in our symposium as a WFB starting point are the Blackford Oakes novels. For the nonpolitical type, especially, it might open minds. It’s been years, but I remember reading them all one summer in high school. I remember my Dad reading them all one winter; after I gave him every last one for Christmas. I’ve never known one not to get hooked. Those two seasons were the only times I wondered, “I wonder if I could write fiction. If he does it, it must be good.”