This is easily the best novel ever written about American politics. Drury, who began as a Senate reporter, really has the feel of the Senate down pat as he tells the story of the nomination of Robert Leffingwell, a one-time communist sympathizer, to be the Secretary of State at the height of the Cold War.While Drury's later writing became somewhat stilted and out-of-touch, this book is dead on and creates real and believable characters.A fun game, for those really in the know, is to try and guess which fictional Senator corresponds to which real-life Senator from the era.(A freebie- Brigham Anderson of Utah is reportedly based on John F. Kennedy, a surprising development given the... revelations... about Anderson in the book).