Novelist Andrew Craig has not been sober in a very long time. After losing his wife in an auto accident he believes to have been his own fault, he turned to the bottle, and to his sister-in-law, Leah, who acts as his caretaker and live-in nurse. Then, when he is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for his novel, "The Perfect State," a historical jab at communism, he heads for Stockholm, hoping to find a reason to live, and to write. The other laureates have their own problems, a heart surgeon who believes that sharing his award with an Italian colleague robs him of his glory, a married couple awarded the prize in medicine in the middle of a serious marital crisis, and others – including Max Stratman, whose heart isn't really up to the trip, but who needs the prize money to provide for niece, Emily. This novel delves into the lives, loves, dreams and nightmares of these characters, and others, building a panoramic view of the Nobel Prize, life in Stockholm, and the state of world politics in the years following World War II. It is rich and compelling, driving the reader from the pits of despair to the heights of inspiration. A wonderful novel by one of America's finest novelists. The Prize was made into a movie starring Paul Newman.

A black man as the President of the United States? Written in 1964, The Man was burned in states of the southern U.S. And banned in others as it rose to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, selling more than two million copies. Today it is more relevant than ever, when the possibility of an Afro-American president no longer seems an impossible dream. A series of accidents places mild-mannered Douglas Dillman in the White House. A gentleman who shirks publicity, he is now at the mercy of spotlight: he is plotted against by the Ku Klux Klan and other right-wing terrorists; while his own son, a black militant, accuses him of being dangerously conservative. Dillman faces impeachment and threats. One would-be murderer nearly made it to his home before being arrested. Actor James Earl Jones- who starred in the movie version of The Man, called it "a prophetic novel." It is considered by many to be Wallace's greatest achievement. About The Author: Irving Wallace was born in Chicago. His best-selling award-winning novels have been translated into numerous languages and have sold some 250 million copies around the world. He is considered one of the five most widely read authors of modern times."