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Advise and Consent (Advise and Consent #1)

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 3,452 ratings · 77 reviews

ADVISE AND CONSENT is a study of political animals in their natural habitat and is universally recognized as THE Washington novel. It begins with Senate confirmation hearings for a liberal Secretary of State and concludes two weeks later, after debate and controversy have exploded this issue into a major crisis.

"I can recall no other novel in which there is so well present...more

Paperback, 616 pages

Published June 28th 1981 by Avon Books (first published 1959)

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Jul 03, 2012 Rob rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book won a Pulitzer 50 years ago and was made into a film by Otto Preminger. I'd seen the movie years ago; one of its notable aspects was a gay subplot, which entailed a scene that was the first time a wide audience had seen an amusingly lurid depiction of a gay bar.

I'd always meant to go back and read the (long out of print) book, so I finally slogged through a library copy. It's written in a stilted, antique prose style that's akin to a verbal equivalent of the mid-20th century newscastin...more

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Jun 07, 2008 Carole rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: cantputitdown, thumpinggoodreads

I love this book! I am so glad I was reminded of it. This was first published in 1959, and The Literary Guild (my book club at the time) chose it as a monthly selection. I enjoyed it at the time, but I wasn't terribly interested in politics 'way back then so I really didn't get the bigger picture during that first read.

If you are into politics (and who isn't these days?) and especially if you'd like to know how Congress -- the Senate in particular -- works, read this. It's a thumping good read i...more I love this book! I am so glad I was reminded of it. This was first published in 1959, and The Literary Guild (my book club at the time) chose it as a monthly selection. I enjoyed it at the time, but I wasn't terribly interested in politics 'way back then so I really didn't get the bigger picture during that first read.

If you are into politics (and who isn't these days?) and especially if you'd like to know how Congress -- the Senate in particular -- works, read this. It's a thumping good read in the first place but is also recognized as still the best novel about our political system, our central government and Washington, D.C. It won the Pulitzer, was a smash hit Broadway play, and Otto Preminger made it into a movie.

This is not an easy read. It's wordy and paragraphs are long. I had an English Lit teacher in college who told us that when reading Dickens, skip all paragraphs over ten lines long. Then if we enjoyed the story, go back and read every word to get the whole story. This book is like that.

But, oh, what a story! Wonderful characters whom you will actually care about -- both the good guys and the bad ones. Great dialogue. Real and believable. A marvelous feel for location -- you'll find yourselves right there while these events are unfolding. And an absolutely Cracker Jack story. I could hardly wait to get to the end and then was stunned to realize that there was no more. I wanted more!

I came back to this book because I had read a column in the Wall Street Journal many months ago by a columnist named Terry Teachout. He and some of his friends were brainstorming a list of written literature to give to people in the Middle East to teach them about this country, how it came to be, and its political system. I clipped that column out and began to try to find several of the books. This was one of them, and I finally found a paperback version at Amazon.com. The paperback cost me $15.00 from a rare book dealer, and the price on the front cover is $1.25. Oh, how times havae changed!

The story is about four Senators in particular and their struggles over a Presidential nominee for Secretary of State. There is a huge "supporting cast," and its easy to get lost in all the names, but this is just a fabulous book that is wonderful on several different levels. I can't recommend is highly enough.
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Mar 15, 2011 Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of vintage politics, soap operas

Shelves: politics, fiction, 5-stars

I devoured this book over the course of a few days several years ago. While Drury's style is a bit repetitious now and then, especially with character's tics and quirks, it was a rich little soap opera about confirmation hearings and all the grandstanding, political haymaking, and behind-the-scenes lives of the politicians. Most memorable was the rising star senator who's in the closet and living a lie. It was titillating for the era, and he naturally doesn't have an HEA, but he was among the mo...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Frank Stein rated it 4 of 5 stars

A strange and thoughtful novel about the nomination of a Secretary of State. This is perhaps not an obvious subject for a page-turner, but this book won the Pulitzer back when it was published in 1959 and was quickly turned into a successful (and worthwhile) film. At moments it even approaches greatness.

The book focuses on a handful of Senators and their struggles over the confirmation of someone about whom they have their doubts. It is clear that Drury used his time reporting on the Senate in...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Michael Austin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Though it reeks of the Cold War, Advise and Consent has a number of surprisingly modern themes. It treated Mormonism, homosexuality, and the politics of personal destruction before any of the three had an official “moment.” It was the bestselling novel of 1959, and a Pulitzer Prize winner to boot. And, for all that, it has not been in print for years.
Advise and Consent tells the story of a controversial political nomination. A dying president names Robert Leffingwell—a well-known liberal, a pro...more

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Dec 17, 2010 Nicholas Whyte rated it 4 of 5 stars

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1556070.html

Another little reading project of mine: as well as reading the best-selling novels of 100 year ago, as I have done this year and last year, I decided to try the best-selling novel of 50 years ago, a political tale by a long-serving Washington journalist, which soon after (1962) became a film starring Henry Fonda and Charles Laughton (the latter's last role before he died).

The plot concerns the nomination of a new Secretary of State by an ailing President...more http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1556070.html

Another little reading project of mine: as well as reading the best-selling novels of 100 year ago, as I have done this year and last year, I decided to try the best-selling novel of 50 years ago, a political tale by a long-serving Washington journalist, which soon after (1962) became a film starring Henry Fonda and Charles Laughton (the latter's last role before he died).

The plot concerns the nomination of a new Secretary of State by an ailing President whose party controls both Senate and House; the nomination runs into difficulties because of the nominee's alleged Communist past. But the young Senator from Utah who is most responsible for holding up the process is himself concealing a wartime gay love affair. High drama ensues, with a memorable series of denouements of which the least spoilerish that I can reveal is a Soviet moon landing the week before the Americans would have got there.

I thought it was excellent. There are a number of well delineated characters - the Majority Leader, the ancient Senator from South Carolina, the Mormon with a past, the demagogue, the guy who wanted to be President, the President himself. The Senate is a microcosm of 100 people (99 men and one woman at that time), each with roles to play both officially and privately. Advise and Consent is an incisive description of how politics operates at that highest level, when personality as well as facts and ideology come into play. I found it difficult to put down.

It has its weaknesses. The reported vehemently pro-appeasement views of the nominee for Secretary of State - and indeed the public support he gets for them - seemed to me unrealistic, though I wasn't around in the 1960s so I may not know. It's possible that Drury was reversing the political reality, as he does with the Joe McCarthy character who is a left-winger rather than a right-winger. There are four ambassadors who are minor characters; it seemed peculiar to me that they get called together twice to give the key Senators their views of what the rest of the world thinks - normal practice, round here at any rate, would be to see them separately, but of course that doesn't work for a novel like this. Also they seem to be accredited to the UN as well as to Washington but that may have been normal in 1960.

But I was able to roll with the main flow and greatly enjoy the book. Apparently the Pulitzer Prize Committee in 1960 recommended that the award go to Henderson the Rain King; the main board, however, overruled them and gave it to Advise and Consent instead, and rightly so.(less)

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Jul 17, 2012 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary-fiction

Although this massive novel drags in some parts, it's a fascinating insight into the workings of the U.S. government (at least, how it may have been in the late 1950s/early 1960s; the current partisan bickering and grandstanding makes this story seem like a chronicle of a long lost era). The story, involving the Senate confirmation of a controversial Secretary of State nominee, takes numerous detours to explore the lives and histories of some of the principal characters, many of which are quite...more

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Mar 09, 2013 ^ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Orators & those interested in politics.

Shelves: politics, books-with-1001-to-10000-ratings, novel, pre-isbn, fiction, foreign-culture, history, outsourced

This book challenges its prospective reader with an impressive 638 pages; each page of text is of 47(!) close-spaced lines (compare to 39 lines per page in a 1999 ppbk of Sebastian Faulks’ “Charlotte Gray”, and 23 lines per page in a 2005 ppbk of Frank Beddor’s “The Looking Glass Wars”. How long, I wondered, would it realistically take to actually read this American metaphorical behemoth?

I ploughed straight in and made something of a pig’s ear of the first twenty or so pages. What chance had I...more This book challenges its prospective reader with an impressive 638 pages; each page of text is of 47(!) close-spaced lines (compare to 39 lines per page in a 1999 ppbk of Sebastian Faulks’ “Charlotte Gray”, and 23 lines per page in a 2005 ppbk of Frank Beddor’s “The Looking Glass Wars”. How long, I wondered, would it realistically take to actually read this American metaphorical behemoth?

I ploughed straight in and made something of a pig’s ear of the first twenty or so pages. What chance had I of acquiring sufficient familiarity of the vast cast of characters? Who was who, who was related to whom, and what were their politics and personal political motivations? Too many W’s! Leaving aside that the US Senate is no Houses of Parliament, space race and all, how exactly did the late 1950s US Washington political machine function?

Yet almost without realising it, I found myself 75 pages, or so, in, lapping up the plot, politics, and totally happily immersed in the tantalising waltz of competitive Washington political intrigue, foreign ambassadorial stooges (the pastiche British ambassador & his wife were just hilarious), senatorial gladiatorial combat, a decidedly unlovely President, and a delightful general array and disarray of senators’ wives and children.

I began to love this book. The length of time between page turns ensured that my concentration remained firmly fixed on what was rapidly becoming a compulsive read; and less and less on the distractive act of physically moving paper from right to left. How perfectly the plot caught, turned, and held aloft the ego and brute motivation, explicit and implicit, of those who are reeled into into politics. The storyline began to take hold of me. Hours regularly approached midnight. I struggled to lay the book aside & turn out the bedside light. Indeed I dared not read during hours of daylight; just another page … just another page … other jobs set aside, left undone.

Others have sketched the plot of this novel; it is needless that I should repeat them. In the edition I read there was also a very good outline printed on the page immediately before the Title page. Instead, I look to the bookmarks I placed on lines that notably drew my attention. Memorable expressions, oratory well worth learning by heart, such as:

“His face of a very old angel who had taken a detour through hell looked even more raddled than usual today, …” (p.99). My thoughts instantly went to sheep!

“… it was a hum-dinging, rip-snorting, hell-raising sockdolager and then some.” (p.120). “sockdolager” is a US word, defined by Merriam Webster as something that settles a matter: a decisive blow or answer. Saying it aloud brought forth such a wonderful sound!

“…the reporters faithfully jotted down their words in newsmen’s shorthand in the hope they might be as colourful as Seab’s [President Pro Tempore of the Senate]. They weren’t.” (p.120). Hope dashed. So true to life.

“As for honour, it honours me, but far more must I honour it. On that, the way is clear: I shall honour it by what I do, or I shall honour it not at all.” (p.185).

“I just want to say, though, that this strikes me as peculiar. The witness has explained everything except what I asked him to explain and he has been applauded for it repeatedly in spite of your ruling about demonstrations. Don’t people really understand what is going on here?” (p.222). The last sentence nails recognisably typical human wisdom-after-the-event hypocritical (or ignorant) behaviour.

“Because he was his father’s son, many doors were automatically opened to him; because he was himself, he walked through them with ease, gathering friends and supporters everywhere he went.” (p.302). Sage advice.

“Things were breaking too fast on this gorgeous spring morning, and there was no place for the majority Leader of the United States Senate to be expect right spang in the United States Senate,” (p.330). Doesn’t ‘spang’ (an American word) just LIFT that sentence?

“A bargain between desire and custom, dream and reality, wish and career, sex and society? We all make bargains in some way. You have to.” (p.358).

“Both were guilty of concealment, both were guilty of lying to the world, both had protected their reputations as best they could, and both had been discovered.” (p.463).

“…This was the ere, domestically, when everything was half done; the era, in foreign affairs, when nothing was done right because nobody seemed to care enough to exercise the foresight and take the pains to see that it was done right. This was the time when the job on the car was always half finished, the suit came back from the cleaners half dirty, the yardwork was overpriced and underdone, the bright new gadget broke down a week after you got it home, the prices climbed higher and higher as the quality got less and less, and the old-fashioned rule of a fair bargain for a fair price was indeed old-fashioned, for it never applied to anything.” (pp.501-502). Events both in the 1970s and the present day come to mind; let that be a warning to us all today!

“… the enormous vitality of free men, running their own government in their own way. If they were weak, at times, it was because they had the freedom to be weak; if they were strong, upon occasion, it was because they had the freedom to be strong; if they were indomitable, when the chips were down, it was because freedom made them so.” (p.614). “Indomitable” is truly a word to be cherished and a quality to be sought and bred-in. I can imagine (I haven’t looked) that Rudyard Kipling would use such a word.

Clearly here is a book not to be rushed. I look forward to repeated readings bringing forth subtleties that I have undoubtedly overlooked this first time through. This Collins hbk 1960 edition definitely fully justifies its 3cm bookshelf space. Would I want to read it on my e-reader? No. The tangible progress of the perfectly constructed plot marching, weaving, and, at times, racing through the fine paper pages of a fifty-three year old book is a memorable pleasure in itself.
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Sep 08, 2011 Christopher MacMillan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pulitzer-prize-winners-and-nominees

The majority of "Advise and Consent"'s mammoth 760 pages are intelligent, explosive, and magnetic, and would have warranted nothing less than a 5-star rating -- a very rare quality for what is essentially a page-turner.

But in the last 200 pages, author Allen Drury begins to lose focus and lose steam, and as a result, the book starts to lag. This is so frustrating, given the sheer magnitude and awesomeness that the book began with and carried straight through towards the end. What a shame.

"Advise...more The majority of "Advise and Consent"'s mammoth 760 pages are intelligent, explosive, and magnetic, and would have warranted nothing less than a 5-star rating -- a very rare quality for what is essentially a page-turner.

But in the last 200 pages, author Allen Drury begins to lose focus and lose steam, and as a result, the book starts to lag. This is so frustrating, given the sheer magnitude and awesomeness that the book began with and carried straight through towards the end. What a shame.

"Advise and Consent" tells the story of what happens in the US Senate when the President of the United States startles the world by nominating a controversial wild-card named Robert A. Leffingwell to the position of Secretary of State. It's a decision that sends shockwaves through Washington, and the flabbergasted senators are left with the task of either supporting Leffingwell or attempting to stop him. To add to the confusion, soon information is brought forth that Leffingwell may - or may not - have been involved with the Communist Party at one point (remember: this book came out at the height of the Cold War).

"Advise and Consent" is told through the points-of-view of four main characters: Democrat Bob Munson is the President's always-loyal right-hand-man who the President entrusts to see that Leffingwell's nomination gets passed; Seab Coolley is an ageing battle-axe Republican Senator whose firebrand ways cause lots of tumult on Capitol Hill, despite his essential faithfulness to his fellow senators, regardless of what side of the aisle they sit on; Brigham Anderson is a Democrat who nonetheless is driven by acting out of fairness first and foremost -- and his fairness tells him to go against the President and try to defeat Leffingwell; and Orrin Knox is a senator who does what's best for the senate and for the country, but who can't shake the bitterness over losing the Democratic Presidential bid against the President who he is now forced to obey. While Munson's, Coolley's, and Anderson's books burst with electricity from page one, Orrin Knox's book is much less interesting, much less realistic, and becomes stricken with sentimentality. It is also - inexplicably - the longest of the four sections, and as such, it is such a disappointment to blast through over 500 pages of unique literary excellence only to be brought down with a thud for the last chunk of the novel.

But this is still a great novel, and one which must have raised a few eyebrows in its day (I won't say why, but let's just say that Brigham Anderson has quite the secret). Drury has based much of what has happened in "Advise and Consent" on the lives and actions of real US politicians, but even so, the man has a knack for creating characters that we are interested in and who we come to care about. Even Seab Coolley - so set in his right-wing ways, and causing so much trouble for the Democrats - is likeable. In fact, he's lovable, and was my favourite character in the whole book, for his Zeitgeist bravado, his cunning intellect, and his surprisingly humane side that continued to pierce through again and again as the book progressed.

With over 100 characters in total, "Advise and Consent" in a one-of-a-kind book which, in the end, falls short of being a perfect novel, but most of it actually was perfect. The first 500 pages of Drury's Pulitzer Prize-winner are something I will remember fondly and carry with me as being one of the most biting, gripping, and enjoyable reading experiences I've ever had, and this is still a novel I would recommend - without hesitation - to everyone. It's a true time capsule of the 1950s political climate in America.(less)

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Aug 15, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, pulitzer-winner

Advise and Consent is a Pulitzer Prize winner that’s sat on my shelf for many years. It’s always seemed interesting, but 760 (long) pages is always daunting to me. I think that the current election season, though, got me in the mood to tackle it, and I’m glad that it did. It’s been one of the best reads of the summer.

Advise and Consent is a big soap opera (which is not a bad thing, in this instance) that’s very loosely based on some pretty scandalous events that took place in the Senate during t...more Advise and Consent is a Pulitzer Prize winner that’s sat on my shelf for many years. It’s always seemed interesting, but 760 (long) pages is always daunting to me. I think that the current election season, though, got me in the mood to tackle it, and I’m glad that it did. It’s been one of the best reads of the summer.

Advise and Consent is a big soap opera (which is not a bad thing, in this instance) that’s very loosely based on some pretty scandalous events that took place in the Senate during the McCarthy Era (look up Sens. Lester Hunt, Styles Bridges, and Herman Welker when you’re finished reading the novel). Events are set into motion when, at a precarious point in the Cold War, the President nominates a controversial diplomat, Robert Leffingwell, to be his new Secretary of State.

The appointment shocks everyone on both sides of the aisle. The Majority Leader, Bob Munson, starts working to set people in line to assure Leffingwell’s passage, while his opposition, a wily Southern Senator named Seab Cooley, begins conniving to topple the slick nominee’s chances. For the first almost-third of the book, that’s about all that happens. It’s pleasant enough, with a 1950’s sense of humor and some decently drawn (though occasionally stereotypical) characters, but to be honest, the book felt for a while like it might just be a civics lesson masquerading as a novel. I was wrong.

Sen. Brigham Anderson is appointed to head a subcommittee to investigate and question the nominee, and all hell breaks loose. I won’t say what all happens, but the political and personal stakes end up being much higher than anyone expected when Leffingwell was nominated. And several of the characters have skeletons hidden in their closets, while others lack the scruples to avoid bringing them out.

All-in-all, I found it to be a satisfying page-turner, a surprisingly progressive novel, and a sadly forgotten one. Several other novels from 1959 (i.e. Henderson the Rain King, A Separate Peace) are much more prominent now, but I’m not sure that Advise and Consent isn’t the best of them. (less)

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Mar 12, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Book Circle Reads 25

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Description: ADVISE AND CONSENT is a study of political animals in their natural habitat and is universally recognized as THE Washington novel. It begins with Senate confirmation hearings for a liberal Secretary of State and concludes two weeks later, after debate and controversy have exploded this issue into a major crisis.

"I can recall no other novel in which there is so well presented a president's dilemma when his awful responsibility for the na...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Jim Puskas rated it 5 of 5 stars

To fairly evaluate this book, one must bear in mind that it was written in 1959. Although that was hardly a time of naiive idealism, being the middle of the Cold War, our North American view of the world has surely undergone considerable loss of innocence since then. I thought it a great book in its time, probably THE preeminent political novel. In my mind it remains so today, but re-reading it this year was a far different experience. The political dance in Washington continues of course but ou...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Judy rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: political fiction fans

Shelves: 20th-century-fiction, books-from-1959, pulitzer-prize-winnrs

One of the burdens of My Big Fat Reading Project (see the Writing page on my profile) is slogging my way through long tomes like Advise and Consent. It was the #4 bestseller in 1959 and went on to be the #1 bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner in 1960. The New York Times Book Review stated, "Advise and Consent will stand as one of the finest and most gripping political novels of our era..." The book stayed on that paper's bestseller list for over 100 weeks!

It is the story of a fictional American...more
One of the burdens of My Big Fat Reading Project (see the Writing page on my profile) is slogging my way through long tomes like Advise and Consent. It was the #4 bestseller in 1959 and went on to be the #1 bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner in 1960. The New York Times Book Review stated, "Advise and Consent will stand as one of the finest and most gripping political novels of our era..." The book stayed on that paper's bestseller list for over 100 weeks!

It is the story of a fictional American President's attempt to put a new Secretary of State into his cabinet, an action which requires confirmation by the Senate. Robert Leffingwell, the nominee, is seen as an appeaser of Communist Russia by the more conservative senators but is a darling of the liberals. The fight to get Leffingwell confirmed is down and dirty, ruining lives and causing great upheaval in the Senate.

Interestingly, though I was being taught the forms of United States government in high school during the same time the book was popular, not much of it stayed with me. I had to do a quick review of Congressional terminology and positions, but once I got a grip on ranks such as Majority Leader, President of the Senate, Senior Senator, etc, the characters and their battles came alive. Reading the book then became an education in how the Senate works; its relationship to the Presidency, the media, and the voters back home; as well as the daily life of a Senator. (You could not pay me enough to be a Senator and I was confirmed in my belief that democracy in practice differs widely from its high flown ideals.)

Advise and Consent is not the pageturner its fans claim it to be, but it is a dramatic story still read today and is considered to have started a genre: political novels set in Washington, DC. Allen Drury, who started his professional life as a US Senate correspondent for United Press International, became a ponderous fiction author. His attention to detail drove me to distraction, his characterizations are complex but artless, and he repeats himself. Compared to a civics textbook however, the book is wildly exciting and humanized the Congressional men and women we hear about in the news.

I am glad I read it. The novel did more to explain the 1950s and 1960s American views on communism that almost anything else I have read so far.(less)

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Dec 03, 2011 MacK rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: am-lit

Right before I read this book, amidst a fury of partisan vitriol and intense political rancor the US Congress grudgingly voted to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. This came six months after another intense budget fight that threatened to shut down the federal government, and fifteen months after a supposedly cataclysmic vote on the nation’s health care policy. In each case I’ve had to think: “why can’t we all just get along?” In reading Advise and Consent I realized that the best answer to my qu...more Right before I read this book, amidst a fury of partisan vitriol and intense political rancor the US Congress grudgingly voted to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. This came six months after another intense budget fight that threatened to shut down the federal government, and fifteen months after a supposedly cataclysmic vote on the nation’s health care policy. In each case I’ve had to think: “why can’t we all just get along?” In reading Advise and Consent I realized that the best answer to my question is simply: “because we haven’t gotten along for decades.”

This hefty piece of 1950’s pop literature addresses just how a genial relationship between President and Congress can sour, and how the conflict is spun and finessed into an epic battle for the soul of America (whether it needs to be or not). Instead of a single piece of legislation, Adivse and Consent focuses on a cabinet confirmation which may, or may not, have a drastic impact on international affairs, but becomes absolutely critical to the lives of four powerful senators who anchor the story’s narration.

At the time it was published, Advise and Consent might well have been a thriller of political gamesmanship and intrigue. Who was playing whom and how did each person determine what America needed? Unfortunately, reading it today makes the whole kerfuffle seem rather quaint. Jaded by the past two decades of politics I kept thinking: “really, Mr. President? You’re surprised that Congress is going to grandstand in the middle of a cabinet nomination, really?” “Really, Senator? You’re aghast at how your fellow politicians are using this conflict to enhance their own careers, really?” As a semi-serious student of the political games we play in America, I couldn’t help but smile sagely at the Capra-esque naivite of several characters...and I’m just a punk 21st Century kid, they’re the (fictional) shapers of 1950s America.

So, while there’s a measure of thrilling conflict and unexpected twists throughout the book, Advise and Consent will seem to more contemporary eyes like a paleozoic insect trapped in amber. A clever story, with cute characters and a few speechifying moments that would fit right in on The West Wing, but never fly on today’s nightly news.

Of course, fifty years from now who knows what some smart-alecky kid will write about our own political theatrics...(less)

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Nov 16, 2010 Bill Peacock rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Bill by: bpeacock@excellentthought.net

Shelves: te, fiction, culture-politics

I have been aware of Allen Drury for sometime because I had one of sequels to Advise and Consent in my bookshelf--it was originally from my mother's library. When I saw that National Review listed Advise and Consent as one of the best conservative novels, I decided I had to read it.

Since I didn't have a copy, I started with what I did have, its sequel, Preserve and Protect. That meant when I did read Advise and Consent, I already knew the ultimate outcome of the story. It wasn't a bad way to re...more

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Jan 15, 2009 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, pulitzer-prize

Re-reading Advise and Consent(and watching the 1962 Otto Preminger movie by the same name), after a span of several years, I am reminded of my original reading and seeing the film version in the late 1960s. Drury followed up this first novel with a handful of sequels and over a dozen other books, but none of them came close to the popularity of the 1959 hit — ninety-three weeks on the best-seller list, a play, a movie and a Pulitzer (the Pulitzer Board overriding their committee’s recommendation...more Re-reading Advise and Consent(and watching the 1962 Otto Preminger movie by the same name), after a span of several years, I am reminded of my original reading and seeing the film version in the late 1960s. Drury followed up this first novel with a handful of sequels and over a dozen other books, but none of them came close to the popularity of the 1959 hit — ninety-three weeks on the best-seller list, a play, a movie and a Pulitzer (the Pulitzer Board overriding their committee’s recommendation of Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King). In many ways, Advise and Consent would be a fine reading in Cold War history courses or in courses that seek to explain the nature of Cold War politics. As an insight, though, into the nature of the appointments process as currently practiced, it remains locked in its time.
The novel tells the story of the nomination of peace-loving diplomat Robert A. Leffingwell to be Secretary of State. Unfolding in “books” from four senators, the story proceeds quickly and in rich, complex detail, aided no doubt by Drury’s intimate knowledge of how the Senate worked based on his experiences as a Washington political reporter. The first edition of Advise and Consent numbered 616 pages and the level of exegesis and dialogue is deep and broad. All layers of the advice and consent process are covered—from gripping hearing testimony to vitriolic floor debates, from the machinations of the White House to the cloakroom deals in the Senate.
Not only does Advise and Consent access the political dynamics of the Senate’s advice and consent to presidential nominations, the novel also delves deeply into the personal stories of the characters who must manage and judge this process. One widowed senator, the majority leader, is intimately involved with a Washington socialite and there is the past of the nominee, who flirted with communism while teaching in Chicago and is forced to confront this aspect of his personal history to secure confirmation. Another senator, a married Mormon from Utah, is blackmailed by a colleague who has discovered the senator’s intimate, sexual relationship with another man while in the army during World War II.

The narrative depth and the richness of the story’s details make it a fascinating read. It provides a panoramic view of Cold War Washington. It is a story that brings together strands of different actual events and real characters to create a composite vision of the U.S. Senate and its workings in the area of advice and consent. The novel was followed by Drury's A Shade of Difference in 1962 and four additional sequels. While Drury's Advise and Consent is arguably the best of its kind (and may have defined the genre) I have enjoyed others like O'Connor's The Last Hurrah and, more recently, Primary Colors(less)

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May 12, 2009 Beatles24 rated it 4 of 5 stars

An evocative portrayal of Washington politics - Peccadiloes, leadership, stunning arrogance, and a sense of public service all mixed into a hodge podge of a narrative. I loved the way intrigue is explained in this book and the machinery of government doing all it can to sometimes help and other times derail the process of providing basic services to its people. On the whole, a bit of a labored read but enough to keep it moving at a nice pace.

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May 23, 2010 Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars

A truly excellent book.

Very informative and interesting. If you want to get a closer look at how Washington politics and especially the senate work look no further.

I think every American should read it. It is deep in more ways than one and shows how much we've changed since it was written (and takes place) in 1958-9ish.

If I were capable of making a list of my top 10 or 20 books, this one would almost certainly be on it.

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May 15, 2011 Phil Mullen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I hesitated between 3 & 4 starts, because this book Badly Needed editing; it runs to 760 pages, & could easily have been improved by cutting down some 200 pages of wordiness.

I like the conceit of 4 books, & also the way (1959) in which he presents the entire tragedy of Brig without explicitly mentioning the nature of the relationship.

But it *is* a good read, even if one skips the verbiage in too many passages.

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Aug 18, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

You think Congress acted badly during the debt ceiling debate? That's nothing compared to Allen Drury's scenario.

I have seen the movie several times and enjoyed it, but the book has so many more rich textures to it that it's worth the read. There were about 200 pages there (at 760 pages, it's a chore in places) where it was impossible to put down. His descriptions of Sen. Brigham Anderson's story are impeccably written.

It's a little dated as references to the evil Russians and the race to the mo...more

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May 21, 2009 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fav-oldies

Read this as a freshman in high school and was so strongly impressed by the statesmanship of the men in this political novel that I chose political science as a second major in college.

I have never missed a major election since I was 18 and only 2 primary votes, in all that time.

Makes you want to stand up and sing the National Anthem. I get goosebumps every time I read selections from it on a library shelf, rereading the best parts. Just like the feeling I get when Harrison Ford, gets on the C-...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a very good story and felt a little bit like an old-time Hugo/Dimas novel, with a large cast and lots of intrigue, blackmail, anonymous sources, etc. It's about the Senate's debate on whether to confirm the President's controversial nominee for Secretary of State.

The drama is first rate but it's also got the kind of random tangents and filler that made me think of Hugo/Dumas. So it's nowhere near as extreme as them, but it'd get 5 stars if it were 20% shorter.

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Nov 12, 2012 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1959. Read for library discussion group.

This is one of the early "inside Washington politics" novels and a darn good one. What I found most interesting was the way in which some aspects of the book perfectly captured the country's mood in the late 1950s while other aspects are as universal as if they had been pulled out of today's papers.

The story revolves around an Alger Hiss-like character who perjures himself and a mirror-image Joseph McCarthy type who is rabid for...more

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Aug 25, 2009 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Awesome. a lot to read and a lot of names to remember, but such an awesome treatment of the senate and the issues related to our elected leaders. made me really think twice about the controversies that must go on there and how they are resolved. (it is a fictional account)

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Jun 19, 2009 David Kamioner rated it 5 of 5 stars

the ultimate in right of centre 50s/60s era US political melodrama. this is the series of books, 9 in all i think, that i read in hs math classes while ignoring the teacher. the two alternate endings are wonderful paleocon bubblegum ala the film 'Red Dawn'. ENJOY!

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Apr 10, 2009 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars

An outstanding book if you like political intrigue. His series following "Advise and Consent" and all great. Conservatives would probably enjoy this series more so than liberals. There are two ending to this series, one for conservatives and one for liberals.

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Apr 09, 2013 L. Worwood rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: political-suspense

I read this years ago when I was very active in politics. The language is at least pg-13 if I remember right. The whole inside story of political machinations was fascinating, especially with the characters who felt so real.

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Oct 08, 2011 Lynette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: country-girl-in-the-city, fiction

I think I might wear my copy out. This is the book that I travel with and can read over and over and over again. For my full review visit http://www.underthemaples.com/2010/08...

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Sep 01, 2010 John Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone; Must Read

Up until I picked up this book, I had never read or even attempted anything this big. I thought reading a book 400 pages was great, but to go to 600, I doubted I'd stick it out. There was no way it could keep me interested for that long. Wrong. I couldn't put this book down, I lost track of page numbers after about 50 pages and only saw the story unfold around me and I had no hurry of it ending.
This is in my top 3 books read of all time, which isn't a large group of books, but I have a feeling i...more

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Dec 16, 2010 Aly rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is rather long, and not the most fun read in the world, but it was really interesting, hence the good rating. It's a look at the inner workings of Washington politics, so it's no surprise that as someone who has limited patience for politics, it alternated between tedious and fascinating. The books set in the 1950s that I typically read are about racial tensions or the role of women, so I enjoyed seeing another side of that era that I was unfamiliar with (especially since it was not just se...more

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About Allen Drury

In late 1943, Allen Drury was a 25-year old army veteran looking for work. A position as the United States Senate correspondent for United Press International provided Drury not only with employment, but with an insider's knowledge of the United States Senate.

In addition to fulfilling his duties as a reporter, Drury also kept a journal of his views of the Senate and individual senators. In additio...more In late 1943, Allen Drury was a 25-year old army veteran looking for work. A position as the United States Senate correspondent for United Press International provided Drury not only with employment, but with an insider's knowledge of the United States Senate.

In addition to fulfilling his duties as a reporter, Drury also kept a journal of his views of the Senate and individual senators. In addition to the Senates personalities, Drury's journal captured the events, large and small, of the Seventy-eighth and Seventy-ninth United States Congress Congresses.

Although written in the mid-1940s, Drury's diary was not published until 1963. ''A Senate Journal'' found an audience in part because of the great success of ''Advise and Consent'', Drury's 1959 novel about the Senate's consideration of a controversial nominee for Secretary of State.

Drury greatest success was ''Advise and Consent'', which was made into a film in 1962. The book was partly inspired by the suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester C. Hunt. It spent 102 weeks on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list

Drury followed ''Advise and Consent'' with several sequels. ''A Shade of Difference'' is set a year after ''Advise and Consent''. Drury then turned his attention to the next presidential election after those events with ''Capable of Honor'' and ''Preserve and Protect''. He then wrote two alternative sequels based on a different outcome of an assassination attack in an earlier work: ''Come Nineveh, Come Tyre'' and ''The Promise of Joy''.

In 1971, Drury published ''The Throne of Saturn'', a science fiction novel about the first attempt at sending a manned mission to Mars. He dedicated the work "To the US Astronauts and those who help them fly." Political characters in the book are archetypal rather than comfortably human. The book carries a strong anti-leftist/anti-communist flavor. The book has a lot to say about interference in the space program by leftist Americans.

Having wrapped up his political series by 1975, Drury began a new one with the 1977 novel ''Anna Hastings'', more a novel about journalism than politics. He returned to the timeline in 1979, with the political novel ''Mark Coffin U.S.S.'' (though the main relationship between the two books was that Hastings was a minor character in ''Mark Coffin U.S.S.'''s sequels). It was succeeded, by the two-part ''The Hill of Summer'' and ''The Roads of Earth'', which are true sequels to ''Mark Coffin U.S.S.'' He also wrote stand-alone novels, ''Decision'' and ''Pentagon'', as well as several other fiction and non-fiction works.

Drury's political novels have been described as page-turners, set against the Cold War, with an aggressive and determined Soviet Union seeking to undermine the U.S.

Drury lived in Tiburon, California from 1964 until his 1998 death of cardiac arrest. Drury had completed his 20th novel, ''Public Men'' set at Stanford, just two weeks before his death. He died on 2 September 1998 at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco, California, on his eightieth birthday. Drury was never married.

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