supercollider and the resultant ceding of US dominance in Particle Physics (although there is no guarantee that the Superconducting Supercollider in Texas would have actually "discovered" the Higgs Particle). What is really done well is the attention to detail that Mr. Wouk gives his characters. For instance, a corporate jet is made available to the lead character and he has to look around the rest room to find the "hidden" toilet. Heck, most literature does not even mention characters visiting the rest room. Most readers will not have a good set of pre-arranged expectations for a particle physicist, and the book is not terribly long, so the author wisely falls back on middleclass family life as the basic relationship between his main character and the reader. His characters are truly 3-Dimensional -- and several are "retro" (like an aging CongressWoman who converses with her dead husband... and a wife who slouches into a "SuperMom," juggling career and family because she does not believe that her husband can cope with these details). The characters have plenty of realistic flaws but, as in real life, they mostly stumble ahead in spite of themselves. Mr. Wouk takes it upon himself to educate readers on cutting edge science, mostly using traditional two person dialog (S. Holmes and Dr. Watson style) but mixing in letters and e-mails for added precision. He also finds time to chastise the US Congress for shortsightedness and lack of collective memory. A Hole in Texas is not written to be an action movie and -- I am glad to report -- in the end, most characters emerge happier. Liberal Americans will read this book if they like to be entertained while improving their vocabulary and getting a better understanding of their world. Conservative Americans will read this book if they like to be entertained while gaining a better idea of the power structure in the Congress as it relates to Science funding. Non-Americans will read this book if they like to be entertained while identifying some peculiar American quirks and seeing how Big American Science relates to science in the rest of the world. Literature buffs should probably re-read The Caine Mutiny. For the record, the existance of the Higgs Particle is still merely theoretical. Physicists are still pondering whether such a contrived mathematical device might actually exist, and the energy required to "create" it in a laboratory is probably out of our reach for the near future. The approach used by the Chinese in this book (Atmospheric monitoring for Cosmic Ray interactions) is probably our best bet near-term for science to detect any ultra-massive particles like the Higgs and/or microscopic Black Holes, either of which would inform science tremendously as to the role of gravitation among the other 3 known forces of nature.
Rating:
Summary: Science and Politics Mix
Review: Another reviewer is disappointed in this "lightweight book with a nice
plot". The backdrop of declining American science and ignoble
politicos may indeed seem to be an odd and unimportant couple (compared
to, for example, WWII), and in part old hat. I disagree, and welcome
this short novel with interesting characters in Washington, Waxahachie
and JPL. Insiders will enjoy references to ApJ, Physics Today,
Terrestrial Planet Finder, in addition to the SSC. I hope the required
"science talk" will not bore the broader audience. I fear that the
required "political talk" is not as well-informed as the science talk,
but then everybody expects venial politicians: the comic relief for the
novel. (I'm reminded of a movie rating: "mild peril".) A short
fast-paced romp -- no car chases or murders [other than the SSC] -- "a
nice plot" that did not disappoint me.
Rating:
Summary: Science and Politics Mix
Review: Another reviewer is disappointed in this "lightweight book with a nice
plot". The backdrop of declining American science and ignoble
politicos may indeed seem to be an odd and unimportant couple (compared
to, for example, WWII), and in part old hat. I disagree, and welcome
this short novel with interesting characters in Washington, Waxahachie
and JPL. Insiders will enjoy references to ApJ, Physics Today,
Terrestrial Planet Finder, in addition to the SSC. I hope the required
"science talk" will not bore the broader audience. I fear that the
required "political talk" is not as well-informed as the science talk,
but then everybody expects venial politicians: the comic relief for the
novel. (I'm reminded of a movie rating: "mild peril".) A short
fast-paced romp -- no car chases or murders [other than the SSC] -- "a
nice plot" that did not disappoint me.
Rating: 
Summary: MYSTERY, SCIENCE, AND TEXAS HUMOR
Review: Dr. Guy Carpenter is an older man with a young wife and a new baby. He works for NASA, and his life seems happy. But it's all about to change, thanks to a past failed government project. Carpenter once worked on a team in search of the Higgs Boson. When Congress canceled it, the physicists involved went on to other jobs. Wen Mei Li, a Chinese physicist, goes home and eventually leads her country to the discovery of the boson particle. Soon they create the boson bomb. The US government reacts in the typical way -- they hold hearings. Imagine Guy's surprise when he hears his first love, Wen Mei Li, is returning to America for those hearings. Imagine his wife's surprise since she discovered his old love letters to Wen Mei Li. She's never met her, but she dislikes the Chinese physicist nonetheless, so you can bet the wife with eyes of blue sliver glass won't let him off easy. Guy is summoned by Representative Myra Kadane. She's interested in what he has to say. And Guy is willing to talk because he needs her on his side, especially when he gives her the bad news.... It's mystery, science, and Texas-size humor by Herman Wouk. Readers will be impressed by the scientific and political situations as well as the humor of Guy's predicaments. And let's not forget a special appearance by a famous movie star. The TimeWarner audio version is read by actor and writer, Jonathan Davis. He does a good job of getting Wouk's humor to the listener. His attempts at the feminine voices add to the story in a positive, humorous way.
Rating:
Summary: Wouk Has Done it Again!
Review: Herman Wouk continues to amaze. For decades he has been getting the relationship between men and women exactly right. It was not the clever plot that intrigued me nearly as much as the wonderful scenes between husband and wife...and the cats were pretty true to life too!
Rating: 
Summary: Great idea falls flat
Review: Herman Wouk had a great idea when he came up with the plot for _A Hole in Texas_: What happens when science, politics, and Hollywood collide? If only Wouk's actual work was as interesting as the question! In _Hole_, we meet Guy Carpenter, ordinary nice guy physicist who once worked on the now-defunct Superconducting Super Collider. Now busily building telescopes to help find life on other planets, Guy and his fellow JPL/NASA scientists are floored when the Chinese come up with the discovery of the century: the illusive Higgs bosun--the very particle the Super Collider had been (halfway) built to find. Guy is put on the case to ensure the funding for the telescopes isn't cut in the mad rush to beat the Chinese at their own game. Enter Myra Kadane, congresswoman from California, former movie star and widow to the former congressman. Guy is dispatched to Washington, D.C., where he tries to beg Kadane for funding, all the while becoming embroiled in a scandal involving the Chinese scientist who discovered the Higgs bosun. He signs on to help Hollywood with the "Bosun Bomb" movie project, and almost loses his marriage and his sanity as he becomes a media target. This could have been a great book. The storyline is a great one, but the characters fall flat. I found myself halfway through the book not really caring what happened to the characters and knowing that it would all work out in the end anyway. The ending is trite--happy all around, including Congress coming to a Solomon-like decision (hey, it's fiction afterall...)--the characters are one-dimensional, and there's really a lack of life in the writing.
Rating:
Summary: Deep Throat
Review: Herman Wouk's "A Hole In Texas" is an engaging quick read that will keep most readers flipping the pages. The characters are interesting. Protagonist Dr. Guy Carpenter is a particle physicist who worked on the super collider project in Texas. The expensive project was funded and then closed before achieving success. Carpenter's science is almost as interesting as his love life. He comes across as a rather inexperienced lover, despite 20+ years of marriage to Penny. His old flame Wen Mei Li has kept a secret correspondence with him over the years. When forced to reveal this to his wife, it almost ends their marriage as Penny's jealousy momentarily outweighs her devotion. What seemed a little strange to me was how Wouk then throws in a third attraction to Congresswoman Myra Kadane. So we have Carpenter going around kissing two women who are not his wife and winds up the novel reconciling with his wife. This is obviously a guy's idea of a happy ending, perhaps why "Guy" was chosen as the character's first name. The supporting characters are interesting. Congresswoman Myra Kadane seems a bit overly angelic, but certainly one of the most capable and nicest people who could befriend you. Wife Penny seems plenty human. Even the cat Sweeny is well written with his penchant for hide & seek as is the toddler Dinah. Jules Berkowitz, the lawyer, is perhaps a bit too good to be true, but still distinctive. Earle Carkins the slimy assistant to Congresswoman Kadayne gets what's coming to him; and we like that! The settings in the book enhance the story from the Carpenter's home to the Waxahachie, Texas to the Millard Filmore Hotel to the Chinese Embassy. The pacing is fairly good in this continuing drama. The science issues of subatomic particles called the Higgs Boson are interesting and give a great sense of reality to the story. We enjoy Carpenter telling the reporter to go F himself and then suffer with him as he works his way through the consequences of being labeled in the press as the "Deep Throat Physicist." It's got the right mix of entertainment and substance. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Almost Bad
Review: Herman Wouk's "A Hole In Texas" is an engaging quick read that will keep most readers flipping the pages. The characters are interesting. Protagonist Dr. Guy Carpenter is a particle physicist who worked on the super collider project in Texas. The expensive project was funded and then closed before achieving success. Carpenter's science is almost as interesting as his love life. He comes across as a rather inexperienced lover, despite 20+ years of marriage to Penny. His old flame Wen Mei Li has kept a secret correspondence with him over the years. When forced to reveal this to his wife, it almost ends their marriage as Penny's jealousy momentarily outweighs her devotion. What seemed a little strange to me was how Wouk then throws in a third attraction to Congresswoman Myra Kadane. So we have Carpenter going around kissing two women who are not his wife and winds up the novel reconciling with his wife. This is obviously a guy's idea of a happy ending, perhaps why "Guy" was chosen as the character's first name. The supporting characters are interesting. Congresswoman Myra Kadane seems a bit overly angelic, but certainly one of the most capable and nicest people who could befriend you. Wife Penny seems plenty human. Even the cat Sweeny is well written with his penchant for hide & seek as is the toddler Dinah. Jules Berkowitz, the lawyer, is perhaps a bit too good to be true, but still distinctive. Earle Carkins the slimy assistant to Congresswoman Kadayne gets what's coming to him; and we like that! The settings in the book enhance the story from the Carpenter's home to the Waxahachie, Texas to the Millard Filmore Hotel to the Chinese Embassy. The pacing is fairly good in this continuing drama. The science issues of subatomic particles called the Higgs Boson are interesting and give a great sense of reality to the story. We enjoy Carpenter telling the reporter to go F himself and then suffer with him as he works his way through the consequences of being labeled in the press as the "Deep Throat Physicist." It's got the right mix of entertainment and substance. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Engagingly light reading on a heavy subject
Review: I am a serious book collector. Paperbacks are for amateurs, so to speak. This novel is certainly not of the caliber of earlier works by Wouk, but, that is more a reflection of the times, not the author. Living in Texas through the SSC fiasco I appreciate that it is lost but not forgotten. As a published scientist I relate to the troubles in funding, partcularly in reference to pure, hard, science. The need for long term research has been expounded by the National Research Council, although the commitment is great and the rewards tenuous, it is a fundamental need, no longer suited to academia. Quick, often flawed research is the only feasable route today. I appreciate Wouk's grasp of the politics involved in science and the short-sightedness of policy makers. This is more than enough to make the novel worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A Whimper from the Wouk
Review: I did not realize that Wouk is 90. I guess, at that age, this book is " acceptable ". But, otherwise the only words applicable are mawkish, awkward, clunky, predictable;maybe, even embarrasssing; you take my meaning.
As Ebert and Roeper are wont to say "two thumbs down, way down".
Memory brings back the "War ---" books and Marjorie Morningstar.
I read them when they first appeared; and liked them alot. That gives away my age.
Good luck, Herman. We are brothers.
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