SOURCE: "Insulting without Libel in a Satirical Novel," in The New York Times, September 18, 1991, p. C18.

In the review below, Mitgang discusses the targets of Condon's satire in The Final Addiction.

There's nobody else quite like Richard Condon writing satirical novels today. The singular Condon genre combines American politics, scoundrels in various corners of the world, linguistic shenanigans, cholesterol-loaded meals, cold warriors in intelligence agencies, legalized thievery in Washington and put-downs of the high and mighty everywhere. As the comedian Mort Sahl used to say in his nightclub act at the Hungry I in San Francisco. "Is there anyone here I haven't offended?"

The Final Addiction, Mr. Condon's 24th novel and may he go on forever, could be categorizedas a Reagan-Bush-Quayleera thriller. It's not so deliberately plotted as The Manchurian Candidate or Prizzi's Honor, but it's nearly as imaginative and even more outrageous. The remarkable achievement of Mr...