The Naked Jaybird

This story, the second edition of a tale first self-published in 1999, incorporates corrections and minor amendments, but it remains the same story, delivering the same message thirteen years later. Critic's appreciations and author's comments relating to this work follow. From the first page to the last, this captivating book races, twisting and turning to capture the attention of even the most aloof reader. The Naked Jaybird is an exciting read. Patiently and methodically, Byers spares no detail in piecing together a complex multi-level plot into a plausible story of international conspiracy, espionage, and terrorism. The scale of this endeavor is enormous, but he manages it successfully. As in Bent Coin, another Byers novel, powerful characters expose underlying themes of social stratification, greed, and professional growth. Byers presents and develops credible characters whose motivation and perspective are well understood by the reader. thebookshelf.org Comments from the Author: The story germinated in July of 1997 after reading an article in McLean's, Canada's Weekly Newsmagazine, about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, bearing the subtitle "Giving up on white-collar crime." In the fall of 1997, The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas printed an Associated Press release that contained the following statement: "Chinese military officials studying US forces are developing ways to overcome America's high-tech weaponry and defeat what they see as a superpower in decline. The Chinese strategy involves leveraging inexpensive technology to defeat expensive US technology." A book by a Chinese Army official states: "US military forces are vulnerable and even deeply flawed, and can be defeated with the right strategy." One has merely to scan our newspapers for reminders of the dangers we face: "At least five million people in the world die each year as a result of filthy drinking water." "In walrus country, unhappy Eskimo hunters say the frozen sea is breaking up early these days." "Water quality in Eastern Oklahoma is being threatened by rapid population growth, industry in Missouri and Arkansas and an influx of poultry farms." And the arrogance of our response; "A House panel voted to sharply restrict the Clinton Administration's ability to implement parts of the Kyoto global warming accord." "Business, labor and agriculture all worry that the treaty will raise domestic energy costs and make American exports less competitive." "Auto makers meet with President Clinton to voice opposition over proposed global warming treaty; they say it would be bad for jobs and the economy." Perhaps, somewhere behind the scene and far away from the rhetoric, environmental and foreign forces are silently at work so blithely disregarded that one day America may awake to an uncontrollable catastrophe. The 2012 update: Thirteen years later, nothing has changed; our lifestyle, even our existence, continues to be threatened by environmental catastrophe, while our treasury is desecrated by pointless wars, our politics suffers stagnation, and our international concerns are directed to terrorism and the economy. Meanwhile, we ignore the real threat facing us. News reporters' and pundits' continuous appeal for action fail to excite our leaders into action. Here is a recent sample; DROUGHT EXPANDS, INTENSIFIES ACROSS US: Almost 61% of the contiguous U.S.is now in drought, the highest percentage in at least 12 years, federal climate scientists said Thursday. Twelve states-;Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio-;are completely in drought, or are considered "abnormally dry," according the US Drought Monitor. USA Today 07/13/2012.