Customer Reviews

The Body Politic

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I picked this up in a used book store and then read the Amazon revues. Maybe I should have left it on the shelf. No, that would have been a mistake. This is a great satiric comedy. The VP dies, ala Nelson Rockefeller. His press secretary consults with the President's chief of staff. Got to keep this quiet since the Pres.(Republican) is running for re-election, the Wisconsin primary is in a few days and they need the governor's endorsement. If it comes out the VP is dead, the gov will want to be named VP immediately and he's definitely not wanted on the ticket; all they want from him is his endorsement. They get his endorsement but the Pres has made the ill advised commitment to debate his primary opponent. He loses the debate handily and loses Wisconsin. Grits Tuesday, primary in several southern states, is coming up in about two weeks and the plan is to offer all the republican governors the second slot on the ticket for their endorsements; so they have to keep the VP "alive" a while longer. This ploy doesn't work either and the situation snowballs. With the press secretary making various un-PC moves to create a semblance of a sentient VP, the VP becomes increasingly popular. The Second Lady, who was aware of her husband's pecadillos, goes along with the subterfuge and becomes somewhat of a loose cannon with her own agenda. I really liked this book it was a great fun read. It's written with humor and a strong satirical edge. The nay-sayers are probably good Democrats who looked at the Cheney name and made their immediate judgement solely on that basis.

The humor and light hearted approach to Government in particular, and to life in general, is very refreshing, and fun to read. Having viewed Mrs. Chaney for many years, she seems to be lacking humor, which suggests that Perhaps Mr. Gold is the primary author, a view supported by his review of this book in which he takes credit for a, or possible "the", key element in the book, the one dealing with the first female Vice President of the United States.

The book is fun to read, it is not a master piece, but never-the-less a worth while onvestment in time to read.

This is a fun to read political thriller that accounts for a conspiracy to cover-up the death of the Vice President. If you are interested in U.S. politics, government officials, conspiracies, or scandals, you will enjoy this fast-paced easy and enjoyable read. Both serious and humerous, this novel delivers an interesting look into the questionable behaviour of our nation's biggest players.

As co-author of "The Body Politic," I feel it necessary to inform some of the bilious Democrats reviewing the book that the political figure on whom the fiction was based was one-time Vice President Nelson Rockefeller (1974-77), who died of a heart attack while in the company of a young female aide. At the time the novel was written (1988), my co-author Lynne Cheney's husband Dick was as far removed from the prospect of becoming Vice President as Placido Domingo. And the Second Lady's becoming VP in his place was, as David Boies is my witness, entirely my idea. Read the book. Better still, buy it first, then read it.

If you really want to get inside the mind of Lynne Cheney, to really understand her values, her ambitions, and her view of the world, then you must read this book! Few women in politics today would dare pen so vivid a blueprint for her future as Mrs. Cheney has here. Audacious, gripping, and the best snapshot one can have of this prominent woman of our times! Read it now!

In this book, Mrs. Cheney's fictional vice president, a 59-year-old Republican, dies in office of a heart attack. Her real-life husband, Dick Cheney, is also 59 and has, of course, just survived his fourth heart attack. Is the book cursed? In 1988, when the novel was originally published, Dick Cheney suffered his third heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery. Twelve years later, the novel reappears and Cheney's heart fails again. In addition, There is something else in Mrs. Cheney's book that might give Mr. Cheney pause. When the fictional vice president dies, his scheming, ambitious wife participates in a White House coverup of his death and manages to succeed her late husband as the country's first female vice president.

The humor and light hearted approach to Government in particular, and to life in general, is very refreshing, and fun to read. Having viewed Mrs. Chaney for many years, she seems to be lacking humor, which suggests that Perhaps Mr. Gold is the primary author, a view supported by his review of this book in which he takes credit for a, or possible "the", key element in the book, the one dealing with the first female Vice President of the United States.

The book is fun to read, it is not a master piece, but never-the-less a worth while onvestment in time to read.

I just bought this book and it really stinks. The cover claims it's "rollicking" and that it does for Washington, D.C., what Bonfire of the Vanities did for New York City. I'm not saying the people that wrote these reviews were lying, but I'd sure like to have some of whatever they're imbibing.

I had to write this review just to counter the glowing reviews it got here. If you enjoy a well-crafted political thriller, or a comic romp, DO NOT waste your time here.

(I gave this book one star because I wasn't allowed to give it minus two stars!)

I find it rather interesting that Mrs. Cheney penned this book in light of her husband's heart disease. And then, Dick suffers another heart attack at the age of 59, just like the character. Are darker forces at play?

In all seriousness, this book doesn't deserve all the hype it is getting. It is not a bad book, but it is also not all that good either. It tries to be funny without really accomplishing it. For true, classic political satire try Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. That book is so much above Lynne Cheney's book that I would cringe to even make a comparison.

The only reason this book will be a bestseller is because of the current circumstances. It's terrible. The best one can say about it is that one can hope it comes true, as at least it would make the Republicans more interesting people.