The Rake: A Novel

By William F. Buckley

A prototypical child of the sixties, Senator Reuben Castle coasted through his early life on a cloud of easy charisma, leaving behind more skeletons than Arlington: a highly questionable Vietnam record, an abandoned wife, and worse. Now, two decades later, his greatest dream is within reach. But his personal history is about to become his political epitaph—unless he takes the direst of measures to protect himself.

From William F. Buckley Jr.—nationally bestselling author and one of the keenest political minds of our time—comes an ingenious blending of satire and suspense, the riveting tale of an all-too-recognizable presidential candidate and the dark shadows cast behind him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 17, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061751806

William F. Buckley

William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008) was an author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded the influential conservative magazine National Review. Buckley also hosted the popular television show Firing Line and wrote a twice-weekly syndicated newspaper column. He is the author of more than fifty books, including titles on history, politics, and sailing, as well as a series of spy novels featuring CIA agent Blackford Oakes.

Reviews for The Rake

[arouse77 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

plucked this one off of an endcap at the library and was hoping for better.written in an approachable, easygoing tone, this novel took a different tack than the typical Washington Scandal Book, most of which are rigid, intense, and gripping. here instead we had a scandal, cover up which resorts to arson and murder, and the ruination of a presidential candidacy all discussed with a remarkable lack of engagement or urgency.this lackadasickal emotional approach translated into a rather unengaging read. action was interestingly conveyed, but improbably casual. even the reactions of many of the characters to the circumstances in which they found themselves seemed disingenuously detached and unemotional. the end comes rather suddenly and without the drama one would expect from the events as they unfold. i expected to find at least 3 or 4 more chapters after the last page and was left feeling a little perturbed. not so much because i was so interested in the story as to long for its continuation, but because i was incredulous that it would end with such percipitance.i felt like the underlying plot was interesting and could have made for a gripping Washington Scandal Book but was poorly handled and incompletely developed.