Dr. Bruce Gold, a Jewish, middle-aged university English professor, unhappily married, hated by his father and brother and ignored by his children.

He is the author of one book, four essay collections, "derivative" short stories and "atrocious" poems.

Because he has favorably reviewed a book by the US president, he is offered the chance for success in the form of the job as the first-ever Jewish Secretary of State.

Gore Vidal listed Good as Gold as one of his five favorite post-World War II novels, describing it as Heller "at his deadly best, illuminating a hustler on the make in politics".

[3] The New York Times reviewer John Leonard called Good as Gold a "savage" novel, "a nightmare of abuse and opportunism, of surreal graffiti...a nursery rhyme laced with acid.