A right-wing candidate tries to unseat one of the dying breed of Republican Senate moderates during the primaries in this clever political satire written by a Harvard law professor. 

At the center of the action is Maine Senate candidate Peter MacTeague, president of fictional Brewster College. Set in 2004, long before the recent economic downturn, MacTeague is a strong advocate of unregulated markets. In the Republican primary, he appeals to the party’s base by proposing to abolish income tax. However, he’s hiding some big secrets. 

Polls show MacTeague ahead, until some strange events unfold. Late one night, drunken students kidnap Brewster College’s mascot mule and deposit him on the front porch of the president’s house. MacTeague’s efforts to cover up his whereabouts at the time of the mule’s delivery put him on the downhill slope to political ruin. 

Political intrigue is not usually funny. But in the case of Stubborn as a Mule, which spoofs braying asses in politics, academics and the media, it’s a winning formula.



About the Author

Originally from Augusta, Maine, R. H. Fallon Jr. has been a professor at Harvard Law School since 1982. He has written numerous books and articles, primarily focusing on constitutional law. This is his first novel. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, is a Rhodes Scholar, worked for a moderate Republican member of Congress and clerked for a justice of the Supreme Court.