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THE BIG MAN by Henry J. Taylor

THE BIG MAN

By

Publisher: Random House

Taylor's first novel (his earlier books were non-fiction- he was for a long time the General Motors sponsored radio commentator) has two good scenes featuring Chamberlain and Mussolini; otherwise it is sententious and evaporates in banal asides. Lawyer Frank Killory wins a historic decision before the Supreme Court when he persuades the Justices to reverse an Executive order. Killory's magnetic honesty, brought into national prominence, catches the Party's fancy. He is induced to campaign for the Presidential nomination because the Party faces a disastrous stand-off between its two frontrunners. Meanwhile Sally Bryce, an international reporter working for an American syndicate, gets assigned to cover Killory. She has an affair with him and becomes the conscience he ignores in the necessary chicanery of winning delegates. From her special bedside vantage point, Sally fearlessly details the innards of his campaign. Frank saves his soul by losing the nomination and she wins the Pulitzer Prize. The Big Man won't.