Decision

by Allen Drury

A gripping novel about the deterioration of the criminal justice system and the mysterious, powerful body at its core—the Supreme Court of the United States.

Earle Holgren—murderer, terrorist, lost soul—is the center of a vortex that sweeps up a fascinating cast of characters in their ambitions, politics, honor, and scandal. From the eight Justices of the Supreme Court, to the Attorney General of South Carolina who sees a compelling, controversial trial as an opportunity for demagoguery that might pave his path to the White House, to the idealistic defense lawyer who seeks to save a man she knows to be a psycopathic killer, to a driven Washington journalist in love with one of the Justices whose marriage is crumbling, and other Justices with their own agendas, vendettas, and secrets, Decision is a sweeping tale that begins at a nuclear power plant in South Carolina, works its way through the courts of that state, and finally to the halls of the Supreme Court.

From Allen Drury, the master of spellbinding political fiction, author of Advise and Consent

Genres: Fiction, Politics, Law, Legal, Political Thriller

Paperback

First published August 1, 1983

About the author

In late 1943, Allen Stuart Drury, a 25-year old Army veteran, sought work. A position as the Senate correspondent for United Press International provided him with employment and insider knowledge of the Senate. In addition to fulfilling his duties as a reporter, he kept a journal of his views of the Senate and individual senators. In addition to the Senate personalities, his journal captured the events of the 78th & 79th Congresses.
Although written in the mid-1940s, his diary was not published until 1963. "A Senate Journal" found an audience in part because of the great success of "Advise and Consent," his novel in 1959 about the consideration in the Senate of a controversial nominee for secretary of state. His greatest success was "Advise and Consent," was made into a film in 1962. The book was partly inspired by the suicide of Lester C. Hunt, senator from Wyoming. It spent 102 weeks on the New York Times' best-seller list. 'Advise & Consent' led to several sequels. 'A Shade of Difference' is set a year later. Drury then turned his attention to the next presidential election after those events with 'Capable of Honor' & 'Preserve & Protect'. He then wrote two alternative sequels based on a different outcome of an assassination attack in an earlier work: 'Come Nineveh, Come Tyre' & 'The Promise of Joy'. In 1971, he published 'The Throne of Saturn', a sf novel about the 1st attempt at sending a manned mission to Mars. He dedicated the work "To the US Astronauts & those who help them fly." Political characters in the book are archetypal rather than comfortably human. The book carries a strong anti-communist flavor. The book has a lot to say about interference in the space program by leftist Americans. Having wrapped up his political series by '75, Drury began a new one with the '77 novel 'Anna Hastings', more about journalism than politics. He returned to the timeline in '79, with the political novel 'Mark Coffin USS' (tho the main relationship between the two books was that Hastings was a minor character in 'Mark Coffin USS's sequels). It was succeeded, by the two-part 'The Hill of Summer' & 'The Roads of Earth', which are true sequels to 'Mark Coffin USS' He also wrote stand-alone novels, 'Decision' & 'Pentagon', as well as several other fiction & non-fiction works. His political novels have been described as page-turners, set against the Cold War, with an aggressive USSR seeking to undermine the USA. Drury lived in Tiburon, CA from '64 until his '98 cardiac arrest. He'd completed his 20th novel, 'Public Men' set at Stanford, just two weeks before his death. He died on 9/2/98 at St Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco, on his 80th birthday. He never married.--Wikipedia (edited)

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the entire Advise and Consent series and loved every one of them. Decision is in the same vein. Great writing. If you enjoy reading about law and the Supreme Court, this is a very good book.

Although there are many story lines in this book, in the end, it is a story about what our system of justice means -- that no matter how despicable the crime or how despicable the person accused of committing the crime -- our system of justice is, and must be, follow the rule of law and all that means for everyone involved in the justice system -- prosecutors, defense counsel, defendants, and judges. There is no room for vigilantism as this book makes clear when things get out of hand with the "Justice Now" movement. As usual, Allen Drury has written a wonderful story about what really matters to our society.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Allen Drury wrote some fine books. "Advise and Consent" and the series of sequels it spawned were some of the best political fiction of all time. Later in his life and his career, Drury permitted his political philosophy to take over his writing, becoming (in my own words) "Allen Dreary." As I've gained some perspective, I've come to appreciate some of his instincts and his knowledge of political trends. But I draw the line at "Decision." The story, about a judicial case, is ridiculous and, in hindsight, this was a book I should have stopped reading before I made it to the 100th page. I didn't, however. I read it all the way to the last painful paragraph. Don't make the mistake I did. There are much better Drury books to read.

[Deborah Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story line but entirely too wordy and drawn out. This story could have been condensed from 502 pages into 250. He went in to too much political detail, but not enough details in a few other areas.

[Joan Vuncannon]

I read it in 1984, but I remember it as good.

[Barbara Wellnitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent descriptions and writing though a proofreader would have helped. Insight into the Supreme Court and government workings (or not).

[Pat Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Pulitzer Prize winner Allen Drury wrote Decision, the US was deeply entrenched in the Cold War, the crime rate in the US was sky-rocketing, domestic terrorists wore peace signs, black berets and tie-dyed shirts, and the Supreme Court was already a center of "judicial activism," with decisions like Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade.

Drury's power does not lie in elegant phrases and interesting metaphors, but in his profound understanding of how men and women in positions of power work with each other. Drury wrote of a Supreme Court under fire from both sides of the American political spectrum; a court which, although divided inside by the passions and beliefs of its associate justices, must present a united front to reach a decision. This was a Supreme Court just coming to realize the potentials of its power:

"They can't just arbitrarily set aside one sentence and impose another!" gasped the young lady from the Des Moines Register, a new reporter at the Court. "Who says they can't?" the Washington Post responded tartly. "They're the Supreme Court of the United States, aren't they? Who's to stop them?"

Drury wrote from a conservative stance, and at the time he wrote this novel, was still willing to embody reasonable people in his more-liberal characters. So we meet new Associate Justice Taylor Barbour, coming to the court after a whirlwind confirmation by a conservative Senate, appointed by the Eisenhower-esque President for whom he had served as Secretary of Labor. Barbour has a good friend and former Yale study-partner, Moss Pomeroy, already on the court. He comes to a court that is precariously balanced between conservative and liberal. Taylor Barbour intends to embody that balance within himself, as he has all his life.

As these events transpire in Washington, DC, a shadowy figure gradually emerges into the light in Moss Pomeroy's home state, South Carolina. At first glance, Earle Holgren is a survivalist living modestly to avoid detection. But we learn of the inheritance that bankrolls his bitter fanaticism and of his plan to "make a statement" about the local nuclear power plant that has finally been completed.

...He estimated that at the time of the explosion, it would be quite dark. It would be a pretty sight against the looming mountains and trees. It would flower like a fountain. It would be a rose of death... He neared the roped-off area where uniformed guards watched impassively as a small group, some students and some leftovers like himself from an earlier age, stomped and shouted, their placards proclaiming hatred, dire prediction and fear. He stopped for a moment and watched them with contempt. What children they were... He felt no community with them any more. His methods were more direct.

What makes this novel echo so eerily in this millennium is the central emotional issue in the subsequent trials of Earle Holgren. Taylor Barbour's bright daughter Janie is visiting Sarah Pomeroy on the day of the power station opening. The explosion kills Moss Pomeroy's daughter outright, but injures Jane Barbour severely, and as the trial commences, she is in a persistent vegetative state. Barbour must set these emotional reactions aside as the suspected perpetrator comes to trial, much as Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes advised a new colleague on the court in 1939:

Justice Douglas, you must remember one thing. At the constitutional level where we work, ninety per cent of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons for supporting our predilections. —The late Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, quoted by Justice William O. Douglas in his autobiography.

Drury's novel brings other characters into the fray: a huge national organization named Justice NOW! that seeks to strengthen criminal penalties, including the death penalty; as well as a curious amicus curiae filed on behalf of "CBS, et al" (the alii in that "et al" comprise all the major TV news broadcasters of the time) which seeks a judgment from the court to allow televising the execution of Earle Holgren, once his sentence has been imposed.

Allen Drury is always compelling reading, and of his novels, perhaps only his Pulitzer-winning Advise and Consent is more meaningful to current events than Decision. If your local library doesn't have them both, I'll be surprised.

[Berk Rourke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot rate this book as a five star. It has major gaps in it which needed to be filled and were not. How did Earle get out of prison? How did his attorney escape the metal detectors ubiquitously present in all prisons for lo these many years (at least 35 years I am aware of) in bring explosives and a gun into the prison. How did Earle use them to escape? How did he manage to escape a nation wide manhunt? How did he obtain a rifle and a pistol with silencers attached to them? Did superstar get them for him? And the callous and childish security present at the Supreme Court of the United States immediately after a major threat to its existence had been dealt with is childish in its nature. To expect a guard at the door of the Supreme Court to allow someone into the library of the court who says "A senator sent me," is childish and begs criticism which is entirely valid. I liked the potential of the story. I liked the descriptions of the characters, their lives and their attitudes. But some of the book defies all thought. I cannot support those kind of omissions.

[Bonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled to the half-way point before abandoning the effort, and completely concur with rater David's characterization of "ridiculous." The KIRKUS REVIEWS summary is spot-on: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re... . Don't waste your time on this one.

[Soriambi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller with a surprise ending.