Books: The Court and the Cussed Man

GIDEON'S TRUMPET by Anthony Lewis. 262 pages. Random House. $4.95.

Every so often a book appears that behaves like a minor classic almost from the day of publication, with warmly welcoming reviews, steady if not spectacular sales week after week, and a widening circle of quietly unanimous recognition for its unique excellences. In the three months since it came out, Anthony Lewis' Gideon's Trumpet has already established itself as that kind of book. It is not an out-of-the-way literary curiosity but something in some ways tougher to bring off: a sound, literate, readable introduction to an important though difficult subject—in this case,...