Read about the other books on Lethem's list.The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
An abundance of weaker work has blotted out Condon's few best novels, which have a prescient paranoiac verve that holds up nicely -- he's sort of a pop Don Delillo. "Winter Kills," another splendid novel, was also made into a lesser-known but excellent film. Oddly, in the 1950s and '60s, Frank Sinatra made a habit of starring in films made from underrated novels: Both James Jones' "Some Came Running" and Roderick Thorp's "The Detective" are worth a closer look.
The Manchurian Candidate also appears among Barry Forshaw's top political thrillers.
--Marshal Zeringue
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