The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington

I've never been a fan of Robert D. Novak. I rarely read his column and the only time I saw him on CNN "Crossfire", I changed the channel because he and his co-panelists did nothing but scream at each other. (That, of course, is more attributable to CNN's concept of programming than anything else.) But I knew Novak was a "name", so I figured I'd give his autobiography, "Prince of Darkness" a shot. It's so big - 638 pages - that I could always use it as a door stop, boat anchor or lethal weapon. Call me surprised that I found "Prince of Darkness" to be a true page turner. This is three or four books in one. The first is the biography of Robert D. Novak, the son of a lower middle-class Jewish family in Illinois who was attracted to journalism early in life, married twice, had a problem with alcohol, faced some life threatening health problems and at 75 still has an active working life. It's also the story of Robert D. Novak who, by a very lucky break, teamed with Rowland Evans, a well established name, and for the next forty or so years turned out a political column that at one time ran in a few hundred papers and broke many and exclusive story. Another sub-ordinate thread is the story of the relationship between Novak and Evans which was primarily business for all the time with both men leading leading remarkably separate personal lives. Next is the often ugly story of how politics and journalism intertwine. From Novak's telling, you either have a thick skin or you're quickly going to be crushed. Friendships are as deep as the other person's immediate needs. Honor and honesty are increasingly obsolete terms. Novak never says so explicitly, but his condemnation of the left-wing is thorough. Finally this is a story of the stories Novak has covered in the past fifty years including, of course, the Valerie Plame affair. There is a fascinating depth of detail here, enough to keep one reading past their bed time. To be sure, Novak has an ego and it shows. It is not over powering and doesn't detract from the book. Overall, Novak adds an important resource which historians of the era will benefit from. Political junkies will absolutely love it, particularly if they tend toward conservative views. Jerry

This was a fabulous read. Novak takes us through his life and 50 years as a reporter, journalist, and television commentator. He is very frank about his life, provides very rich background about the news he broke, what he got right and wrong, who many of his most important sources were, and even how much he made over the years! I mean, this is pretty much standing up in front of the world in your Speedo. It takes more courage than nearly anyone has to write like this. What I found particularly fascinating was how the news process works in politics. The whole source versus target thing is quite understandable, but the whole social pecking order thing really gets to me. Washington D.C. is very much and "industry" town and while it is acceptable to take somewhat different sides, it appears that it is anathema to actually believe and be committed to anything other than the socially approved orthodoxies. Some of the seemingly bewildering political behavior becomes understandable when Novak shows you who actually believes in certain causes and who just believes in getting elected. For example, any number of us conservatives like Mary Matlin, but were horribly confused when she married James Carville. Saying love is blind really doesn't cut it. However, when you learn that she is actually pro-choice and pro-homosexual rights, well, now her being able to love James Carville almost makes sense. I don't think I have ever heard her tell us that publicly. But she is a loyal Republican solider and works to help the GOP win elections. Another strange thing is how much personal connection and personal nonsense goes into important political appointments. The connection between Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Paul O'Neill would not be known except by people who follow their politics very closely. However, once you are aware of it, much of the nonsense involving those three in Bush administration becomes understandable. Not acceptable, just understandable. And, of course, we learn more about the in and outs of the news as a business, both in print and on television. Some of it is inspiring and even noble, but precious little. Most of it is downright petty, self-serving, and even cruel. But, hey, when you are dealing with executives who are interested in themselves and money rather than news, what can you expect? The book opens and ends with the Plame affair. Novak is quite clear about what went on, what small mistakes he made by opening his mouth when he shouldn't have and how a few careless phrases were fashioned into lies by his enemies. Actually, Novak correcting the untruths told by those he covered over the course of his career is endlessly fascinating. Some, like Jimmy Carter, come off very badly, indeed. While I disagree with Novak's stand on our support of Israel and the Iraq War (though I do not support everything the Bush administration has done there), I disagree much more with those who have turned on him because over Israel

I would have to rate this as one of my favorite autobiographies. If you enjoy Robert Novak's columns, you should also enjoy this book---the writing style is similar, in that, for every 100 words of his writing, you are probably getting the same amount of information that another writer would need 200 words to convey. Mr. Novak's stated objectives are these: 1) To provide the reader with a history of his life, career, triumphs, and tribulations. 2) To give insight into the REAL Washington D.C., via his experiences and column excerpts. 3) To give us a chronilogical history lesson of the last fifty years---the Presidents, powerful Senators, Congressmen, Judges, Lobbyists, etc., and the myriad number of "operatives" who helped shape that history. IMO, he hits a grand slam. Not being able to put the book down longer than a day, much less at a reasonable hour on each day, I've lost a lot of sleep over the last three weeks. Had the end not come after 600 pages, I probably would have required a small vacation before finishing. I do wish it was longer though---surely he just scratched the surface of his experiences. A lot of people dislike and even hate Robert Novak. I have never understood this. He was just one of those "guys on TV" that I tended to gravitate towards (since my teenage years), and I cannot explain why. `could be that he just always had an aire of credibility and knowledge. This book verifies that suspicion because his reporting has created many enemies and exposed the true colors of several lifelong "friends". Novak has a lot of true friends too though, and that's what counts in life. Luckily for the reader, he tells detailed stories about both. The saying goes that you can judge a man by his friends. Well, you can also judge a man by his enemies, and based on both the former and the latter, I would say that Robert Novak is top-shelf in my book. For me, the final paragraphs of his book get to the meat of his philosophy. His view is that one "should love their Country, but never trust the government." To that I say AMEN Brother, you are a wise man Mr. Novak.

Robert D. Novak will never be confused with Pollyanna! He is a tough, conservative, vituperative, combative and pugnacious reporter. Along with his fellow columnist Roland Evans he has served over 50 long years in the trenches of national politics in that la-la land called Washington DC. (or Disneyland East!). (Evans died a few years ago) Regardless of the reader's political proclivities this is a very enjoyable, informative and disillusioning look at the leaders of our fair land. As one who disagrees often with the acerbic Mr. Novak I can recommend this book highly due to such qualities as: Novak's ability to succinctly etch in a telling anecdote the character of the politician coming under his scrutiny. He rates Ronald Reagan highly and disdains such liberal chief executives as Jimmy Carter (who he calls a practiced lier); and his bete noire Bill Clinton. Whether you concur in his opinions the author does express himself in forceful prose. Novak is an Illinoisan by birth;majored in English Literature at the University of Illinois; became a print reporter (most notably with the Wall Street Journal) and served as a conservative reporter on CNN for a quarter of a century. Novak appeared on such stalwart CNN shows as "Crossfire"; "The Evans-Novak Report" "Capital Gang" and other lesser programs. Novak details his battles with the "suits" at CNN and his disdain for liberal journalist. He has also had major feuds with such neocons as Bill Kristol. Novak is honest in listing his many faults. He is moody, tempermental and often quick to take offense. The reporter has survived several scary incidents with cancer, broken hips and spinal menigitis. Novak was born a secular Jew but has converted to Roman Catholicism. I applaud his commitment to his newly discovered faith. Novak has been married twice and he and his wife have a beautiful relatiionship. She has remained at his side despite his heavy drinking, late hours and long trips to cover politicians on the stump. Novak's recent turn on the stage was due to his being involved in the Valerie Plame scandal. He was also let go from CNN after using a crude expletive in a debate with leftwinger James Carville. Robert D. Novak has written one of the best insider looks at Washington that I have read. Even a political junkie can learn from this well done memoir by a political reporter who has earned his stripes. Whatever your opinion of Novak you have to admire his patriotism, faith and honesty in sharing his opinion. Highly recommended!

Robert Novak is a throwback to a time when being civil to people you disagreed with was the norm rather than the exception. In many ways this is a very sad autobiography, since you can see the bleak contrasts to the current standards where people with different viewpoints are regarded as "the enemy", and being polite to the enemy is close to treason. But those same contrasts also make this book essential reading: if there were more Novaks on the left, right, and middle the country would be much better off. Novak is not hesitant to describe his own mistakes and shortcomings-- another stark contrast to most of the current politicians and pundits. Time and again he relates how various people "used" him in underhanded ways through carefully selected leaks. Leaks are like Oxycontin-- a drug that can be beneficial, but which can also be very harmful. Novak, of course, survives on leaks--but he also acknowledges that you can't criticize your leakers, any more than an addict can attack his dealer, and I get the sense from the book that he's not entirely happy with this arrangement--that it's a little bit as though people could buy you off. Novak is very candid about his warts, so to speak--smoking, drinking, fighting, etc, and also very candid about the things that changed his life, personally and politically, such as his conversion to Catholicism and his epiphany vis-a-vis Ronald Reagan. Novak is astute, and accepts that his initial judgements can be mistaken--other qualities lacking in most politicians and pundits nowadays. Of particular interest to me were the descriptions of his cable TV work. Capital Gang was the only political show I could enjoy--and it was my favorite TV show of any kind. The chemistry was excellent--as Novak describes--and Novak could take being kidded and could laugh at himself. There were always plenty of things I disagreed with him on, but the show would not have been worthwhile without him. My favorite episode, which most unfortunately is only lightly alluded to in the book, came when Novak had (on live TV) goaded Mark Shields beyond endurance, and Shields shouted at Novak "That's [cow manure]!". The Gang looked back and forth at each other for what seemed like a minute and finally Pat Buchanan said, plaintively "This is a family show". But that didn't affect the personal relationship between Novak and Shields. Novak in the book describes other shouting matches--Novak and Shields, Novak and Al Hunt, Novak and Evans, etc. He looks candidly at himself in the book--he's not Mother Teresa. One of the saddest and most disturbing parts of the book comes near the end, where he is accused by neocons of wanting to see the US defeated and of hating his country. Most of the accusers/fellow travellers (so to speak) never served their country, as Novak did, and the attack on his patriotism is a bizarre kind of Kafka-Stalin mix. Overall, from this fine book--you'll find that Robert Novak is like your favorite uncle.