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anderson65's review against another edition
5.0
scud:(noun) 1. swift movement: a swift smooth movement
2. clouds driven by wind: low clouds that are driven swiftly by the wind
3. sudden shower or gust: a sudden shower of rain or gust of wind
cross the Rubicon:(noun) to do something that commits you to a particular course of action
[Early 17th century. After the stream in N Italy that Julius Caesar crossed illegally with his army in 49 BC, making civil war inevitable:]
point of no return: a point at which any action taken commits the person taking it to a further course of action that cannot be avoided
This story is splendid generational historical fiction about the unseen family of power players in Washington,DC. Fascinating insight results as the reader begins in the the salon of Echo House with the family scion Senator Adolph Behl and his wife Constance, a demanding perfectionist. Beginning with the Wilson administration, the years unfold. Players and Presidents come and go, but the Behl family remains. The Behl men are the "Invisibles", the men who get things done, who take care of things, who avoid the spotlight. The evolution of the Behls and our nation kept me spellbound and sad to see the book end.
2. clouds driven by wind: low clouds that are driven swiftly by the wind
3. sudden shower or gust: a sudden shower of rain or gust of wind
cross the Rubicon:(noun) to do something that commits you to a particular course of action
[Early 17th century. After the stream in N Italy that Julius Caesar crossed illegally with his army in 49 BC, making civil war inevitable:]
point of no return: a point at which any action taken commits the person taking it to a further course of action that cannot be avoided
This story is splendid generational historical fiction about the unseen family of power players in Washington,DC. Fascinating insight results as the reader begins in the the salon of Echo House with the family scion Senator Adolph Behl and his wife Constance, a demanding perfectionist. Beginning with the Wilson administration, the years unfold. Players and Presidents come and go, but the Behl family remains. The Behl men are the "Invisibles", the men who get things done, who take care of things, who avoid the spotlight. The evolution of the Behls and our nation kept me spellbound and sad to see the book end.
lisagray68's review against another edition
2.0
If you don't know this about me, if I'm not in love with a book by page 100, I seriously consider giving up. I'm giving up on this book at page 130. Ward Just is "the" consummate novelist - he is amazing and such a great writer. His books are slow moving, though, and not a lot of action. Right now there is just not enough here to keep my interest. This is a novel of a political family, likened by many to the Kennedys. Here Ward Just brings you through generations of this political family, exposing the sometimes ugly underbelly of the political world. Whenever I put this on my list, I must have thought the subject would interest me, but now --- not so much. I still have his book "Exiles in the Garden" on my "to read" list, and hopefully I'll like that one better!
v_iaggio's review against another edition
3.0
Ward Just certainly captures the contours of Washington and its transformations throughout the last century. His writing is beautiful, but the pace drags after the first few chapters and the plot never engages quite the way it should.
ladola's review against another edition
3.0
Not something I would have chosen myself. It was assigned by my intro to politics professor. It is an interesting read. The author does have get bogged down in to many details in a few places. But it is worth the read simply for the part in France during the second World War. I would recommend this book.
lisagray68's review
2.0
If you don't know this about me, if I'm not in love with a book by page 100, I seriously consider giving up. I'm giving up on this book at page 130. Ward Just is "the" consummate novelist - he is amazing and such a great writer. His books are slow moving, though, and not a lot of action. Right now there is just not enough here to keep my interest. This is a novel of a political family, likened by many to the Kennedys. Here Ward Just brings you through generations of this political family, exposing the sometimes ugly underbelly of the political world. Whenever I put this on my list, I must have thought the subject would interest me, but now --- not so much. I still have his book "Exiles in the Garden" on my "to read" list, and hopefully I'll like that one better!
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