The Power Game: A Washington Novel

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Summary: How not to play the power game
Review: First of all, I don't generally like novels unless they are well-researched historical novels. So partly as a result of that, I felt this book was a waste of time. Even though I have no experience in this area, his description of politics in Washington didn't strike me as true to life. The author made it look like everyone there paid little heed to his brilliant thinking. But he gave little credit to the wisdom of the machinations of others. Nowhere was there any description of how the President must be wrestling with the advice of the various cabinet members and how he should concede to the President as he has the ultimate responsibility. And then the subplot of his marriage; he didn't know how to play that power game either. I felt like he let his wife intimidate him. I felt like he should have told her, "Screw your job! Do you want to be my wife or don't you?" He was living in his own world. It was like a story about a fellow on a basketball team always asking his teammates to pass the ball to him and his repeatedly yelling, "I can sink it, I can sink it!", meanwhile his teammates ignore him and the coach finally kicks him off the team. He thinks too highly of himself and he bewilderedly wonders why others don't feel that same way. The main character comes across as a Caspar Milquetoast - not very interesting.

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Summary: Page Turner
Review: How refreshing!

I couldn't put this one down! The Power Game covers new ground (the inside of Washington politics) with credibility and intrigue.

The book took off as Senator Kent's campaign gained momentum and the protagonist, Peter Cutler got sucked in to "the game". By the fourth chapter I couldn't wait to see how Washington would ruin such a good person. Poor Kate....poor Peter. What a thrill!!!

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Summary: Not a very good read
Review: I found The Power Game to be lacking in character and style, aimed at an audience prefering an easy read to a good one. Both the plot and the characters seemed crafted to please rather than to challenge, falling into easy DC politics stereotypes. One finds it impossible to either emphatize or dislike the characters: they are just dull. It is a shame that Dr. Nye has not made better use of his experience of insider DC politics and of the security policy themes around which the novel evolves.

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Summary: fiction may portend reality
Review: I found this book to be a gripping tale, and, perhaps a portent of things to come. The book is certainly well crafted, with excellent character depiction/development.This is not surprising in view of the author's background as an "insider" in two administrations, with special responsibilities in the area of nuclear proliferation. The book is especially timely in view of current developments in Iran, Pakistan, and North Korea regarding their nuclear weapons programs. The portrayal of the tensions between diplomacy and "hard power" as methods to deal with proliferation is particularly well described and very appropos.

The passages portraying the protagonist's interaction with nature as he pursues his passion for flyfishing while trying to work through his problems are particularly lyrical.

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Summary: A Washingtonian Weighs In
Review: Joe Nye's Power Game is not only a fun read but because it was written by someone who has lived the life of a political appointee in the cauldron of Washington politics, it provides an authentic insider's glimpse of how this town works. The author is also one of the foremost experts on nuclear nonproliferation and he weaves his story around the threat of Iran's acquiring nuclear weapons -- a topic that is all too real in 2005! The strains that the protaganist's position in the Administration puts on his marriage and the ethical dilemmas raised by his conflicted loyalties as well as the seductiveness of "the power game" make the novel more than just a good bedtime read. Anyone who has served in a high-level government position will recognize many features of their own experience woven into the book.

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Summary: Harvard professor bombs in debut novel
Review: Joseph Nye is a Harvard academic and former US government official who held senior positions in the intelligence community in the Clinton Administration. This is his first novel and a very disppointing read, with dead language, flat characters and several large holes.

Professor Nye has taken the low road when it comes to writing this book, aiming for an airport best-seller instead of a Booker prize winner. There is nothing wrong with that, except that he has produced a plot unworthy of the genre.

A political scientist at Princeton University (presumably based on himself), lands a senior job in the US Department of State where he battles bureaucratic and personal rivals. He finds himself with an aptitude for power, which corrupts him personally and threatens to destroy his life.

Nye offers far too few insights into Washington politics to overcome his wooden, cliched writing. It is hard to feel anything for the main character, who is not only shallow but somewhat of a loser. The sex scences have all the excitment of shopping at KMart. The dialogue is folksy, and it's hard to imagine intelligent people being so unoriginal. The finale contains a basic factual absurdity of a journalist who instantly gives up a source, who then continues to receive calls from that journalist. The fate of a key character is needlessly unresolved. It is as though Nye didn't have time to write the last chapter properly.

I bought the book because it was recommended by the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, but I wonder if this was a favour from a friendly contact, like the six people quoted on the back cover, all of whom appear to have had professional relations with Nye. David Gergen, for example, is an academic at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. As the recently departed dean, Nye was his boss. To his credit however, Gergen merely describes the book instead of praising it, identifying Nye as a "budding novelist". A bud that has yet to bloom.


Rating:
Summary: A Washington Story
Review: The Power Game makes the problem of the spread of nuclear weapons both human and understandable. At the same time Professor Nye weaves an engrossing tale. The American public sees front page articles on proliferation daily. In this fast paced novel, the policy battles to manage proliferation are made clearer to the average reader. For better or worse,the characters are completely plausible...reminding me of over twenty years in the State Department, happily working on other areas. The plot is well crafted and the human drama is all too real. Peter Cutler is least appealing when he becomes caught up in the Washington policy game. He is most attractive when he is in the woods fishing. Professor Nye has mastered the art of combining reality with fiction which makes for a fun and scarey read

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Summary: A Riviting Tale
Review: This book is a thriller about Washington political life. I enjoyed the Power Game. I was clearly taken by this vision of the world of power and found myself drawn into it, not putting it down until the end. The "game" is a tough one and convincingly the hero looses sight of his own values, as he plays the game. In the process he has an affair, his marriage is in trouble and he loses his job. All this is very real - the was Washington must be. The ending leaves us with the hero's resolution to his problems. It is easy to identify with him, like him and understand how he got into this mess. The book doesn't pretend to be other than its genre. It's a wonderful read and I learned a lot about Washington DC.