Politicians' Stories

Categories: Fiction

Election Day looms. It should comes as no surprise that political fiction, especially thrillers (David Baldacci, Vince Flynn, Brad Meltzer, etc.), are always very popular. Novels of political satire (Larry Beinhart, Roy Blount, Charles McCarry, Peter Lefcourt, etc.) also have their fans.  And the books by well-known pundits (Jeff Greenfield, Joe Klein, William F. Buckley, Jr., etc.) who dabble in political fiction similarly receive attention this time of year.

How about fiction written by politicians and their minions?  Let's take a look at some titles from recent years.

A Time to Run by Barbara Boxer and Mary-Rose Hayes

A first-term woman senator receives information of a compromising nature regarding a controversial nominee to the Supreme Court.  But should she use it?  Boxer is a U.S. Senator from California.

Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant, the Final Victory by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen

Lee triumphs over Grant in this final volume in an alternate history of the Civil War by the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Hornet’s Nest by Jimmy Carter

A sober, well-researched novel of the Revolutionary War set in the deep South. This is said to be the first work of fiction by a President of the United States (insert joke asserting party affiliation here).

Stillwater by William Weld

This coming-of-age novel set in Massachusetts during the Great Depression by the former governor of Massachusetts was well-received by critics.

Chain of Command by Caspar Weinberger and Peter Schweitzer

A Secret Service agent is framed for the murder of the president in a debut thriller from the former Secretary of Defense.

The Assassins by Oliver North and Joe Musser

A U.S. counterterrorist team takes action after Islamic Jihadists attack Saudi Arabia and murder the royal family. This is the third novel of intrigue from the former Marine Lieutenant Colonel and military advisor.

Tackett and the Saloon Keeper by Lyn Nofziger

Third volume in a western trilogy written by the former White House Press Secretary, who is likened to Louis L’Amour on the dust jacket . (Tackett rhymes with Sackett, get it?)

There you have it. I could use another entire entry to discuss the egregious novels churned out by the Watergate co-conspirators (in no particular order of infamy: John Ehrlichman, G. Gordon Liddy, Charles Colson, and E. Howard Hunt, and, in a category all her own, the wife of John Dean) to meet, one imagines, substantial legal debts. But don’t worry, I won’t.