Having emerged from two days with Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, I guess I’ll have to play catch-up on the novels issue.
If we’re violating the 25-year rule, there’s absolutely no contest: Flashman at the Charge by George MacDonald Fraser (1973) is simply the best novel I’ve ever read, of any vintage.
Should we return to the original premise, I’ve got to nominate Christopher Buckley’s The White House Mess (1986). I’ve given so many copies as gifts I regrettably — very regrettably — no longer even own a copy.
