I met Steven Kraus in Ohio at a political event held in March of this year where I purchased his book at that time. I decided to read the book as I flew back and forth from a wedding I attended that same month. Having completed the book on the way back from my trip, the following is my review of his book.
Some Background
Steven Kraus, born July 28, 1959, is a U.S. military veteran, a self-professed Christian and one who also served overseas with the military while working in the employment of a sub-contractor.
As stated on the back of his book, this is a “true story of one man’s fight against greed, corruption, and insatiable ambition in small-town Ohio, Checkmate reveals why passion and integrity are rare in the corridors of swing-state politics.”
Title: Checkmate: One Man’s Fight against Political Corruption
Author: Steven W. Kraus
ISBN: 978-0-692-06872-4
Published: February, 2018
Checkmate: One Man’s Fight against Political Corruption is a detailed account of Steven Kraus life between November 2014 and February 2018 as it pertains to his political life that lead to his felony conviction in July of 2015, and the ongoing court battles to clear his name and integrity up to the writing of his book published in February 2018.
The book explains in a systematic manor from beginning to end, the account of how Mr. Kraus was framed, for political reasons, and placed on trial. However, in the end, Mr. Kraus believes God’s hand is leading to the truth on this matter, as recorded through the Ohio courts and public records for all to see. These records show first hand, when placed in context, the corruption in Ohio’s legal and political system, from the local prosecutor, through the court system of Ohio, to both sides of the political system.
This 276-page book took me about five hours to read as I followed the story line that unfolded over a period of about three years. Within the facts presented, they are not hard to believe in today’s political environment. As names, dates, court documents and public records become known, an intriguing detailed story is revealed connecting all the dots from their beginning to their ending. As the story unfolds, the reader learns how corruption stems from a local prosecutor, while supported throughout the political and legal system in the State.
If you are interested in how politics becomes corrupted, and how it can filter through a legal system that can effect your life, let me encourage you to pickup this book. This is not something that can just happens in Ohio, but something that could happen anywhere in America as well.
This book provides one man’s account to how the State of Ohio through a series of events unwittingly displayed through the public record its political and legal corruption for all to see as God’s hand moved behind the scenes, just as it did through the life of a Jewish woman named Esther. This recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Holy Scriptures. Thus, the title of Mr. Kraus book—CHECKMATE.