Reviews

• More subtle and sohpisticated than House of Cards

  This is a loooong book, long and slow: you can assume the first third is just about setting the background, the second third starts seeing some seeds of action and only in the last third the novel picks up and becomes really engaging. But, if you have the patience to go through the lengthy and slow initial parts, the book can be rewarding. On a literary level, the book is clearly a son of its times: the prose is very slow, enjoying itself in describing every minutiae in detail; the characters comes out as rather simple, 1-D, 2-D at best, but lacking in most cases depth and complexity, they don't see to know what subtlety is and, as a result of all this, often times they fall into clichés (plus, the author assigns a verbal tic - that of repeating the same exclamation two or three times in a row in the same sentence - to several characters, which contributed to flatten everybody's personality); moreover, inevitably enough, the society it portrays is one that has disappeared decades ago, and reading the dialogues - especially those in social situations - you feel like you are watching an episode of the Debbie Reynolds Show. Since when the book was written, the man has conquered the moon, the Berlin wall has fallen, Communism has disappeared from the face of the earth, the internet and digital era have seen their dawn and rise, the Simpsons have replaced the Debbie Reynolds Show; yet, the political world, its dynamics, its psychology is still the same as 6 decades ago. You could easily replace the names of the characters, refresh a bit the prose and you would have a novel on politics of the XXIst century. Whether, this is depressing, funny or just interesting, I leave it to personal reflexion; but that is one of the values of this book in my view. Personally I don't think the book has an educational role in explaining the functioning of the Senate and of politics in general; maybe this was the case when the book was published, but I believe the awareness of how these things function (from all the work going on at committee level, the negotiations, the lobbying, the blackmailing, etc) is pretty high nowadays; with that said, I found the book of higher quality than House of Cards.

• The best novel about American politics ever written in my view

  The best novel about American politics ever written in my view. Have seen the film numerous times and love it but the book is, of course, more in-depth. As an American it rings true particularly how dirty American politics can get. This is a re-read for me though I originally read it over 50 years ago, together with the 3 further novels in the series. I enjoyed it as much the second time as the first. Would highly recommend.

• US Politics

  Very current even though written some time ago

• A Lesson For Congress

  One of the great novels on the machinations of the American Congress. A real page turner.

• P O W E R F U L .

  A Pulitzer Prize. A compelling dramatic glimpse of the U.S. Senate confirmation process regarding the President's nominee for Secretary of State, involving ambassadors, the press, and, nefarious political maneuvers, especially in the tragic demise of a young Utah Senator, who was harassed, betrayed, and, persecuted, for blocking the selection. The characters are exquisitely crafted. Includes colorful revealing vignettes expressing diverse viewpoints. A dynamic kaleidoscope illuminating ruthlessness, savagery, patriotism. For instance, "... [H]e [Senator Knox] too felt a certain Old Testament judgment by Jehovah in the recent course of events. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth -- and a death for a death" (p. 637). Beware that controversial choices accomplished, when young, may unexpectedly, boomerang painfully later. Difficult to put down. Highly recommend. For another stupendous novel, suggest Anton Myrer's "Once An Eagle."

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