Fictional presidents
Dates: 5/30/01,11:37 PM through 7/30/01,12:02 PM (58 postings)
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Fiction_L Archives
Fictional presidents
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FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 5/30/01, 11:37 PM
As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
"Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
overlook it.
Many thanks!
Jeff Smith
FROM: [removed]@aol.com
REC'D: 5/31/01, 12:31 AM
<<
I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list of
fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as an
important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up --
like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
"Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency but
could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre would
be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
"Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
overlook it.
Many thanks!
Jeff Smith >>
I realize this refers to a television series as opposed to a book, but in
"The Wild, Wild West," President Ulysses S. Grant was a prominent figure,
interacting with spies James West & Artemis Gordon.
In David Baldacci's Absolute Power, the president is the murderer.
The president is prominent in Eugene Burdick & Harvey Wheeler's Cold War
thirller, Fail Safe.
There's also Robert J. Serling's The President's Plane Is Missing.
And in Joshua, Son of None, by Nancy Freedman, the president is a clone.
Binnie Syril Braunstein
romance novelist/former librarian
Binnie Syril Braunstein
romance novelist/former librarain
FROM: [removed]@aol.com
REC'D: 5/31/01, 1:54 AM
Binnie Syril Braunstein
FROM: [removed]@aol.com
REC'D: 5/31/01, 2:05 AM
Binnie Syril Braunstein
romance novelist/former librarian
FROM: [removed]@aol.com
REC'D: 5/31/01, 2:15 AM
There's also a science fiction book, probably from the 50's, which postulates
that a cabal really runs the US from underneath the White House (or perhaps
the Pentagon) and the President and his cabinet are only figureheads. I
don't remember the author or title, but I remember that it fascinated and
scared me!
Does that sound familiar, Dennis?
Binnie Syril Braunstein
romance novelist/former librarian
FROM: Viccy Kemp <[removed]@cityofcarrollton.com>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 8:29 AM
-----Original Message-----
From: Smith, Jeff [[removed]@marshall.usc.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 11:39 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Fictional presidents
I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list of
fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as an
important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up --
like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
"Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency but
could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre would
be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
"Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
overlook it.
Many thanks!
Jeff Smith
FROM: Sheri Alexander <[removed]@nioga.org>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 9:33 AM
Sheri Alexander
Lockport Public Library, Lockport, NY
www.lockportlibrary.org
"Smith, Jeff" wrote:
> I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list of
> fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
> good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as an
> important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up --
> like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
> Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
> "Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
> settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency but
> could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
> aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
> should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre would
> be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
> sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
>
> As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
> along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
> hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
> "Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
> be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
> overlook it.
>
> Many thanks!
>
> Jeff Smith
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
FROM: "Valerie Maine" <[removed]@nslsilus.org>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 9:44 AM
FROM: Greta Ulrich <[removed]@nileslibrary.org>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 9:54 AM
Greta Ulrich
Niles Public Library
Niles, IL
-----Original Message-----
From: Smith, Jeff [[removed]@marshall.usc.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 11:39 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Fictional presidents
I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list of
fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as an
important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up --
like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
"Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency but
could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre would
be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
"Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
overlook it.
Many thanks!
Jeff Smith
FROM: "Kelly Benson" <[removed]@htls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 9:54 AM
In more recent books there's:
Elvis and Nixon by Jonathan Lowy, a fictional account of a meeting between
well, Elvis and Nixon in 1970.
The First Counsel by Brad Meltzer, a political thriller involving a young
White House lawyer who is dating the President's daughter, all going
smoothly until one night the couple is in a place they shouldn't have been
and the lawyer is running for his life.
Headwind by John J. Nance, a Boeing 737 noses into the gate in Greece
carrying a beloved ex-President. Officials are awaiting to arrest former
President Harris on charges from Peru. The plane's captain and his crew
believing that Harris' life is in danger, make a daring escape. But there's
no place to land and no place to hide.
Eagle's Cry by David Nevin is a novel about the Lousiana Purchase and
therefore includes the major political players of the time.
There's another recent one that darned if I can remember the title of, I
remember the summary vaguely, about a hit man who's initially hired by the
government to take out Castro (I'm pretty sure) but then he finds out that
Kennedy slept with his girlfriend so he sets his sights on Kennedy instead.
I know it's a recent book either published late 2000 or early 2001.
Kelly Benson
Adult Services Librarian
Three Rivers Public Library District
Channahon-Minooka, Illinois
FROM: "Community Relations Department" <[removed]@mail.sgcl.org>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 10:06 AM
Nancy Parry McCluer
Community Relations Department
Springfield-Greene County Library
Springfield, MO [removed]@mail.sgcl.org
http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/
FROM: "Karen Traynor" <[removed]@midyork.lib.ny.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 10:26 AM
Karen Traynor
Sullivan Free Library
519 McDonnell Street
Chittenango, NY 13037
FROM: Anne Marquis <[removed]@publib.edmonton.ab.ca>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 11:42 AM
Anne Marquis
Fiction Librarian
Information Services
Edmonton Public Library
7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2V4
Canada
[removed]@publib.edmonton.ab.ca
-----Original Message-----
From: Smith, Jeff [[removed]@marshall.usc.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 10:39 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Fictional presidents
I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list of
fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as an
important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up --
like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
"Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency but
could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre would
be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
"Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
overlook it.
Many thanks!
Jeff Smith
FROM: "Nancy Crabbe" <[removed]@ci.santa-clara.ca.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 11:52 AM
Nancy Crabbe
Collection Management Coordinator
Santa Clara City Library
2635 Homestead Rd.
Santa Clara, CA 95051
ph:(408) 615-2903
fax: (408) 246-9581
email: [removed]@ci.santa-clara.ca.us
>>> [removed]@marshall.usc.edu 05/30/01 09:39PM >>>
I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list of
fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as an
important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up --
like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
"Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency but
could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre would
be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
"Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
overlook it.
Many thanks!
Jeff Smith
FROM: "Deb Warner" <[removed]@co.durham.nc.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 12:03 PM
Borden, William SUPERSTOE as I remember, this involves a
group of academics who staart out to manipulate the political process to
place themselves in power. I think they title character becomes president
FROM: Gail Ellis - LIBRARYX <[removed]@MAIL.MARICOPA.GOV>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 12:24 PM
This was a thrilling read. The apocalyptic story begins in 1963 with a man
called Cobra, a hired assassin whom it is insinuated, assassinates President
Kennedy, Patrice Lumumba, and other high officials for money. He resides in
South Africa. Enter a young man by the name of Rubert Justice Tolliver, who
goes into the ministry to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam war. He later
becomes a bible thumping preacher who preaches his way into the political
arena via televangelism and eventually into the Presidency in the new
millennium. As President, Tolliver unleases a "holy war" against U.S. foes.
He uses the might of the Armed forces to "teach a lesson" to specific
countries like Korea and Iran to show that the United States' might is not
to be messed with.
Soon, because of his "holy war" against domestic and international foes, the
financial market is sent into a tailspin. This causes "money men" to band
together to decide what is the best way to stop this President. An anonymous
report sent to the President of a world bank, Colonel Thayer, discloses that
his bank is being used to launder huge amounts of money. All lines link back
to the President and his wife's shady dealings to get into the White House
via illegal campaign contributions. This book is about good and
evil...however it's up to the reader to determine which is which.
"My views are my own...would anyone else want them?"....
Gail Ellis, Reference Librarian
North Central Regional Library
Phoenix, AZ 85032
email: [removed]@mail.maricopa.gov
http://mcld.maricopa.gov
-----Original Message-----
From: Smith, Jeff [[removed]@marshall.usc.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 9:39 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Fictional presidents
I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list of
fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as an
important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up --
like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
"Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency but
could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre would
be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
"Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
overlook it.
Many thanks!
Jeff Smith
FROM: Cathy Reid <[removed]@ccpl.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 12:34 PM
Cathy Reid
Clark County Public Library
Springfield, OH
FROM: "Ann Harris" <[removed]@midyork.lib.ny.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 12:45 PM
Ann Harris
Outreach Consultant
Mid-York Library System
Utica, NY 13502
(315) 735-8331, ext. 233
FROM: "christine jeffords" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 12:45 PM
"Alternate Presidents" and "Mr. President, Private Eye." Both are SF
anthologies, edited respectively by Mike Resnick and Greenberg & Nevins.
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
FROM: "christine jeffords" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 1:07 PM
>From: "Kelly Benson" <[removed]@htls.lib.il.us>
>Reply-To: "Fiction_L" <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>Subject: Re: Fictional presidents
>Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 09:53:04 -0500
>
>
>
>Eagle's Cry by David Nevin is a novel about the Lousiana Purchase and
>therefore includes the major political players of the time.
>
>
>
Not to mention "Those Who Love" (John & Abigail Adams), "Love Is Eternal"
(Abraham & Mary Lincoln), and "The President's Lady" (Andrew & Rachel
Jackson), by Irving Stone.
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
FROM: "Waznis, Betty" <[removed]@sdcl.org>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 1:28 PM
Betty Waznis
Sand Diego County Library
Subject: Re: Fictional presidents
From: <[removed]@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 02:59:12 EDT
And then there's All the President's Men by Woodward and Bernstein - the
fascinating tale of the Watergate scandal and the major players - which of
course includes President Nixon.
Binnie Syril Braunstein
romance novelist/former librarian
-----Original Message-----
From: Smith, Jeff [[removed]@marshall.usc.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 11:39 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Fictional presidents
I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list of
fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as an
important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up --
like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
"Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency but
could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre would
be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
"Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but not
be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
overlook it.
Many thanks!
Jeff Smith
FROM: Jeanne Etling <[removed]@ccs.nsls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 1:38 PM
I listened to USS Seawolf on CD. In 2005, US President Clarke and the
rest of the armed forces are shocked when the Chinese hijack the newest
American submarine which was disabled in international waters near China.
The president and his son, Linus, who is a crewmember of the sub, figure
prominently in the story.
Jeanne Etling
Dundee (IL) Township Public Library District
FROM: "Carolyn O'Donnell" <[removed]@ahml.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 1:49 PM
Carolyn O'Donnell
Advisory Services Department
Arlington Heights Memorial Library
500 N. Dunton
Arlington Heights, IL 60004
847.870.4117
FROM: Bradley A Scott <[removed]@juno.com>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 2:20 PM
Bradley A. Scott
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
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FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 2:31 PM
Jeff
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeanne Etling [[removed]@ccs.nsls.lib.il.us]
> Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 11:30 AM
> To: Fiction_L
> Subject: Re: Fictional presidents
>
>
>
> Jeff,
>
> I listened to USS Seawolf on CD. In 2005, US President Clarke and the
> rest of the armed forces are shocked when the Chinese hijack
> the newest
> American submarine which was disabled in international waters
> near China.
> The president and his son, Linus, who is a crewmember of the
> sub, figure
> prominently in the story.
>
> Jeanne Etling
> Dundee (IL) Township Public Library District
>
>
>
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
>
FROM: "christine jeffords" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 2:31 PM
And of course, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan gets to be President in one of the
recent books...
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
FROM: Mary Ann Bakken <[removed]@linc.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 3:02 PM
Mary Ann Bakken
St. Charles (IL) Public Library
> ----------
> From: Smith, Jeff[[removed]@marshall.usc.edu]
> Reply To: Fiction_L
> Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 2:18 PM
> To: Fiction_L
> Subject: Fictional presidents
>
>
> I'd be grateful for any help with the following: I need to compile a list
> of
> fictional works (presumably novels, but significant shorter works would be
> good to know of too) in which a president of the United States figures as
> an
> important character. These could be presidents who are completely made up
> --
> like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's "Seven Days in May," President
> Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or President Ryan in Tom Clancy's
> "Executive Orders" -- or real presidents placed in fictional events or
> settings. I am mainly interested in characters who occupy the presidency
> but
> could also use references to stories involving presidential candidates or
> aspirants. (The president or candidate need not be the MAIN character but
> should play a significant role in the story.) Any period and any genre
> would
> be fine -- standard political thrillers, of course, but also mysteries,
> sci-fi, children's books, or anything else.
>
> As always, a few words about the premise or kind of story would be helpful
> along with the author's name, title, or -- if these are unknown -- any
> hints, clues, or other info. If a work is already on the Fiction_L
> "Political Fiction" lists (which I expect will overlap with this one but
> not
> be the same), I'd still appreciate hearing about it to be sure I don't
> overlook it.
>
> Many thanks!
>
> Jeff Smith
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
>
FROM: Dennis Lien <[removed]@tc.umn.edu>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 5:17 PM
Not specifically, though I suspect they're been several stories with
that basic premise, none memorable (to me, anyway).
A recent Paranoid About the Prexy sf story of note is Patricia Anthony's
BROTHER TERMITE (1993), in which our president is an alien (though a
rather sympathetic one).
Many alternate history stories (if set in part in the US) involve
non-real presidents; the Resnick anthology ALTERNATE PRESIDENTS has
already been mentioned, but if I recall correctly some of the other
anthologies in his ALTERNATE <various things> serieses also include
presidents. Howard Waldrop has a clever short story called "Ike at
the Mike" in which in an alternate Fifties Dwight Eisenhower and
Elvis Presley have traded career paths....
Most near future stories with US setting are also likely to use a
fictional president for obvious reasons, though sometimes these
are clearly real politicians in a thin disguise.
A few off top of head where the president is a major focus:
Nathaniel West's A COOL MILLION has a supposed ex-US president as a
major character; Oscar Lewis' THE LOST YEARS (1951) involves a Lincoln
who was not assassinated, only to be scorned and outcast at the end;
Russell Baker's OUR NEXT PRESIDENT (1968) has Bobby Kennedy outwitting
LBJ to win the 1968 elections even though he was running as V-P (the
book first appeared in ESQUIRE, then came out as a book just because
RFK's assassination). Sinclair Lewis's IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE is about
a fascist takeover or near-takeover of the US.
SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY LITERATUE by "R. Reginald" (Michael
Burgess) lists these sf (or near-sf) books with titles *starting*
with the word "President" (e.g., we're just scratching the surface
here):
THE PRESIDENT by Drew Pearson
PRESIDENT FU MANCHU by Sax Rohmer (I've read this one; old Dr. Fu is
not himself running but is the evil genius behind the figurehead
who is; it's a terrible book even by standards of the Rohmer canon)
PRESIDENT JOHN SMITH by Frederick Upton Adams
PRESIDENT KISSINGER by Donald Munson and Monroe Rosenthal
PRESIDENT McGOVERN'S FIRST TERM by Nicholas Max
PRESIDENT RANDOLPH AS I KNEW HIM by John Francis Goldsmith
THE PRESIDENT VANISHES by Rex Stout
THE PRESIDENTAL PLOT by Stanley Judson
THE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER by Ellen Emerson White
THE PRESIDENT'S DOCTOR by William Woolfolk
Then of course there's the series of presidents who appear in
Allen Drury's 1950s/60s series of books starting with ADVISE AND
CONSENT (1959).
Top of the head, as I said; more later maybe...
Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // [removed]@tc.umn.edu
FROM: Alison Creech <[removed]@nsh.library.ns.ca>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 5:27 PM
The President's Daughter
White House Autumn
The Road Home
The fictional president in these titles is the main character's mother,
not her father.
Alison
,_,
(*v*) Alison Creech
[`-'] Adult Services Librarian
-"-"- Halifax North Memorial Library
Tel: 490-5759
Fax: 490-5737
This has been an electronic owl.
On Thu, 31 May 2001, Dennis Lien wrote:
> At 03:17 AM 5/31/01 EDT, you wrote:
> >Richard Condon's THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE focuses on the attempt to
> >assassinate a presidential candidate at a national convention.
> >
> >There's also a science fiction book, probably from the 50's, which
> postulates
> >that a cabal really runs the US from underneath the White House (or perhaps
> >the Pentagon) and the President and his cabinet are only figureheads. I
> >don't remember the author or title, but I remember that it fascinated and
> >scared me!
> >
> >Does that sound familiar, Dennis?
> >
> >Binnie Syril Braunstein
> >romance novelist/former librarian
>
>
> Not specifically, though I suspect they're been several stories with
> that basic premise, none memorable (to me, anyway).
>
> A recent Paranoid About the Prexy sf story of note is Patricia Anthony's
> BROTHER TERMITE (1993), in which our president is an alien (though a
> rather sympathetic one).
>
> Many alternate history stories (if set in part in the US) involve
> non-real presidents; the Resnick anthology ALTERNATE PRESIDENTS has
> already been mentioned, but if I recall correctly some of the other
> anthologies in his ALTERNATE <various things> serieses also include
> presidents. Howard Waldrop has a clever short story called "Ike at
> the Mike" in which in an alternate Fifties Dwight Eisenhower and
> Elvis Presley have traded career paths....
>
> Most near future stories with US setting are also likely to use a
> fictional president for obvious reasons, though sometimes these
> are clearly real politicians in a thin disguise.
>
> A few off top of head where the president is a major focus:
>
> Nathaniel West's A COOL MILLION has a supposed ex-US president as a
> major character; Oscar Lewis' THE LOST YEARS (1951) involves a Lincoln
> who was not assassinated, only to be scorned and outcast at the end;
> Russell Baker's OUR NEXT PRESIDENT (1968) has Bobby Kennedy outwitting
> LBJ to win the 1968 elections even though he was running as V-P (the
> book first appeared in ESQUIRE, then came out as a book just because
> RFK's assassination). Sinclair Lewis's IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE is about
> a fascist takeover or near-takeover of the US.
>
> SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY LITERATUE by "R. Reginald" (Michael
> Burgess) lists these sf (or near-sf) books with titles *starting*
> with the word "President" (e.g., we're just scratching the surface
> here):
>
> THE PRESIDENT by Drew Pearson
> PRESIDENT FU MANCHU by Sax Rohmer (I've read this one; old Dr. Fu is
> not himself running but is the evil genius behind the figurehead
> who is; it's a terrible book even by standards of the Rohmer canon)
> PRESIDENT JOHN SMITH by Frederick Upton Adams
> PRESIDENT KISSINGER by Donald Munson and Monroe Rosenthal
> PRESIDENT McGOVERN'S FIRST TERM by Nicholas Max
> PRESIDENT RANDOLPH AS I KNEW HIM by John Francis Goldsmith
> THE PRESIDENT VANISHES by Rex Stout
> THE PRESIDENTAL PLOT by Stanley Judson
> THE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER by Ellen Emerson White
> THE PRESIDENT'S DOCTOR by William Woolfolk
>
> Then of course there's the series of presidents who appear in
> Allen Drury's 1950s/60s series of books starting with ADVISE AND
> CONSENT (1959).
>
> Top of the head, as I said; more later maybe...
>
> Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // [removed]@tc.umn.edu
>
>
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
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>
FROM: Kathleen Martin <[removed]@gvpl.ca>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 7:46 PM
Jeffry Archer: The prodigal daughter and Shall we tell the president?
These two sequels to Kane and Able feature Florentyna Kane who has a
family, builds a financial empire, becomes a senator, member of congress
and finally the first woman president. Sort of a Martha Stewart of the
political world
Kathleen Martin
Co-ordinator of Community Services
Greater Victoria Public Library
Victoria, B.C.
On Thu, 31 May 2001, Cathy Reid wrote:
> Another good one is PROMISES TO KEEP, by George Bernau. It's a
> fictionalized account of what might have happened if JFK (in the book the
> character's name is John T. Cassidy) had survived the assassination.
>
> Cathy Reid
> Clark County Public Library
> Springfield, OH
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
>
FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 7:46 PM
Absolutely -- in fact, the genres outside the standard potboiler/political
thriller are the ones where I can use the most help, since I'm least
familiar with them.
(PS: Terrific owl!)
> > Then of course there's the series of presidents who appear in
> > Allen Drury's 1950s/60s series of books starting with ADVISE AND
> > CONSENT (1959).
> >
> > Top of the head, as I said; more later maybe...
> >
> > Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // [removed]@tc.umn.edu
Extremely helpful, thanks. Dennis, if you (or anyone else) happens to know:
How big a "player" are the presidents in those Drury books? For some reason
-- I guess because of the title "Advise and Consent" -- I had the impression
they dealt more with Capitol Hill.
Jeff Smith
FROM: Sandra <[removed]@home.com>
REC'D: 5/31/01, 10:12 PM
Sandra Mundy
Jesse Smith Library
Harrisville, RI
FROM: "Joan Cales" <[removed]@horizon.hit.net>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 9:32 AM
Joan Cales
Special Services Librarian
Winfield Public Library http://www.wpl.org
605 College 316-221-4470
Winfield, KS. 67156 Fax#316-221-6135
FROM: Dennis Lien <[removed]@tc.umn.edu>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 10:36 AM
>> > Then of course there's the series of presidents who appear in
>> > Allen Drury's 1950s/60s series of books starting with ADVISE AND
>> > CONSENT (1959).
>> >
>> > Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // [removed]@tc.umn.edu
>
>
>Extremely helpful, thanks. Dennis, if you (or anyone else) happens to know:
>How big a "player" are the presidents in those Drury books? For some reason
>-- I guess because of the title "Advise and Consent" -- I had the impression
>they dealt more with Capitol Hill.
>
>Jeff Smith
I read only the first one (forty years ago) and my memory agrees that the
President in that one was not one of the more important characters there.
However, from reviews/plot summaries I've read of the later volumes,
this is not the case later: for one thing, a couple of major "Capitol
Hill" folks from the first book later become President themselves.
The last one or two offer (I believe) alternative scenarios in which
the Presidency ultimately falls into the hands of either (a) a Good,
Strong Right Winger who leads America to a conservative utopia after
smashing the Russkies down, or (b) a Weak, Sniveling Liberal who
sells the country out into Commie Slavery. I'm pretty sure I'm
*never* going to read those...
A couple more general notes: as I said, alternate history sf about
the US often features alternate presidents (d'uh), and the standard
Web site for alternate history stories is
http://www.uchronia.net/
Simply searching their site with the keyword president brings
up something like 100 entries. Click on each for a brief plot premise
synopsis.
Secondly, for fictional or real presidents in mystery/detective fiction:
"The President and the Mystery Story" by Marvin Lachman, pp. 6-9 (may
be continued elsewhere in the issue), MYSTERY, v2 no3 (May 1981).
MYSTERY was a mostly-nonfiction magazine in the vein of ARMCHAIR
DETECTIVE, but shorter-lived. Unfortunately I don't own this issue
but did a while ago have a chance to borrow it (and took a photocopy
of the table of contents, for other reasons) and to skim some of the
material in it, including Lachman's article, which I remember as
pretty thorough--covering both real and fictional presidents in
mystery, detective, and spy fiction, and also the mystery reading
tastes of real-life presidents (such as JFK's fondness for Fleming).
Presumably you can get a copy of this article via Interlibrary Loan.
Its ISSN was 0199-5944; OCLC record number 6030993.
A couple other stray memories:
LADY OF A THOUSAND SORROWS by "Lee W. Mason" (OCLC 11485830) which
OCLC doesn't know (but I do) was Barry Malzberg under a pseudonym
(Playboy Press pb, 1977) is a literary soft porn novel about a
thinly disguised Jackie Kennedy, with thinly disguised JFK, RFK,
LBJ, etc. inevitably involved.
The weirdest of "Ed McBain's" 87th Precinct detective stories is the
1973 HAIL TO THE CHIEF, which retells the story of Nixon and Watergate
in smallscale terms of a paranoid, self-justifying juvenile delinquent
gang leader and his toadies. The authorial voice never comes out and
*says* in so many words that this is the case, of course, but the
parallels and satire are laid on with a shovel.
A few other "roman a clef" type fictional presidents are listed in
Author: Amos, William.
Title: The originals : an A-Z of fiction's real-life characters /
William Amos.
Edition: 1st American ed.
Published: Boston : Little,Brown, 1985.
Description: xx, 614 p., [24] p. of plates : ill., ports. ; 23 cm.
Subjects, Library of Congress (Use s=):
Characters and characteristics in literature--Dictionaries.
(but a rival volume, DICTIONARY OF REAL PEOPLE AND PLACES IN FICTION by
M.C. Rintoul (Routledge, 1993), which is strongly British-oriented, does
not seem to have any such).
None of immediately-to-hand reference books on the presidency seem to
deal with images in literature, nor do the paired bibliographies by
Fenton Martin (AMERICAN PRESIDENTS: A BIBLIOGRAPHY or AMERICAN
PRESIDENCY: A BIBLIOGRAPHY), somewhat surprisingly.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY (ed. Leonard Levy and Louis
Fisher) doesn't seem to cover presidents as characters in fiction, but
does have an article on "Films, Presidents in" (vol. 2, pp. 626-628,
including an eight-item bibliography of earlier works).
Some books and stories about real presidents could be found via
subject headings (mostly for individual names) in things like
SHORT STORY INDEX or FICTION CATALOG or as subheadings under the
"Fiction" section of the indexes in BOOK REVIEW DIGEST, as well
as in WorldCat or individual library OPACs. Book-length bibliographies
of individual presidents may sometimes list fiction about same; I
seem to recall seeing a JFK biblio which did, for instance. Also
bibliographies of historical novels (or historical movies etc.
Here's one single-president bibliography of such:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: Monsell, Thomas.
Title: Nixon on stage and screen : the thirty-seventh president as
depicted in films, television, plays and opera / by Thomas
Monsell.
Published: Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c1998.
Description: vii, 239 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Subjects, Library of Congress (Use s=):
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913---In motion
pictures.
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913---In literature.
Miscellaneous--
I presume you know of the short-lived 1973 DC comic PREZ (about
a teen-age US president--the character made a curtain call decades
later in one issue of THE SANDMAN)
http://barks.cybercomm.no/browse.lasso?SeriesID=2103
http://barks.cybercomm.no/details.lasso?uniqueid=DC0VVPRZG1
and of the animated cartoon series from 1968, SUPER-PRESIDENT:
http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/saturday/sa1221.php
FROM: "christine jeffords" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 10:36 AM
>From: Dennis Lien <[removed]@tc.umn.edu>
>Reply-To: "Fiction_L" <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>Subject: Re: Fictional presidents
>Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 17:13:00 -0500
>
>Many alternate history stories (if set in part in the US) involve
>non-real presidents; the Resnick anthology ALTERNATE PRESIDENTS has
>already been mentioned, but if I recall correctly some of the other
>anthologies in his ALTERNATE <various things> serieses also include
>presidents.
That would include ALTERNATE KENNEDYS. And although I can't locate the
title and am not sure this would count, Michael Kurland wrote an
alternate-history novel that turned on Aaron Burr having made it to the
highest office in the land. (Dennis?)
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FROM: Dennis Lien <[removed]@tc.umn.edu>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 10:57 AM
No, the highest office in the land is the Presidency, not Dennis... <g>.
The book is THE WHENABOUTS OF BURR (DAW pb, 1975).
Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // [removed]@tc.umn.edu
FROM: "christine jeffords" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 11:08 AM
>From: Sandra <[removed]@home.com>
>Reply-To: "Fiction_L" <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>Subject: Re: Fictional presidents
>Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 23:21:33 -0500
>
> Custer's Luck by Robert Skimin (2000) is an alternate history
>title which deals with George Armstrong Custer winning at Little Big
>Horn and riding his subsequent popularity all the way to the
>presidency. I enjoyed it.
>
>
He has also made it to that office in Kurt A. R. Giambastiani's recent debut
alternate-history novel, "The Year the Cloud Fell."
_________________________________________________________________
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FROM: Becky nolastname <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 11:08 AM
HTH,
BeckyH
__________________________________________________
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FROM: Kim Rutter <[removed]@lvdl.org>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 11:19 AM
Kim Rutter
Lake Villa District Library
Lake Villa, IL
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dennis Lien [[removed]@tc.umn.edu]
> Sent: Friday, June 01, 2001 10:43 AM
> To: Fiction_L
> Subject: Re: Fictional presidents
>
> At 03:35 PM 6/1/01 -0000, you wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >>From: Dennis Lien <[removed]@tc.umn.edu>
> >>Reply-To: "Fiction_L" <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
> >>To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
> >>Subject: Re: Fictional presidents
> >>Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 17:13:00 -0500
> >>
> >
> >>Many alternate history stories (if set in part in the US) involve
> >>non-real presidents; the Resnick anthology ALTERNATE PRESIDENTS has
> >>already been mentioned, but if I recall correctly some of the other
> >>anthologies in his ALTERNATE <various things> serieses also include
> >>presidents.
> >
> >That would include ALTERNATE KENNEDYS. And although I can't locate the
> >title and am not sure this would count, Michael Kurland wrote an
> >alternate-history novel that turned on Aaron Burr having made it to the
> >highest office in the land. (Dennis?)
>
> No, the highest office in the land is the Presidency, not Dennis... <g>.
>
> The book is THE WHENABOUTS OF BURR (DAW pb, 1975).
>
> Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // [removed]@tc.umn.edu
>
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
FROM: "christine jeffords" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 11:29 AM
>From: Dennis Lien <[removed]@tc.umn.edu>
>Reply-To: "Fiction_L" <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>To: Fiction_L <[removed]@maillist.webrary.org>
>Subject: Re: Fictional presidents
>Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2001 10:42:32 -0500
>
>At 03:35 PM 6/1/01 -0000, you wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >And although I can't locate the
> >title and am not sure this would count, Michael Kurland wrote an
> >alternate-history novel that turned on Aaron Burr having made it to the
> >highest office in the land...
>
>The book is THE WHENABOUTS OF BURR (DAW pb, 1975).
Right! Thank you. It's in my collection at home, but I'm not *at* home
just now.
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FROM: Dottie MacKeen <[removed]@bellatlantic.net>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 11:29 AM
dottie
FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 11:50 AM
Gosh, no, I WASN'T aware of this, which really surprises me since I was an
avid young consumer of Saturday-morning cartoons back then. Now the trick is
going to be finding it somewhere on video or something.
Thanks as always, Dennis.....
Jeff Smith
FROM: Thelma Stone <[removed]@fortworthlibrary.org>
REC'D: 6/1/01, 12:01 PM
FROM: "Conrad, Ruth" <[removed]@camden.lib.nj.us>
REC'D: 6/2/01, 10:21 AM
And if we're doing kid's books, too, there's "The Kid Who Ran For President"
by Dan Gutman.
==============================================
Ruth Conrad
MLS Student (graduating May 2002)
School of Communication, Information, and Library Science at Rutgers New
Brunswick
Merchantville Library
Camden County Library System
http://www.camden.lib.nj.us
[removed]@camden.lib.nj.us
FROM: Bradley A Scott <[removed]@juno.com>
REC'D: 6/2/01, 10:21 AM
Bradley A. Scott
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FROM: Lisa Olsen <[removed]@clsn1269.cumberland.lib.nc.us>
REC'D: 6/2/01, 10:33 AM
_______________________________________________________________
Lisa A. Olsen
Information Services
Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center
East Regional Library
4809 Clinton Road
Fayetteville, NC 28301-8401
(910)485-2955 ext. 238
FROM: "Laurie Petri" <[removed]@ticon.net>
REC'D: 6/2/01, 6:38 PM
FROM: "Carol Kubala" <[removed]@columbiapl.libct.org>
REC'D: 6/4/01, 9:04 AM
--
Carol Kubala
Adult Services Librarian
Saxton B. Little Free Library/Columbia, CT
860 228-0350 - voice
860 228-1569 - fax
FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 6/6/01, 12:51 AM
Oh, absolutely. I want to combine it first with what I've got from other
sources, but will certainly add the complete list to the archive. Thanks to
everyone now, provisionally, with complete acknowledgements to come later --
it's way more suggestions than I had expected to get.
Jeff
FROM: "Mary Rindfleisch" <[removed]@biblio.org>
REC'D: 7/19/01, 2:37 PM
Mary Rindfleisch
Adult Services/Readers' Advisory Librarian
Ridgefield Library
472 Main St.
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Phone: 203-438-2282
e-mail: [removed]@biblio.org
-----Original Message-----
From: [removed]@maillist.webrary.org
[[removed]@maillist.webrary.org]On Behalf Of Becky nolastname
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2001 11:50 AM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: fictional presidents
Harry Turtledove has several books that include
presidents as characters. Since he writes alternate
history, they aren't quite as we remember them, or
even necessarily office-holders. Specifically, The
Two Georges has a George Washington who reached an
agreement with King George & the US never became
independent. In both of his alternate Civil War
books, Lincoln wasn't assassinated (the South won, so
why kill him?) and he goes on to become a Socialist.
In How Few Remain, we see Lincoln leaving the
Republican party for the Socialists & taking quite a
few people with him, and Teddy Roosevelt as a US
soldier in a war against the Confederate States. In
the Great War series (WWI fought over here, because
the South won the Civil War) Roosevelt is president of
the US, & Woodrow Wilson appears briefly as
Confederate States president. He also has the World
War series, which posits the question:"What if aliens
had invaded the Earth during WWII?" Roosevelt,
Churchill, Stalin & Hilter figure prominently.
HTH,
BeckyH
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FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 7/19/01, 4:57 PM
Jeff Smith
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mary Rindfleisch [[removed]@biblio.org]
> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 12:23 PM
> To: Fiction_L
> Subject: RE: fictional presidents
>
>
> Was there ever a compiled list of the Fictional Presidents
> responses? I
> don't seem to find one and didn't want to delete all the
> postings on this
> subject until/unless I am sure I have the complete list
> instead. If this
> did appear and I missed it or deleted it by accident, could
> someone please
> re-post it? Thanks.
>
> Mary Rindfleisch
> Adult Services/Readers' Advisory Librarian
> Ridgefield Library
> 472 Main St.
> Ridgefield, CT 06877
> Phone: 203-438-2282
> e-mail: [removed]@biblio.org
......................................................................
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FROM: "Mary Rindfleisch" <[removed]@biblio.org>
REC'D: 7/20/01, 10:25 AM
Mary Rindfleisch
Adult Services/Readers' Advisory Librarian
Ridgefield Library
472 Main St.
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Phone: 203-438-2282
e-mail: [removed]@biblio.org
-----Original Message-----
From: [removed]@maillist.webrary.org
[[removed]@maillist.webrary.org]On Behalf Of Smith, Jeff
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 5:51 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: RE: fictional presidents
I have not yet posted that compiled list and in fact have been working
further on it just in the last few days. My goal has been to combine the
Fiction_L suggestions with some others that I've been accumulating from
other research. I've also been chasing down some references for further info
so I could annotate the list in a consistent way. (I realize annotations
aren't required, but since a lot of you supplied them I wanted to make use
of them if I could.) I will aim to get all this done and post the complete
list by this weekend.
Jeff Smith
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mary Rindfleisch [[removed]@biblio.org]
> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 12:23 PM
> To: Fiction_L
> Subject: RE: fictional presidents
>
>
> Was there ever a compiled list of the Fictional Presidents
> responses? I
> don't seem to find one and didn't want to delete all the
> postings on this
> subject until/unless I am sure I have the complete list
> instead. If this
> did appear and I missed it or deleted it by accident, could
> someone please
> re-post it? Thanks.
>
> Mary Rindfleisch
> Adult Services/Readers' Advisory Librarian
> Ridgefield Library
> 472 Main St.
> Ridgefield, CT 06877
> Phone: 203-438-2282
> e-mail: [removed]@biblio.org
......................................................................
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FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 7/23/01, 9:23 PM
ENTIRELY FICTIONAL PRESIDENTS (OR CANDIDATES)
==============================================
Henry Adams, Democracy
(late-19th-century novel of life among the Washington elite)
Nathaniel West, A Cool Million
(fictional ex-president in anti-Horatio Alger story)
Allen Drury, Advise and Consent, and other novels
(classic political novels "from the man who practically invented the genre")
Fletcher Knebel, Vanished
(mystery surrounds disappearance of prominent DC attorney at the height of
the Cold War)
Eugene Burdick & Harvey Wheeler, FailSafe
(president races to stop accidental US nuclear attack on Russia)
Robert J. Serling, The President's Plane Is Missing
(vice-president faces international crisis after Air Force One mysteriously
disappears)
Arthur Hailey, In High Places
(story of secret, high-level Cold War summitry)
Walter Stovall, Presidential Emergency
(intrigue and conniving at high government levels)
Irving Wallace,
The R Document
("about the ultimate plot against the people of the United States")
The Man
(African-American senator succeeds to the presidency)
Drew Pearson, The President
(new president struggles against raging civil unrest as political foes seek
his impeachment)
Charles Templeton, The Kidnapping of the President
(race against time to rescue a president held hostage)
John Calvin Batchelor, Father's Day
(vice-president, temporarily appointed acting president, refuses to
relinquish power)
Vince Flynn,
Transfer of Power
(CIA operative "Iron Man" comes to aid of White House attacked by Arab
terrorists)
The Third Option
(more adventures of "Iron Man")
Term Limits
(military commandos threaten to assassinate corrupt politicians)
Jack Higgins, The President's Daughter
(title character kidnapped by Israeli extremists)
Edward Stewart, They've Shot the President's Daughter!
(mystery surrounds reasons for title event)
Tom Clancy, Executive Orders, and other novels
(recurring character Jack Ryan ascends through various offices to the
presidency)
William Borden, Superstoe
(a group of academics sets out to manipulate the political process to place
themselves in power)
Richard North Patterson, Protect and Defend
(president nominates the judge in a controversial abortion case for Chief
Justice)
Franklin Allen Leib, Behold a Pale Horse
(apocalyptic story in which a televangelist turned president unleashes a
"holy war" against US foes)
Christopher Hyde, Hard Target
("What would happen if the president became mentally ill and no one knew
about it?")
Steve Pieczenik, Maximum Vigilance
(president's psychiatrist must decide whether commander-in-chief is mentally
fit amid crisis that could lead to World War III)
Brad Meltzer, The First Counsel
(a young White House lawyer who is dating the President's daughter winds up
running for his life)
Patrick Robinson, U.S.S. Seawolf
(president responds to Chinese hijacking of a US sub on which his son is a
crew member)
John J. Nance, Headwind
(president and his plane crew attempt to escape arrest by foreign officials)
James W. Huston, Balance of Power
(constitutional crisis as president and House speaker battle for control of
a US Navy Task Force)
Michael Kilian, By Order of the President
(thriller involving cover-ups after the president is shot)
Brian McGrory, The Incumbent
(novel by former White House correspondent follows a reporter investigating
an assassination attempt)
Erik Tarloff, Face-Time
(a young presidential aide's girlfriend is having an affair with the
president)
Nancy Freedman, Joshua, Son of None
(president as clone)
Patricia Anthony, Brother Termite
(president as alien)
David Baldacci, Absolute Power
(president as murder suspect)
Sandra Brown, Exclusive
(president suspected in death of a reporter's infant son)
E.J. Gorman, First Lady
(title character faces allegations that she murdered to cover up an affair)
Irving Wallace, The Second Lady
(female Russian spy secretly replaces president's wife)
Margaret Truman, Murder in the White House
(one of several "Murder in...." novels set in Washington locales)
Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here
(about a fascist attempt to take over the US)
Fletcher Knebel & Charles W. Bailey II,
Seven Days in May
(Cold War thriller about a threatened military takeover of the US
government)
Convention
(double-dealing in the backrooms, bars, and bedrooms at a Republican
Convention)
Richard Condon, The Emperor of America
(satire in which army colonel assumes title office after nuclear destruction
of Washington)
Stephen King, The Dead Zone (horror/supernatural)
(auto-accident survivor has visions of a future Hitleresque president)
Fred Eckert, Hank Harrison for President
(satire in which a "Jeopardy!" winner winds up assuming the presidency)
Kaiji Kawaguchi, Eagle: The Making of an Asian?American President
(Japaneses manga in multiple volumes)
----- FEMALE PRESIDENTS -----
Jeffrey Archer,
The Prodigal Daughter
Shall We Tell the President?
("Florentyna Kane," first woman president)
Susan Elizabeth Phillips' First Lady [romance]
("Cornelia Case," wife of an assassinated president, who eventually becomes
the first woman president)
Ellen Emerson White, President's Daughter series [Young Adult]
The President's Daughter
White House Autumn
The Road Home
(teenage girl's mom is elected president)
---- CANDIDATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS -----
Richard Condon,
The Manchurian Candidate
(classic paranoid thriller about brainwashed GI sent to assassinate a
presidential nominee)
Final Addiction
(black comedy in which a hot-dog salesman marries a cocaine smuggler who
engineers his bid for the presidency)
Fletcher Knebel, Dark Horse
(thriller centered on an unknown's populist presidential campaign)
Arthur D. Robbins, Greenfield for President
(satire of politics and the media centering on a third-party candidacy)
Reed Karaim, If Men Were Angels
(a dark-horse candidate who may be too good to be true)
Stewart Woods, Run
(intrigue surrounding White House bid by senator married to high-ranking CIA
official)
Richard North Patterson, No Safe Place
(senator running in California presidential primary is stalked by assassin)
Jeff Greenfield, The People's Choice
(electoral college goes haywire when president?elect dies before taking
office)
Leon Uris, A God in Ruins
(Irish Catholic running for president learns he was born Jewish)
Charles McCarry, Lucky Bastard
(illegitimate son of JFK runs for president)
James [Jim] Lehrer, The Last Debate
(candidate's secret evil puts journalists in an ethical bind)
Joe Klein,
Primary Colors
(fictionalized Bill Clinton runs for nomination)
Running Mate
(sequel to "Primary Colors" focusing on Vietnam War hero struggling to
revive his political career)
----- CHILDREN'S / YOUNG ADULT -----
Marc Brown, Arthur Meets the President
(Arthur's essay wins a contest and he has to read it to the president in a
special ceremony at the White House)
Jane Langton, The Fragile Flag
(nine-year-old girl launches a protest against the president's missile
program)
Dan Gutman,
The Kid Who Ran For President
The Kid Who Became President
(adventures of a 12-year-old whose children's movement sweeps him to office)
Ellen Emerson White, President's Daughter series [see above]
NON-PRESIDENTS IMAGINED AS PRESIDENTS
=======================================
Michael Kurland, The Whenabouts of Burr (Aaron Burr)
Robert Skimin, Custer's Luck (George Armstrong Custer)
Kurt A.R. Giambastiani, The Year the Cloud Fell (George Armstrong Custer)
Robert Harris, Fatherland
(Berlin detective investigates a murder as a Hitler who won World War II
prepares for summit meeting with President Joseph P. Kennedy)
Russell Baker, Our Next President (Bobby Kennedy)
Mike Resnick, ed. Alternate Presidents (anthology)
Alternate Kennedys (anthology)
Also see: http://www.uchronia.net/
(standard Web site for alternate-history stories)
REAL PRESIDENTS FICTIONALIZED
==============================
William Wells Brown, Clotel; or The President's Daughter
(antebellum tale of a slave fathered by Thomas Jefferson)
William Safire, Scandalmonger
(fact-based story of scandal among the Founders)
David Nevin, Eagle's Cry
(about the Lousiana Purchase and the major political players of the time)
David Poyer, The Only Thing to Fear
(a young JFK is assigned to protect FDR from assassination)
George Bernau, Promises to Keep
(what might have happened if "John T. Cassidy" = JFK had survived the
assassination)
Peter Delacorte, Time on My Hands
(a man travels back in time to keep young movie actor Ronald Reagan from
becoming president)
Lauren Belfer, City of Light
(Grover Cleveland's handlers deliver a naive young Louisa Barrett to his
hotel room; her subsequent pregnancy shapes the course of her life)
Irving Stone,
Those Who Love (John & Abigail Adams)
Love Is Eternal (Abraham & Mary Lincoln)
The President's Lady (Andrew & Rachel Jackson)
Oscar Lewis, The Lost Years
(Lincoln survives assassination and struggles through an unpopular second
term)
Mark Schorr, Bully!
(Teddy Roosevelt on the track of a murder-conspiracy)
Caleb Carr, The Alienist
(Teddy appears as New York City Police Commissioner)
Harry Turtledove, alternate-history novels:
How Few Remain
(Teddy Roosevelt as young rancher/soldier; Abe Lincoln as aging socialist)
The Two Georges
(George Washington in an America that never declares independence)
Great War series
(Theodore Roosevelt; Woodrow Wilson as Confederate States president)
World War series
(FDR and other leaders respond to World War II-era alien invasion of earth)
Elliott Roosevelt, Murder in the Executive Mansion, and other novels
(mysteries featuring Eleanor Roosevelt solving crimes in the White House)
"Lee W. Mason" [= Barry Malzberg], Lady of a Thousand Sorrows
(literary soft porn about a thinly disguised Jackie Kennedy, with thinly
disguised JFK, RFK, LBJ, etc.)
Philip Roth, Our Gang
(pre-Watergate satire of the Nixon Administration)
Jonathan Lowy, Elvis and Nixon
(fictional meeting between the title characters in 1970)
Howard Waldrop, "Ike at the Mike" [short story]
(Eisenhower and Elvis trade career paths in an alternate 1950s)
James Silver, Naked Presidents: An Alternate History
(book that asks, "What if the political destinies of Kennedy and Clinton
were reversed?")
Joe Klein,
Primary Colors; Running Mate [see above]
Also see: http://www.uchronia.net/
VARIOUS
=========
Greenberg & Nevins, ed. Mr. President, Private Eye [science-fiction
anthology]
The President's Mystery Plot
(multi-authored, "high camp" mystery reportedly inspired by an idea of
FDR's)
"Ed McBain," Hail to the Chief [87th Precinct detective series]
(retells the story of Nixon and Watergate in small-scale terms of a
paranoid, self-justifying juvenile delinquent gang leader)
Larry Kahn, The Jinx
(presidential assassination conspiracy going back 150 years)
From listings in "R. Reginald" (= Michael Burgess), Science Fiction and
Fantasy Literature:
> PRESIDENT FU MANCHU by Sax Rohmer
(Fu is evil genius behind presidential candidate)
> PRESIDENT JOHN SMITH by Frederick Upton Adams
> PRESIDENT KISSINGER by Donald Munson and Monroe Rosenthal
> PRESIDENT McGOVERN'S FIRST TERM by Nicholas Max
> PRESIDENT RANDOLPH AS I KNEW HIM by John Francis Goldsmith
> THE PRESIDENT VANISHES by Rex Stout
> THE PRESIDENTAL PLOT by Stanley Judson
> THE PRESIDENT'S DOCTOR by William Woolfolk
_________________________
Compiled by Jeff Smith and the members of Fiction_L. Special thanks to
Binnie Syril Braunstein, Viccy Kemp, Carol Kubala, Sheri Alexander, Valerie
Maine, Greta Ulrich, Kelly Benson, Nancy Parry McCluer, Karen Traynor, Anne
Marquis, Nancy Crabbe, Deb Warner, Gail Ellis, Cathy Reid, Ricki Nordmeyer,
Ann Harris, Christine Jeffords, Betty Waznis, Jeanne Etling, Carolyn
O'Donnell, Bradley A. Scott, Mary Ann Bakken, Eileen Miller, Sherri L.
Lazenby, Dennis Lien, Alison Creech, Kathleen Martin, Sandra Mundy, Joan
Cales, BeckyH, Kim Rutter, Dottie MacKeen, Thelma Stone, Ruth Conrad, Lisa
A. Olsen, and Laurie Petri.
......................................................................
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FROM: Dennis Lien <[removed]@tc.umn.edu>
REC'D: 7/30/01, 10:17 AM
This is an extremely impressive list; thanks for compiling and posting it.
Inevitably while reading it I belatedly remembered a couple titles:
LINDA LOVELACE FOR PRESIDENT by Jack S. Margolis (Playboy Press, 1975)
(novelization of porn movie; I don't know if she was elected or not...)
WILD IN THE STREETS by Robert Thom (Pyramid, 1978)
(voting age lowered to 14, enabling rock star to be elected president)
Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // [removed]@tc.umn.edu
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FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 7/30/01, 11:09 AM
Thanks, Dennis. I've also thought of and/or discovered a few more titles.
Since I'm updating this list for my own research anyway, I might post an
addendum at some point (if that's allowed?).
Jeff Smith
......................................................................
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FROM: Viccy Kemp <[removed]@cityofcarrollton.com>
REC'D: 7/30/01, 11:20 AM
-----Original Message-----
From: Smith, Jeff [[removed]@marshall.usc.edu]
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2001 11:04 AM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: RE: FICTIONAL PRESIDENTS: Compiled List
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dennis Lien [[removed]@tc.umn.edu]
> Sent: Monday, July 30, 2001 8:12 AM
> To: Fiction_L
> Subject: Re: FICTIONAL PRESIDENTS: Compiled List
>
>
> This is an extremely impressive list; thanks for compiling
> and posting it.
>
> Inevitably while reading it I belatedly remembered a couple titles.....
Thanks, Dennis. I've also thought of and/or discovered a few more titles.
Since I'm updating this list for my own research anyway, I might post an
addendum at some point (if that's allowed?).
Jeff Smith
......................................................................
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FROM: "Natalya Fishman" <[removed]@webrary.org>
REC'D: 7/30/01, 11:31 AM
Sure, it's allowed! I'll publish it now as it is on the Fiction_L Booklists
page, and then update it when you post an addendum. Thanks!
Natalya
Natalya Fishman
Fiction_L Manager
Morton Grove Public Library
Morton Grove, IL 60053
[removed]@webrary.org
http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
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FROM: "Smith, Jeff" <[removed]@marshall.usc.edu>
REC'D: 7/30/01, 12:02 PM
"The Jinx" is on there (under "Various"). Sorry, "Shelley's Heart" was a
dumb oversight, but I've already logged it for the addendum.
Anything else anyone thinks of, let me know. Thanks --
Jeff Smith
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