10 best classic political novels

3. The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon

The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon, Pocket Star, 368 pp.

This controversial and gripping 1959 novel tells the story of an American POW, brainwashed by the Chinese after being captured in Korea, who is sent home programmed to kill a US presidential candidate. Part science fiction novel, part psychological thriller, The Manchurian Candidate struck a chord when it was published a few years before the JFK assassination, but it's just as horrifying and enthralling today.

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