A sharply drawn send-up of Texas politics--from the Pulitzer Prize
winner and best-selling author--about a dark-horse candidate who risks
his personal life for a career in the Texas House of Representatives
Sonny Lamb is an affable, if floundering, rancher with the unfortunate
habit of becoming a punchline in his Texas hometown. Most recently, he
bought his own bull at auction, saving it from being sold to a
slaughterhouse. But when a fire breaks out at a neighbor's farm, Sonny
makes headlines in another way: not waiting for help, he bolts to the
farm and heroically saves the family's daughter and her horse, riding
the animal out of their burning barn. Within days of the event, he
attracts the notice of a mysterious man named L.D. who arrives at his
door and asks if he'd like to run as a Republican for his district's
representative seat. Though Sonny has zero experience and doesn't
consider himself political in the least, he decides to throw his hat in
the ring . . . and he wins.
As Sonny navigates life in politics--from running a campaign to
negotiating in the capitol--he must learn the ropes, weighing his own
ethics and environmental concerns against the pressures of veteran
politicians, savvy lobbyists, and his own party. In tracing Sonny's
attempt to balance his marriage and morality with an increasingly
volatile professional life, Lawrence Wright has crafted a hilarious,
immensely clever roller-coaster ride about one man's pursuit of goodness
in the Lonestar State.
