Customer Reviews

Night of Camp David

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President Mark Hollenbach is at the top of his game on the eve of his campaign for a second term. But a scandal has disgraced his vice-president, so he needs a new running mate, and turns to first-term senator Jim MacVeagh. But as the President courts MacVeagh, revealing confidential plans for his next administration, MacVeagh begins doubting--first the President's judgment, then his sanity. MacVeigh reluctantly confides his doubts to a few carefully chosen colleagues, who doubt MacVeagh more than they doubt the President. But when the President schedules a summit with the wily Soviet leader, the question of Hollenbach's mental health becomes critical, and MacVeagh must air the doubts that may bring him down instead of Hollenbach.

"Night of Camp David" is clearly a product of its time. Written while the twenty-fifth amendment was pending but before its ratification, it treats the issues that the amendment addressed: how the government functions when its head can't handle the job but also can't recognize, or can't admit, his or her own incapacity. Those issues were particularly relevant when Knebel began writing the novel because Lyndon Johnson had recently succeeded to the Presidency after President Kennedy's assassination, the vice-presidency was vacant, and the next two successors were 71-year-old House Speaker John McCormack and 86-year-old Senate President pro tem Carl Hayden. (The novel also brings down a vice-president over a scandal involving construction contracts, almost a decade before the kickback scandal that brought down Vice-President Agnew.) But the issues are just as relevant today as they were almost forty years ago, even though they no longer engage the public's attention as they did in the mid-1960s.

"Night of Camp David" also follows the successful formula of its author's successful "Seven Days in May": a loyal subordinate begins doubting his larger-than-life superior, and must persuade a skeptical establishment about his doubts before the nation suffers irreparable damage. "Night of Camp David" is not quite as dramatic or suspenseful as "Seven Days in May," but its plot is equally intricate, and if you liked one then you will almost surely like the other.

Jim MacVeagh, Iowa's junior senator, is justifiably alarmed to discover that his party's leader, President Mark Hollenbach, displays signs of mental instability. As the narrative to Night of Camp David unfolds, Jim finds himself in an untenable situation. Revealing what he knows could lead to political chaos as well as a Constitutional crisis. Keeping this vital information to himself leaves America's nuclear arsenal in potentially unsound hands.

Night of Camp David is a remarkably well written novel. With each new chapter, author Fletcher Knebel builds suspense using cleverly crafted plot elements that serve to tantalize the reader. Even as disturbing bits of information about the President's tenuous mental state are skillfully revealed, the nightmarish complexity of Jim MacVeagh's dilemma is convincingly demonstrated.

Adding to Night of Camp David's considerable appeal is the presence of an important subplot concerning an extramarital affair in which Jim has rather unwisely become involved. This aspect of the book has a decidedly humanizing effect on its protagonist. For that reason (and others) Night of Camp David has a lot to offer even those readers who don't ordinarily consider themselves fans of political thrillers. Very highly recommended.

A US Senator - perhaps tapped as a vice presidential running mate- learns that the sitting President is mentally unbalanced. Good read. This may happen some day.

A good book. I was interested in this book because I wanted to check out other books written by the author of Seven Days in May.I love political thrillers and I think anybody else who loves political thrillers will enjoy this book also. The setting of the book is in the 1960's maybe early 70's. The reader will probably recognize this by some of the pop phrases in the book such as "groovy". I don't want to give the plot away because there are some surprises. If you enjoy political thrillers,Tom Clancy novels or the recent movie The Contender you will not be disappointed.