Customer Reviews

Q Clearance

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

 

 

Peter Benchley draws upon his years as a Washington speech writer to satirize the Civil Servant life. The result is amicable poke in the ribs that is hard to dislike. Highly recommended.

Q Clearance reminded me early on of an American version of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. Benchly is very very good at setting up characters and poking fun at peoples perceptions of their own importance and the assumptions they make about other powerful people. This book was a great satire about Washington life in the heart of the White House.

If you have ever been a civil servant (and I was, for 3 1/2 years), this book will make you laugh out loud.

Benchley, in a humorous and engaging style, manages to poke fun at the Executive Branch of the Government, the whole "espionage" genre of action/mystery literature, and the idiocies of our nation's capital -- from the perspective of someone from the inside.

Unfortunately, one must have had some experience working for the government in order to appreciate some of the humor, which probably accounts for the book going out of print.

Read it anyway -- you won't regret the time spent.

It's not a shark, or a giant squid, or a Nazi man-shark, or even a cruel big brother (as in the other Benchley Books). No, this monster is worse than all of them -it's the Federal government!

Nothing can destroy more lives, ruin the planet, or make waiting on hold utterly gut wrenching the way the Government can. Thankfully we have Timothy Burnham, a presidential speech writer to keep us all safe from this behemoth. This book has it all - a bungling president, Russian spies, traitors, and the excitement of bureaucracy in action. This tale tells us how Tim rises from lowly speechwriter to the confidant of the president just in time to save us all.

Benchley's prose and comedic timing is on top of his game here, and this book is a definite read of political satirists and monster lovers alike!

Thanks Mr. Benchley!

I first read this book more than 10 years ago on an airplane, and my mother wound up reading it immediately afterwards to see why I had been chortling non-stop during the seven-hour flight. I currently live in Washington, DC, and Benchley's funny description of the inner workings of the federal government is just as funny nowadays as it was then.

If "Jaws" was not your cup of tea (and it isn't mine), try a taste of this. Delightful!

I TOO READ THIS (OR TRIED TO) READ THIS BOOK ABOUT 14 YEARS AGO ( WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT)IT WASN'T TOTALLY BAD I JUST RESPECT BENCHLEY'S WRITING ABOUT MARINE AND AQUATIC THRILLERS. THE ONLY REASON I BOUGHT THE BOOK WAS BECAUSE I FIGURED IF PETER WROTE IT EVEN THOUGH IT'S POLITICAL IT'S GOT TO BE GOOD. HOW WRONG I WAS.