[Archer's] use of living politicians, presumably intended to distinguish his [Shall We Tell the President?] from the common run of post-Watergate whodunnits, backfires. The plot is implausible, the senators are shadows. Edward Kennedy is little more than a name on the dustcover. Even so, Mr. Archer has deeply offended the two Kennedy widows, who know that their brother-in-law still receives threats from anonymous letter writers, are aware of the special nature of the risk he will run if he ever seeks the Presidency, and must wonder whether this kind of sensationalism might not increase that risk. At all events, it was a sick idea—and the result is a silly, imperceptive book.

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Charles Wheeler, "Gunning for Office," in The Times Literary Supplement (© Times Newspapers Ltd. (London) 1977; reproduced from The Times Literary Supplement by permission), No. 3944, October 28, 1977, p. 1258.