From the Editor of the West Wing Continuity Guide (September 19, 2008)

It starts with an actor in a show called "The Oval Office" in the near future. The actor is made more impressive by having him also write the show. And people have been suggesting that he run for the Presidency of the United States for real.

Well, I was wrong on where this story was going. He never runs for president although a desperate sitting president, who has an evil chief of staff, does draw him, the people around him, and his entire show into a tightening web that turns this book into a political thriller with overtones of international intrigue and a touch (or two) of science fiction. The book enveloped me in its world and I read it in one sitting.

Mr. Rechtman has an unusual imagination and I found The 28^th Amendment impossible to predict. I couldn't accept the choice of vice-president, but that is towards the end of the book and by then I was too absorbed to put the novel down.

The author brings in the card game of bridge, Israeli agents, and psychic phenomena, to name just a few aspects of the plot. A couple of characters actually reminded me of characters in The West Wing. And like our show often did, it brings in current political ideas without getting bogged down in them. I still feel that nothing in TV or books comes close to The West Wing, but this book did remind me with a slight new taste of what it was like.

Because those still reading this website may miss the show as much as I, I have made a page on this site devoted to the book, with a link to the first chapter and the ability to order the book for 15% off.

      --------BE Warne