The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed; The Real David Stockman; Stockman: The Man, the Myth, the Future

David Stockman's account of his controversial tenure as President Reagan's director of the Office of Management and Budget (1981-85) is the most discussed political memoir of 1986, filled as it is with sharp, often contemptuous criticism of practically everybody in Washington, except for ideologically pure supply-siders. Mr. Stockman's self-portrait of a young man of prodigious energy, a quick, sharp mind, but adolescent sensibilities about politics and culture is confirmed in the two books about him. The Real David Stockman, by two associates of Ralph Nader, is, in a word, unfriendly. Stockman, by a journalist, is based on extensive interviews; although it notes the prodigy's blind spots, the overall tone is one of awe.