Primary Colors (novel)

Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics
Author"Anonymous"
later revealed as Joe Klein
LanguageEnglish
GenrePolitical novel
PublisherRandom House
Publication date
January 16, 1996
Publication placeUnited States
Media typeHardcover and Paperback
Pages366 (hc)
ISBN0-679-44859-4 (hc)
OCLC33166616
813/.54 20
LC ClassPS3550.A1 P75 1996
Followed byThe Running Mate 

Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics is a 1996 book by columnist Joe Klein, published anonymously, about the presidential campaign of a southern governor. It is a roman à clef (a work of fiction based on real people and events) about Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign in 1992. It was adapted as a film of the same name in 1998.

The book has been compared to two other novels about American politics: Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men (1946)[1] and O: A Presidential Novel (2011).[2]

Klein was identified as the author several months after its publication. He wrote a sequel, The Running Mate in 2000, focusing on Primary Colors character Charlie Martin.[3]

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