The Librarian

by Larry Beinhart

How on earth did nebbish university librarian David Goldberg end up on Virginia's Ten Most Wanted Criminals list for bestiality? And how did he get ensnared in a vast right-wing conspiracy to steal the presidency? It all begins so innocently when Goldberg starts moonlighting for eccentric, conservative billionaire Alan Carston Stowe as an archivist. But Goldberg's appointment worries a cabal of ruthless right-wingers -- ostensibly allies of Stowe, whose money lubricates their zany scary conspiracies -- with very close ties to the White House. They fear that Goldberg will find something in Stowe's records that will compromise the dirty tricks involved in re-electing Augustus Winthrop Scott, the dim scion of a powerful Republican political family, for a second term. As the presidential election heads into its final stretch, the hunt is on to remove Goldberg from his position -- by any means necessary. The acclaimed, Edgar-winning mystery writer Larry Beinhart returns with this timely novel. In the tradition of Carl Hiassen, Elmore Leonard, and Joe Klein, The Librarian is a frenetic, scary and hilarious thriller that goes deep into the dark heart of election year politics.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Books About Books, Humor, Politics, Mystery Thriller

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2004

About the author

Larry Beinhart is an Edgar Award-winning author whose American Hero became the movie Wag the Dog."

Reviews

[Dest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy did this book have a lot going on that was right up my alley:

1. The hero is a librarian, so there's a lot of poetic musing over the beauty of libraries, democracy, freedom, etc.

2. The villains are Republicans who are hell bent on controlling the world by any means necessary. Some of them bear strong resemblances to real politicians, e.g. Dick Cheney and George W.

3. It was a page-turner AND well-written AND had some good laughs. That, friends, is a rare combination. There's even some good poetry here and there.

Now, a few warnings. There's some graphic sexual violence that disturbed me a little. And I did roll my eyes a few times at how unbelievably evil the Republicans were. But Beinhart found a great Adam Smith quote to rationalize it: "Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience." That is, if the bad guys were just greedy, there would be limits to what they'd do, but because they feel their cause is righteous, they try to win by any means necessary, even MURDER and SUBVERTING DEMOCRACY.

Obviously, if conspiracy theories annoy you, you probably won't like this book. But if you're looking for a wry political thriller that was clearly written by a Democrat, this will fit the bill.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Librarian is an American political conspiracy thriller which, when it was published in 2004, would’ve been considered satirical and far-fetched, but in the current climate seems scarily plausible. It’s complete coincidence that in the same week I’ve read two books featuring lightly disguised and very unflattering versions of George W Bush, but reading this one in the run up to the 2020 election made this one particularly chilling. Republican voters probably wouldn’t read this, and definitely wouldn’t enjoy it if they did, but perhaps that’s why they should - it might persuade them to stay home come November.

David Goldberg is a young-middle-aged University librarian who takes on an extra role as a favour to a former colleague, assisting an elderly billionaire to catalogue his life’s collection of documents. Unaware that his new boss is plotting to ensure that the inept and arrogant current president secures a second term against a plucky and likeable Democratic challenger, David finds himself on the run from scary Homeland Security operatives who think he’s discovered their evil conspiracy and will stop at nothing to silence him - and anyone he associates with...

This was a lot of fun and kept me up reading well past bedtime to find out what would happen. David’s a great hero - lovably dorky - you don’t get many librarians turning into action men! It’s well written - just the right side of “literary” for my taste. I was worried it would have to have an unhappy ending to be believable, so the (minor spoiler alert) open ending was actually a relief, although some may find it unsatisfying. For a black comedy, this had some nasty implied and threatened sexual violence, but despite the mention of bestiality in the blurb, nothing bad happens to any animals.

As mentioned, the frightening thing about this was I wouldn’t put anything that happens here past the current monster-in-chief and his cronies, in their pathetic and desperate bid to stay in power, given what we have already witnessed. For the sake of the planet, let’s hope Americans have more sense this time round.

[Πάνος Τουρλής · Rating 1 out of 5]

Δεν έχω λόγια. Κόλλησα στην πρώτη (επαναλαμβάνω, πρώτη) σελίδα του βιβλίου τουλάχιστον τρεις φορές. Το ξεπέρασα. Μπα λέω ιδέα μου θα είναι, άστο να κυλήσει. Δεν μπορεί να είναι ΤΟΣΟ κακογραμμένο! Μετά την τρίτη σελίδα άρχισα να αναρωτιέμαι αν είναι κακογραμμένο ή κακομεταφρασμένο. Ε μετά το "σύγκρουση ενδιαφερόντων" (conflict of interest = σύγκρουση συμφερόντων) βεβαιώθηκα. Το βιβλίο δεν ξέρω αν αξίζει ή όχι, αν σε κρατάει σαν πλοκή, το παράτησα. Εξαιτίας της μετάφρασης. Η χειρότερη μετάφραση που διάβασα ποτέ. Και μιλάμε για θριλεράκι τύπου εκδόσεων Bell, δηλαδή αν της μεταφράστριας της ζήταγαν να μεταφράσει δοκίμιο τι θα έκανε; (η οποία εν τω μεταξύ μετέφρασε 2-3 ακόμη, χμ, χμ, χμ....). Ειλικρινά με το ζόρι κρατήθηκα να μην ουρλιάξω, ειδικά όταν διαπίστωσα ότι διάβαζα Καστανιώτη!!!!!Μα είναι δυνατόν η μετάφραση να είναι στην κυριολεξία κατά λέξη; Χωρίς να προσαρμοστεί στη δική μας σύνταξη, ροή, γραμματική; Δεν είναι δυνατόν η μετάφραση να γίνεται λέξη προς λέξη από καμία γλώσσα προς καμία γλώσσα, πάντα υπάρχουν προσαρμογές, ακόμη και τροποποιήσεις όπου δει. Έχω διαβάσει θριλεράκια και Γκρίσαμ και Φορσάιθ κλπ. πουθενά τέτοιο χάλι, ναι κοφτές και γρήγορες φράσεις, ναι αγωνία, ναι ανατροπές αλλά πουθενά δε στάθηκε εμπόδιο η γλώσσα. όχι διαβάστε:

"Δεν θα ήθελε να είναι τόσο έτοιμος εκεί έξω στη δουλειά, θα μπορούσε να τον οδηγήσει σε σύγκρουση ενδιαφερόντων ή, όταν θα είναι παρκαρισμένος και θα περιμένει βαριεστημένα, κοιτάζοντας πάνω από τον ώμο του Σπινέλι όσο εκείνος θα έλεγχε τις κόρες του" (σελ. 110). [περιμένετε την κύρια πρόταση που ακολουθεί μετά τον διαζευκτικό σύνδεσμο "ή"; Ναι κι εγώ]

"Ήθελα να γυρίσω πίσω, εκεί που ανήκω. Στη γαλήνη της βιβλιοθήκης, περιτριγυρισμένος από βιβλία, από στοχασμούς, επιφωνήματα έκπληξης, που, ανεξάρτητα από το πόσο εμπαθείς μπορεί να είναι, θα περιμένουν ήσυχα μια εμπεριστατωμένη απόκριση και ανεξάρτητα του πόσο ισχυρογνώμονες ή προκατειλημμένοι, θα περιμένουν ήσυχα μια έρευνα, έως ότου επιβεβαιωθούν ή ανατραπούν" (σελ. 118). [ποιοι καλέ; τα επιφωνήματα έκπληξης είναι ισχυρογνώμονες και εμπαθείς; και γιατί να περιμένουν απόκριση και μάλιστα εμπεριστατωμένη, ρώτησαν κάτι;]

"Ο Σκοτ είχε μιλήσει, με τον καλοδουλεμένο του αυθορμητισμό, με σοβαρότητα και βαρυσήμαντα, αλλά εν συντομία, για τους κινδύνους και τη φρίκη του πολέμου και είχε εξηγήσει, εν συντομία και με σαφήνεια, για ποιο λόγο έπρεπε να γίνει και μετά είχε πει, μ' αυτήν την αισιόδοξη, αποφασιστική φωνή ήρωα του σινεμά αλά Τζων Γουέιν μέχρι Ρόναλντ Ρέιγκαν: Ας επελάσουμε" (σελ. 148). [όχι, πείτε μου όντως δεν πάει κάτι καλά στη μετάφραση, έτσι δεν είναι; γιατί δεν μπορώ να δεχτώ ότι το αγγλικό κείμενο είναι τόσο άτεχνο!!]

"-Και αν δεν έχουμε νέα για το τι σχεδιάζουν είναι επειδή είναι κάποιο σκοτεινό μυστικό, τόσο σκοτεινό που μονάχα ελάχιστοι μπορούν να το γνωρίζουν. Γι' αυτό δεν έχουμε ακούσει και γι' αυτό σε ανησυχεί η σιωπή". Έγνεψε, σχεδόν ανεπαίσθητα και, σχεδόν ανεπαίσθητα, άστραψε μπροστά της ο γερο-μοναχός μέσα στον παραγωγό του τηλεοπτικού ριάλιτι, μυστικά ικανοποιημένος από το νεαρό τριζόνι" (σελ. 162) [Εγώ πάω για βρούβες]

[Manik Sukoco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Stowe, an elderly man of great wealth and power, hires David Goldberg, a university librarian, to act as his personal librarian, sorting and recording the papers he's collected during his life. Stowe is a conservative backer of the president (a thinly disguised George Bush) in his bid for reelection. Soon people are trying to kill Goldberg because they believe his perusal of the papers has caused him to discover the plot they've prepared to steal the election.
If you put politics aside (which some of the one star reviewers clearly couldn't do), what's left is an entertaining thriller that charges along at a furious pace. The characters tend to be thin and the relationship between Goldberg and the beautiful woman who may or may not be on his side is improbable at best, but the inventive and action-filled story nonetheless entertains.

[Evgenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ευτυχώς το είχα δανειστεί από βιβλιοθήκη και δεν κλαίω τα λεφτά μου. Κουραστικό, μπερδεμένο, με πολλές άχρηστες λεπτομέρειες.

2/5

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahhhh... Conspiracy theories. I'm kind of sick of them which is probably why I didn't rate this book too highly. It's not a fair review. It really isn't. I couldn't get into the book no matter how hard I tried. It wasn't terribly written. It's about a librarian that gets caught up in an election rigging scandal. It's an absurd idea. All of a sudden politicians and professional killers are hell bent on making sure the librarian doesn't find out that their fixing an election. I think it's supposed to be funny. On the surface it sounds like it would be. I just didn't find myself laughing. Ever. It's definitely a satire on America and American politics. I can appreciate that. Perhaps if I had read this when it was first published I would have found it fresh and right on target. Unfortunately, I didn't. So, at the moment, I'm finding the genre a bit overdone. This is definitely not a fair review.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Librarians kick some ass here but the ending disappointed me somewhat. This was both funny and thrilling and I am surprised the Coen Brothers haven't made this into a movie like "Burn After Reading."

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: David Goldberg, librarian
SETTING: Washington, DC
RATING: 4.5
WHY: David Goldberg is a university librarian who is moonlighting part time organizing the papers of billionaire Alan Carsten Stowe. There is a presidential election going on, and the strategists working for the current president, Augustus Winthrop Scott, are using every dirty trick in the book to get him reelected. The opponent’s team is doing the same. When Goldberg falls under suspicion of finding top secret information about Scott’s campaign plans, he is targeted and a cooked-up charge of bestiality leads him to be sought by Homeland Security and the state of Virginia. The book was published in 2004, and the parallels with today are amazing. Beinhart was truly prescient about the role of the media in shaping elections, the manipulation of the public in order to achieve political gains—it feels like he is basing the book on today’s hyper partisan political environment. The plot was interesting and the characters multi-dimensional, with some humor thrown in for levity. I kept nodding my head as the various plot points played out—It felt like reading today’s newspaper. Excellent!

[Roger Scherping · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting idea, that a bookish, not very worldly librarian accidentally falls into a monumental plot to steal the presidency. But the story goes off concept when the librarian proves to be not true to the character he was introduced as. Also the book does not have good pacing for an adventure book; there is no rising to a climax, just a lot of continual struggling to resolve the crisis that never really peaks. It DOES, however, have an excellent quote describing the mission of libraries and librarians!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering this book was published in 2004 during the George W. Bush presidency, it's amazing how well it's held up and how prescient it was now that we're in the post-Trump presidency...it touches on a range of issues that are still relevant, from the electoral college (and faithless electors), the power of the Supreme Court, how wealthy individuals behind the scenes impact elections, and the how crises can shape domestic policy and enhance a President's power...a really well-written political thriller that I'd recommend as a beach read this (or any other) summer.

[Libby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finally finished this book...what a chore! I have a weird habit that requires me to finish a book once I start it, and I have frequently been rewarded by doing so. Not this time, though... Supposedly a political mystery/thriller by the author of Wag the Dog, much of it is tedious and slow going, and the juicy sex and gory parts don't really deliver.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooo...this was a good one! Think National Treasure or Da Vinci Code, but with a librarian as the lead who accidentally gets himself entangled in a plot to steal the presidency of the United States. A little scary actually, because it all seemed sort of plausable.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

God, is this well done. If I weren't obsessing on a number of projects, I would have completed it long ago. It's funny, political, astute. Lends credence to many of my suspicions about the Bush Administration. No wonder the Nation published it.

[Ned Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting bit of fusion fiction. A thriller foremost, and a propulsively-paced delightful concoction it is. But The Librarian is equally a primer on political machinations... a darkly preposterous expose on how exactly the Koch-like mega-bucks in politics corrupts and defiles any assumption of fairness or equal footing in our elections. Although it’s fiction it leaves you wondering if we can trust what we consume as fact-based reportage, or, more certainly the "truthiness" that advocacy networks spew. Beinhart describes a fictional propaganda machine that would have made Goebbels swoon. Side note: The DeNiro film and political parody, Wag the Dog, was based on Beinhart's earlier novel, American Hero, another imagining about mass media manipulation. But the Librarian seems a little dated technologically, even tame, given recently published postmortems of Russian interventions in the US Presidential elections in 2016. Despite the almost quaint nature of the central scam, Beinhart provides wonderful caricature-esque characters, thinly veiled composites of recognizable political figures of recent vintage. Outlandish to be sure. But it’s perversely amusing to imagine there might be a germ of truth revealed in this eminently readable howdunnit.

[Fussnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I'm not a reader of political novels, I couldn't put this one down. Written in 2004, a woman is running for president. The GOP officeholder and his money man figuring out a way to steal the election. It is totally not about computers, it's about the people and power.

The author also wrote a movie, Wag the Dog, with a similar subject. The world we actually live in seems like a thriller, when viewed from afar.

Quote: Fog Facts: That is, it was not a secret. It was known. But it was not known. That is, if you asked a knowledgeable journalist, or political analyst, or a historian, they knew about it. If you yourself went and checked the record, you could find it out. But if you asked the man in the street if President Scott, who loved to have his picture taken among the troops and driving armored vehicles and aboard naval vessels, if you asked if Scott had found a way to evade service in Vietnam, they wouldn't have a clue, and, unless they were anti-Scott already, they wouldn't believe it.

[Helena Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a carnival of misogyny. A male-gaze clown car.

Oh, to be a heterosexual man in 2004. I rolled my eyes at Niobe, the book’s main love interest. I raged at that one goon’s description of his wife and daughters. I cringed my way through the Stowe Stud Farm “horse show.” (I’ll never look at a horse the same, and you probably won’t either.)

But … I hate to say it, I did like this book. It was well-written, fast-paced, and addictive.

The politics of it all were fascinating. Not much has changed politically 20+ years later. If you squint at the fictional US President Scott, you may begin to see his contours shift to those of our current nonfictional orange President. Not to mention, a couple of the author’s worst-case-scenario predictions came true, such as the overturning of Roe v Wade.

My recommendation to future readers: Embrace the 2004 of it all. Forget everything you know about women. Wave a mini American flag. Saddle up, and enjoy the ride.

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The publish date on this book is 2004, but it reads so much current events that I wonder if the author has some secret source in the presidential cabal.

Funded by real estate transactions, a very wealthy individual is able to pretty much control the US government. The president seems largely a puppet, not too bright but willing to appoint heads of industry to cabinet positions. As an example, the Secretary of State was an oil executive. There's also the Black Water types in Homeland Security. The current president is running for reelection against a woman, and the powerful men speak of her derisively, and of their efforts to turn back woman's rights so they'd once again stay home and have babies.

If I'd read this when it came out I would have dismissed the plot as completely fanciful, but reading it in 2019 it seems all too real....and scary.

[Heather Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read American Hero years ago and really liked it. Never saw Wag the Dog, the name they gave the movie version. News commentators keep referring to "wag the dog" so I googled the author and have taken out The Librarian. Really enjoying it! Published in 2004, it foreshadows some of today's (2018) govermental situations. I am slowly acquiring a liking for the librarian. So far the action is packed. I am enjoying that.
Finished! Rich right-wing white guys plot to corrupt the US presidential election in which a WOMAN might win...would be a pale sad reflection of present realities if it hadn't come out in 2004....

[Ali Molenaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik ben aan The Librarian van Larry Beinhart begonnen in het kader van de maand van het vergeten boek. Lees een boek uit je eigen boekenkast dat ooit met veel enthousiasme daar in is beland en nu dus eruit komt. Met dit boek moet ik echt goed nadenken hoe dat in mijn kast is beland, maar dat ligt denk ik aan het beroep van hoofdpersoon David Goldberg die bibliothecaris is bij een universiteit. Voor de rest van mijn bespreking (Nederlands) lees hier verder: https://alimolenaar.nl/stukjes/the-li...

[Minnesinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

[UNFINISHED]

This book is hysterically funny while still revealing about the (corrupt) state of politics in the USA Today. Beinhart is merciless in skewering the GOP. If you are a rabid Republican, don't read--your BP will shoot sky-high. If you're not shocked by what goes on in Washington, read on! You will love the book as much as I. But the main reason I love this book is because the hero is a librarian--as are the heroines.

David Goldberg is the 30 (or 40?)-ish university librarian around whom the action revolves. He is guilted into moonlighting as a part-time private librarian for the biggest contributor to the GOP, Alan Stowe.

He tells the beautiful Niobe about his fave Woody Allen movies, and clearly the guy is a lot like a stereotypical nebbishy male of the Jewish persuasion, who falls in love with a beautiful WASP. He puts himself through all sorts of wringers for her, going up against big, macho ex-military killers.

The book is highly informative as well, if you know little about what constitutes the USA PATRIOT ACT. It's an eye-opener, folks. Then there is the way Homeland Security manipulates the Patriot Act to circumvent the law.

The sitting prez is spoiled, wealthy Augustus (Gus) Winthrop Scott, who calls himself the Education President while cutting federal funding for education.

He brags about being a hero of the Afghanistan, 'Kafiristan' and Iraq wars, yet like all the other top officials in his GOP administration, he avoided serving in Vietnam by finagling his way into the National Guard (then showed up only twice). The fact that he was never in the military is not well known (=a ‘Fog Fact’) so the ‘flag-wavers’ still love him.

The plot is well-paced

[R.f.mezzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this while GWBush was President and it scared me to death. When everyone is controlled by the President and his henchpeople, there is NO ONE TO TURN TO! And now that we have DJT in the White House, it is even more scary.
There is some gratuitous violence that is upsetting but the main point of it is how easily democracy can be subverted and killed. Great book that everyone should read.

[William Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a Librarian and not American I'm Australian I was looking for and picking up all sorts of holiday reads as we criss crossed the cpuntry for seven weeks. This one was picked near the end of the trip and was the perfect read for quiet nights on Kangaroo Island. It was fast paced it was fun a little over the top but since then American politics has even got dirtier unfortunatelu we're not much better I really enjoyed this fast paced romp and backroom maneveurs.

[Wyckliffe Howland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fun, quick read. It is a thriller, and filled with political intrigue. Cynical conspiracies, misuse of power and abuse of position abound. To me it felt very real in the context of these dark Trump days. The writer has developed some credible characters but the main character, the librarian, seemed light to me. Good building of suspense will keep your interest up to the end.

[Debbie Kirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great page-turner! It was really creepy that this was published in 2004, because it resonates so much with the disgraceful, repulsive antics of our current "Leader" of the U.S. I loved the hero, a mild-mannered, middle-aged librarian. And the secondary characters were entertaining, though the bad guys really made me shudder. Certainly a ripped-from-the-headlines book.

[Elizabeth Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hits a little differently reading this as evidence drops daily from the House Select Committee on Jan 6. I agree with other reviewers that the sexual violence was not necessary for the story. Overall I think a good editor could have honed this shorter. Still I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next and I read to the end.

[C Volvic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why Read The Librarian

...because it has more value, is easier to read then Fire&Fury (read both). “The Librarian” is prescient of today’s political drama, mishaps, & intrigue. It’s the G. Orwell saga for this 2K generation.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non male. All'inizio mi ero fatta ingannare dallo stile pomposo, un po' troppo prolisso e ricco di similitudini, dell'autore, pensando che fosse un libro noioso, in realtà quando la storia entra nel vivo si fa molto avvincente e soprattutto attuale, mi ha appassionata. 3 stelle.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I most enjoyed the first fourth of this book when the political satire and library satire were the most biting. That was some snarky satire! The adventure/action part started out fun but quickly started to drag, in my opinion.

[Ellen O’Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept on thinking that this book was written now given out present political situation. However it was written in 2004. It’s about a plot to get back the presidency after losing. Sound familiar? An excellent and exciting read

[Nancy Nash Keefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it - but perhaps a large measure was because of the topic and current events?