This book gives you a real feel for the soon-to-be post Eisenhower era (1959). The author captures the lives of foreign and American diplomats and journalists during the Cold War, complete with an adulterous love affair and the Kennedy-Nixon election. You get caught up in the characters' lives.
There's a lot of boozing and descriptions of the lifestyles of the characters in this book--Sort of a drama of the wealthy and powerful...