Note to the Reader
Most of the characters in this novel, and background of most of the events in it, have appeared in its predecessors, Advise and Consent and A Shade of Difference.
In Advise and Consent (1959) will be found the story of the nomination of Robert A. Leffingwell to be Secretary of State; the accession of Vice President Harley M. Hudson to the Presidency upon the sudden death of his predecessor; the successful Soviet manned landing on the moon; the death of Senator Brigham Anderson of Utah; the appointment of Senator Orrin Knox of Illinois to be Secretary of State following the defeat of Bob Leffingwell by the Senate. There, also, will be found the marriage of Orrin’s son Hal to Crystal Danta, the marriage of Senate Majority Leader Robert Munson of Michigan to Washington hostess Dolly Harrison, and many other episodes leading into later books.
In A Shade of Difference (1962) will be found the visit to South Carolina and New York of His Royal Highness Terence Wolowo Ajkaje, ruler of Gorotoland, with all its explosive effects upon the racial problems in the United States and the United Nations; the beginnings of the rebellion in Gorotoland which produces major events in Capable of Honor; the early stages of Ambassador Felix Labaiya’s activities in Panama, also inspiring major events in this novel; the opening moves of California’s Negro Congressman, Cullee Hamilton, in his race for the Senate; the opening moves of California’s Governor Edward M. Jason in his campaign for the Presidential nomination; the death of Senator Harold Fry of West Virginia and his decision to entrust his son Jimmy to Senator Lafe Smith of Iowa; and many other episodes leading into later books.
Running through both previous novels, through this and through Preserve and Protect yet to come-as it runs through our times-is the continuing argument between those who favor the responsible use of strength to oppose the communist drive for world domination, and those who hope to find in diplomatic negotiation and the refusal to employ force the surest path to a secure and stable world society.
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