(1990) introduces Richard "Willie" Wilson and his diverse Alpha Zeta fraternity brothers, who are beginning their senior year at "the University" as war in Europe looms on the horizon.

[1][6][7] It introduces Willie Wilson and his diverse Alpha Zeta fraternity brothers, who are beginning their senior year at "the University," unnamed, but matching the description of his alma mater, Stanford, as war in Europe looms on the horizon.

Kirkus Reviews gave this overview: Drury's saga is a cornucopia of controversial issues, with characters representing a veritable What's What of social ills: Bayard Johnson, the quiet African-American crossing the color line as a Stanford undergraduate; Rudy Krohl, the strident Aryan-American, intolerant and relentless in his defense of appeasement; "Duke" Offenberg, the resident Jew, burdened by his racial history and by current events; North McAllister, the tormented homosexual trying to keep his secret, but recklessly in love.

Not to mention the dumb jock, "Moose" Musavich; the crusading newspaper editor, Tim Bates; or the football team's favorite plaything, Suzy "Welcome" Waggoner ...

The world's problems find close quarters on campus in the context of daily life in a fraternity house, but are mostly held in check by the benign presence of Willie Wilson, student-body head and the archetypical Joe College.

Library Journal complimented the novel as "bustling" and "old-fashioned", conceding that "the large cast is initially confusing, and some awkward writing doesn't help, but the storytelling soon gathers momentum, engrossing the reader in the fate of the numerous characters.

There are some saving graces — the protagonist is not quite perfect, with a nice touch of arrogance that slightly humanizes him; and many readers will be surprised by which of the two women in his life finally gets the ring — but, overall, the book is a dreary bore.

Far down Palm Drive he could see the dusty summer green of the Oval, the bright mosaic front of the Memorial Church, the gentle outlines of the Coast Range rising beyond.

Publishers Weekly called Drury's final novel "one last hyperbolic salvo at those he deems culpable for America's plummeting moral, cultural and political values" and suggested that "the story crumbles beneath the weight of its own world-weariness and despair for a nation that no longer measures up to the author's ideals.

"[2] The review also noted: Wilson and Suratt persist for decades in their barely civilized debate, fueling it with an inexhaustible supply of enmity and mutual jealousy.

[2]Erik Tarloff wrote in The New York Times, "the real problem with Public Men is less its political content than its inability to hit its chosen targets."

"[3] Mary Carroll of Booklist said of the book, "There's nothing subtle about the politics here, but readers who enjoyed Drury's earlier University novels will want to peruse the final leg of these public men's journey to that great frat house in the sky.

"[5] Barbara Conaty wrote for Library Journal: The novel is like the ultimate Christmas letter, offering chatty, reflective accounts of people just before death's threshold.