book has been hailed by some critics as a return to form for Grisham, while others lament it as a superficial "trip to Italy" put into fiction form. A New York Times book review claimed that the description of an outgoing president who was "an idiot... but a clean one" seemed to be referring to President Bush, or perhaps to Bill Clinton's infamous last-minute presidential pardons in 2001. The description of the town of Bologna, Italy, in the novel is quite accurate; however, it contains a few mistakes. For instance: The church dedicated to Saint Petronius is called "cathedral", but although it is the largest church in town, it has never been the Cathedral of Bologna, as the author himself states elsewhere in the same book. It is explained that Bologna is nicknamed "the Red city" because it is the most deeply communist town in Italy. Actually, Bologna was nicknamed "la Rossa" ("the Red one") centuries before Marx was born, the word "communism" was invented, or the colour red was even associated with a political ideology. This nickname is because most old buildings in the town centre are red, since the earth of the local hills, when baked to make bricks, acquires this colour. One of the Italian teachers of the main character states that only two medieval towers are still standing in Bologna and that all the others were demolished by order of the local authorities in the nineteenth century. In reality, numerous medieval towers are still standing in Bologna. Some of them are clearly visible from the places the main character visits, like Piazza Maggiore or the top of the Asinelli Tower. After the municipality had three towers demolished in 1917 to build new palaces, the decision was harshly criticised by some famous people of that time. Another error lies in the orbital mechanics of the secret satellite system. The satellites are described as having an over-ground speed of 120 miles per hour, but are only 300 miles above the Earth's surface; this is physically impossible for low-orbit satellites, which need an over-ground speed of over 16,000 miles per hour (and an orbital speed of about 17,000 miles per hour) to maintain orbit. Additional errors include a scene where a character suggests that he be sent any medical bills for an injury sustained; in Italy there is a comprehensive state healthcare system and so this would not be