Tuesday, April 29, 2008

672 Pages Still Won't Be Enough: Bob Novak's Exceptional Memoir

I recently finished Bob Novak's remarkable memoir, The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years of Reporting in Washington, a riveting autobiography of the famed (and immensely successful) journalist which provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes view of America's political happenings of the last half century. It is a great read, giving one plenty to ponder about political philosophy and methodology, culture, ambition, the workings of the media, and even religion (Novak converted to Roman Catholicism late in his life).

And amid the well-crafted pages of The Prince of Darkness (there's nearly 700 of those pages but, not to worry, you'll enjoy every one of them) are such revealing vignettes as the one I posted over on Vital Signs about Ronald Reagan's selection of Sandra Day O'Connor for the Supreme Court.

I'll have more to say in the days to come about Bob Novak's truly exceptional book but that shouldn't stop you from running down to your local library and starting in.