Book Review: The Prince of Darkness

The Prince of Darkness
By Robert D. Novak

Just last night I finished reading through the 600+ pages of the memoir of Robert D. Novak. Novak is a fellow Illinoisan and U of I alum. He has been one of my favorite political writers. If you are a political junkie, and you have an avid interest in the politics of the last half century, this is a great read. If you have only a mild interest in politics, this book will bore you to tears.

Robert Novak has been a figure on the national stage since the early 1960's. He has had contact with all the presidents and other national political figures since that time. Although he is known as a solid conservative today, he hasn't always been a conservative. This book chronicles in parallel his journey to conservatism along with the nation's political realignment.

My political memory begins with the Republican National Convention in 1976. At the height of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, I was in sixth grade and hooked on politics. My sixth grade teacher required each student to have a subscription to U.S. News and World Report, and I actually read mine. It was fascinating for me to get Novak's behind-the-scenes look at the political world I have been watching from the outside for the past 30 years.

Being in his late seventies, Robert Novak's political memory goes back much further than my own. He personally knew John and Robert Kennedy. His wedding reception was hosted by Lyndon B. Johnson. Talk about having an inside track. I found it strange that he gave only passing mention to the assassination of JFK. With all that has been written and speculated about that event, I expected him to given his take on the matter. It made me wonder whether he knows some really interesting details that are not public knowledge.

The politics of the 1950's and 1960's have always been somewhat murky to me. It is hard for me to imagine a Republican party that was not conservative. I learned a lot of the history of that time period.

Novak is a newspaperman and a television pundit. He gave a great many details about newspaper and television colleagues over the years. A major theme of the book was the political realignment of the country, culminating in the historic 1994 elections. However, I noted another strange omission from his memoirs. There was not one word about talk radio in general or Rush Limbaugh in particular.

He was strikingly honest about his personal life. He lived in a world so different from my own. He notes his regret at being absent a great deal while his children were growing up. He entertained sources on a lavish expense account, consumed vast amounts of alcohol, and traveled all over the world for weeks at a time.

If you are interested in more of what Novak writes, here are some links:
Novak's newspaper columns (the Sunday column is my favorite with its political tidbits)
The Evans-Novak Political Report (weekly)