Dear Great Book Guru,  I was at a great family reunion last week in Point Lookout, a community that reminds me a lot of Sea Cliff, when a group of partygoers left to finish the night’s festivities at a new restaurant right on Lido Boulevard: J.A. Heneghan’s Tavern.  What a fabulous place! Named after the iconic John Anthony Heneghan, it combines the feel of a cozy Irish pub in the front and a lovely, romantic restaurant in the back. Well, while I was there one of the patrons began talking about a controversial new book about TV’s role in local and national politics.  I can’t find it listed anywhere. Any thoughts?     Fan of J.A. Heneghan’s

Dear Fan of J.A. Heneghan’s,  I too love this restaurant with its fun atmosphere and delicious food! The book you are looking for was just published this week and “controversial” is putting it mildly. THE LOUDEST VOICE IN THE ROOM by Gabriel Sherman is an unauthorized biography of TV mogul Roger Ailes, who singlehandedly has shaped the political climate of this country beginning with his grooming of presidential candidate Richard Nixon- many believe Nixon would never have been elected without Ailes’s  coaching.  The Florida recount, the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, the emergence of the Tea Party, the alleged War on Christmas, the Sarah Palin candidacy  are just a small part of the Ailes’s legacy,  leading many including President Obama to call him “the most powerful man in America.”  While a fascinating look into the life of one man, the book is much more: it is a study of power and the ease with which a nation can be manipulated.  Terrifying!