Buy Used
Used - Very Good See details
$3.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Purple Dots: A Novel
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Purple Dots: A Novel [Hardcover]

Jim Lehrer (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --  
Paperback, Bargain Price $5.20  
Unknown Binding --  

Book Description

September 22, 1998
Washington, D.C., is a town full of powerful people with powerful, often conflicting agendas, and no one knows this better than Jim Lehrer, the preeminent capital newscaster and novelist. His new book is a witty, provocative political mystery about power play and favor swapping at the highest levels of government, written with his own unique blend of political savvy and irreverent humor.
        
Joshua Bennett has just been nominated by the president to be the new director of the CIA. He's the ideal candidate, and everyone agrees his confirmation hearing should be a mere formality. But this is Washington, where nothing as straightforward as choosing the most qualified person for a crucial job can be counted upon. Unfortunately for Bennett, someone's political agenda hinges on his confirmation being vetoed, but he's damned if he can find out whose. In need of good covert help he can trust, Bennett turns to a little known but highly efficient cadre of former CIA spies living in semiretirement in nearby West Virginia. This odd team of sixty-plus-year-old spooks, boasting a combined array of exceptional if eccentric and largely illegal talents, embarks upon a wildly unorthodox Washington power struggle that is no less earnest for being conducted in absolute secrecy. And most secret of all is the highly coveted purple dot--the ultimate national perk.
        
Following the enormous breakout success of Lehrer's bestselling previous novel, White Widow, Purple Dots will fascinate and amuse even more readers, while confirming their worst fears about how our government really operates.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Charlie Henderson's favorite poet is Po Chu-i, a 9th-century Chinese who wrote, when he hit 60, "I have put behind me Love and Greed. I have done with Profit and Fame. I am still short of illness and decay and far from decrepit age." But Mary Jane, Charlie's wife, "sometimes saw Charlie's fondness for the words less a belief in a poetic creed than as proof that he had simply moved into his second childhood. Charlie claimed he had been lucky enough never to have had to end his first, having gone directly from high school to college to the U.S. Navy and then to the Central Intelligence Agency without missing a beat or being forced to do anything other than little-boy work." Charlie now helps his wife run a small, upscale West Virginia hotel where for $450 a night guests get to eat turtle soup amontillado and hear about how George Washington once had a meal in the same room. He's also one of the two narrators of veteran PBS newsman Jim Lehrer's sly and satisfying new political thriller. The other is a much tougher and more ambitious young Republican senatorial assistant named Marty Madigan, who works for a New Mexico conservative bent on keeping Henderson's best friend Josh Bennett from becoming the new CIA director.

Lehrer mostly plays fair with both sides, poking fun at Washington/Langley treats and privileges--such as the purple dots on license plates, which warn off police tow trucks. But you might come away thinking he's more sympathetic to Charlie and his gang of past and present spooks, who cluster in the lovely country towns around Washington and run antique toy stores or restore old dairy trucks while hatching plans to make sure Bennett gets the top job. Purple Dots is a richly detailed, highly amusing, and even occasionally suspenseful story from the author of Crown Oklahoma, Kick the Can, The Sooner Spy, and White Widow. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

PBS newsman and veteran novelist Lehrer (White Widow) neatly interweaves ruthlessness, hypocrisy and CIA intrigue in this disarming political thriller. Ex-CIA operative Charlie Henderson comes out of retirement to clear the name of his friend and fellow spy Josh Bennett, whose nomination for CIA chief has Republican Senator Marty Madigan frantically digging for dirt. It seems Madigan is following orders from Senator Lank Simmons of New Mexico, who is being blackmailed, in turn, by a Texas senator who has New Mexico's water supply under his thumb and happens to back a certain undesirable candidate for the Supreme Court. Lehrer gains satirical mileage by narrating the same events from the viewpoints of both Charlie and Marty. Although Marty comes off as a slick, aggressive opportunist in Charlie's version, he earns the reader's sympathy in his own account as a young, ambitious politician caught in a complicated power struggle between his self-interested superiors. As the opponents wrestle their way toward a gratifying resolution, Lehrer deftly exposes duplicity and pettiness on both sides through smart (if occasionally overblown) dialogue that spoofs their simultaneous lack of communication and merciless competition for powers great and small (such as the "purple dots" on license plates, which prevent car towing in Washington). Lehrer maintains admirable objectivity: no character is ultimately sympathetic or completely tarred and feathered by the end of this pointed portrait of Capitol Hill. (Oct.) FYI: In October, Doubleday will publish Breaking News, the third novel by Lehrer's longtime (and now former) collaborator on The News Hour, Robert MacNeil.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 262 pages
  • Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (September 22, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0679452370
  • ISBN-13: 978-0679452379
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,227,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I thought it was a witty, insightful political novel, March 6, 1999
This review is from: Purple Dots: A Novel (Hardcover)
I thoroughly enjoyed this, the first Jim Lehrer novel I've read. I found it to be a witty, insightful probe into the complicated inner sanctum of our nation's capital. The two main characters were quite realistic, both with foibles and strengths. I particularly enjoyed the details regarding restaurants and hotels and such, being a frequent visitor (and soon to be resident) of the fabulous amalgam that is Washington. Although I felt that the subplot of the fish hatchery scheme was a stretch, it did contribute to the conclusion in an interesting way. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys political thrillers with a satiristic subtext--plus, I read it in 2 evenings! I'll certainly read more of Lehrer's earlier offerings.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Jim Lehrer's Purple Dots, May 14, 2001
By 
Susan Laden (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Purple Dots: A Novel (Hardcover)
Jim Lehrer, in Purple Dots, puts us in the confirmation hearings of veteran CIA agent, Josh Bennett, as the new agency director. Josh finds himself, not only in a fishbowl, but the key to the advancement of a secret political agenda. Can his loyal friend and retired co-worker, Charlie, prevent damage to Josh's reputation? The author develops two symbolic themes. First, the cleansing properties of water and its ability to sustain life are shown in the need for Josh to restore honor and professionalism to CIA operations. Second, the symbiotic nature of fish propagation parallels how politics works in Washington. Lehrer's mystery describes how much camaraderie men can experience without actually building a treehouse. The humor and action flow as though you are watching Purple Dots "the movie."
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Purple Dots are amusing!, September 3, 2000
By 
Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Purple Dots: A Novel (Hardcover)
I didn't know Jim Lehrer wrote novels - amusing, articulate & suspenseful political thrillers. A rather telling expose of how a nomination can be torpedoed before it gets out of the bay & the bargaining that goes on behind the scenes. Both Charlie & Marty are likable rogues - one because he's seen it all & the other because he can't believe all he's seeing. One has an enduring marriage, likes his creature comforts & has a cadre of loyal retired spooks still active in the old bomb-the-opposition game. The other because he's so green & full of self-righteous perfect dreams. When the two of them clash the fun begins. & those purple dots? Ah, how petty are the things with which we barter. I enjoyed the romp. For my full review do check out [my website].
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
Charlie had not been enjoying The Washington Post much lately. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
water aide, purple dots
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Mary Jane, West Virginia, New Mexico, Central Intelligence, Jay Buckner, Sam Holt, Harpers Ferry, Senator Simmons, Joshua Bennett, White House, Scotty Hartman, Charles Town, George Washington, Lank Simmons, West Berlin, Andrea Bartlett, Blue Heart, Charles Avenue Henderson, Joshua Eugene Bennett, Charlie Henderson, Carla Avery, Shredded Ralston, Gene Duckworth, Marty Madigan
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:


What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Create a Listmania! list

So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject