I’m looking for recommendations for political novels. When I ask this, I’m not asking for political thrillers ("There’s a plot to kidnap the President, and only FBI Agent Dirk Handy can stop it!). I’m looking for books like Jeffrey Archer’s “First Among Equals”, James Clavell’s “Noble House”, Allen Drury’s “Advise and Consent”, Fletcher Knebel’s “Dark Horse”, Jeff Greenfield’s “The People’s Choice”; books like that, where the characters aren’t action heroes, and where the conflict that goes on involves influence and political or economic machinations.
If you haven’t read it yet, then “All the King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren.
To Play The King is the first of a trilogy of political novels by Michael Dobbs about Francis Urquhart, a British politician. (Note that I haven’t read the books, but did see the television adaptions.)
I’ve read All the Kings Men, and while I never read the Francis Urqhart books, I’ve also seen the television adaptations. These are the kinds of books I’m looking for, though.
If it doesn’t have to be real-world, there are some great sci-fi political intrigue novels - C.J. Cherryh’s “Foreigner” books, beginning with the book of that name, are great.
Christopher Buckley has written a number of political satires:
Boomsday
Florence of Arabia
Little Green Men
No Way to Treat a First Lady
Thank You for Smoking (his best book in my opinion)
Supreme Courtship (which I haven’t read)
The White House Mess (another one I haven’t read)
If you’re looking for a very cyncial political novel, try Favorite Son by Steve Sohmer.
The Last Hurrah by Edwin O’Connor - charts the life of a local city politician and all of the wackiness of local politics. Funny and insightful…
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Not specifically political in the way you are thinking, but it follows a character thrust into Bombay underground gangster politics it goes everywhere from Nigeria in the illicit passport trade to Afghanistan bringing weapons in to fight the Soviets.
The basic plot is he escapes from prison in Australia in broad daylight and goes to Bombay to hide out, it’s character driven regarding his experience in Bombay.
The author REALLY DID escape from prison in Australia in broad daylight so it’s semi-autobiographical, but he keeps what’s real and what’s fiction close to his vest. It highlights prison brutality as that’s an issue very close to him having been in prison both in Australia and India.
That sounds like “Atlas Shrugged” to me…TRM
The novel Maximum Contribution has some thriller elements, but the real story is the inside details of a Congressional campaign. The author, Rick Robinson, was in fact a candidate for Congress, and ran a campaign not unlike the one described in the book.
However, unlike the novel’s Rep. Thompson, Rick Robinson lost.One of the cute parts of the book is that the candidate and his campaign manager have a collection of rules governing the campaign, all drawn from the Godfather movies. Robinson is on the speaking circuit at the moment, presenting these rules as guidelines for business.
I’d suggest two novels by Robert Harris. Imperium is about the early political career of Cicero in the Roman Senate. The Ghost has its thriller elements but it is at heart a thinly disguised criticism of the Blair premiership. Both make very good reading.
Power Without Glory, which was closely based on real events, and was the subject of an libel action.
I don’t know if this qualifies under your guidelines or not, but my favourite is “Interface”, which was published under some pseudonym I’ve forgotten now, but I think it is listed under Neal Stephenson (who co-wrote it with someone else) now. It has some science fiction elements, but it is basically modern-day, and is all about the campaign and election for US President. It has the typical Stephensonian twists, turns, and colourful characters, but it has what (to me anyway) seems to be a very astute insight into campaigns and elections.
Stephen Bury
How about Coleen McCollough’s “Masters of Rome” series? It’s all about the scheming and power plays of the late republican period, starting with Marius and finishing up with Octavian.
You mentioned Fletcher Knebel, but only “Dark Horse.” Have you read “Seven Days in May” and “Night of Camp David?”
What about in the fantasy genre? It seems that most fantasy is about an adventure for some poor country boy, who inevitably saves the realm and meets the grateful king at the end. I wanna know about what’s going on with the politics! And not from some pretty chambermaid who ends up falling in love with the prince, either. 
Hi, I’m back, and I wanted to thank everybody so far for the contributions. I’ve already read some of them, but others are new to me. And, to respond to a few of you, I think I’ve read all of Knebel’s books.
In terms of fantasy politics, have you ever read the “Empire” series, by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurtz (Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire, and Mistress of the Empire). It takes place in Raymond Feist’s Riftwar universe and is about a minor noblewoman who ends up leading her empire.
A quick look on Wikipedia seems interesting - thanks!
Actually, the first was House of Cards, followed by To Play the King, and concluding with The Final Cut. Largely due to Ian Richardson’s masterfully evil portrayal, I think the TV movies are much better than the books.