This is a great book that I had never previously heard of. Allen Drury wrote this in 1958 about the United States Senate, and is it ever about the United States Senate? There are amendments, long-winded oratory, points of order, committees, subcomittees, censures, and even more long-winded oratory -- all with a little dirty politics thrown in. It's about the nomination hearings for a Secretary of State at the height of the Cold War and takes place over about one week. I know it doesn't sound that exciting, but it really is -- you know, in a mundane kind of way. I loved it. It was like reading fantasy politics. Drury created this whole make-believe United States Senate, with a cast of 100 Senators. I loved learning about all the mannerisms of imaginary Senators. By the end, I was thinking things like, "Well, isn't that just like the junior Senator from Wyoming? I sure hope he doesn't get reelected."
I'm also a sucker for alternate history books. This one functions in the same way in that it's written in 1958 about the future. Because of this we're treated to an entirely different race to the moon. All I can say is: Those darned Russians!
I found this book because I was searching for classic novels about politicians, and there are surprisingly not that many. .When it comes to American politics, the one that seems to be mentioned most is Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men." I consider myself a fan of that book, but it's also maddening in the way it meanders all over the place. "All The King's Men" is only partly a book about politics, but "Advise and Consent" is all politics, all the time. It is in many ways the C-Span of political novels.
