Time to Run Book

The national best-seller with "a plot line that seems ripped from the headlines" (Associated Press) is now available in paperback just in time for the fall elections. The "compelling novel of friendship, idealism, and corruption and the behind-the-scenes machinations that go into political deals" (Booklist) by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer garnered a huge amount of attention in both red and blue states when it was first released. The popular and outspoken author, who in the 2004 election received more votes than any non-presidential candidate in history, "brings been-there nuance to the back-biting, hazardous personal disclosures and naked power mongering" (Publishers Weekly) of politics today. Lively and informed, A Time to Run introduces three unforgettable characters, whose friendship and betrayals shape not only their lives, but also the Supreme Court and the future of the country.

Publishers Weekly

The three-term senator from California-newly and handily re-elected in 2004-offers a debut novel to relate "a story I had long wanted to tell." Aspiring political activist Josh Fischer and aspiring journalist Greg Hunter are best friends and roommates at 1970s Berkeley; Josh is dark, sensitive and liberal; Greg is blond, gregarious and leans right. When the two meet Ellen Downey, a petite redhead with a steely determination to make the world a better place, romantic entanglements ensue, with Ellen ultimately marrying Josh shortly after graduation. Josh runs for political office, Ellen heads a mentoring program for at-risk kids, and Greg, married to a wealthy socialite but still in the picture, works as a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle. When Josh dies during his Senate campaign, Ellen assumes his candidacy and scores an upset victory; the book opens on the eve of a vote regarding a controversial Supreme Court nominee, with Greg appearing in Ellen's office holding incendiary documents that could alter the course of history-or level her career. All of this is by-the-numbers stuff, but Boxer brings been-there nuance to the backbiting, hazardous personal disclosures and naked power mongering of California and Washington politics. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.