THE POWER BROKER: A Biography of John M. Bailey, Modern Political Boss

John Bailey, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and longtime power in Connecticut Democratic Party affairs, first heard of politics around the family dinner table. Personal wealth and single-minded absorption with ""the game"" and the power that came from playing it well enabled him to make a ""full-time thing"" out of the State Democratic Chairmanship when he first earned it. From thence his rise was assured. His biography is a good vehicle for stories about the actual operation of the local political process--in its modern form--and for background on such famous national figures as Chester Bowles, Thomas Dodd, Abraham Ribicoff, John Dempsey, Benton, McMahon, and, of course, John F. Kennedy. It is a long biography, perhaps even just a bit too long and chatty, of a career not yet completed. But it surges with frequent bursts of political lifeblood and excitement. Lieberman has worked for both Sen. Ribicoff and Bailey; an early draft of this book (written while he was at Yale) won the Frank M. Patterson Prize.