Richard Perle’s «Hard Line» is not a historical novel, but neither is it pure fantasy. The President of the United States bears the traits of Ronald Reagan: a patriarch, a firm and straightforward politician, able to rise above prevailing opinions, an idealist-pragmatist, confident in the ultimate triumph of good over evil. We can assume that Secretary of Defense Ryder has similarities with Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of State Winthrop resembles George Schultz, and Ambassador Moore resembles Ambassador Paul Nitze. But that’s not the main point.
Perle shows the reader with great conviction — thanks to his enormous knowledge of the material — the level at which politics is actually «made.» It is the level of deputy cabinet members preparing various, often competing, options. This is the level at which Richard Perle himself worked, and where he placed his hero, Michael Waterman, and his main opponent, Dan Bennett.
Hard Line
Pearl Richard. Hard Line. — Moscow School of Political Studies, 2001. — 432 p.
