Capitol Offense, By Barbara Mikulski and Marylouise Oates (Dutton; $23.95; 312 pp.)

"For the next two weeks, I could barely keep track of all the advice people wanted to send my way. A few even came up with some actual information. Naturally, not everything I heard made me happy. On Thursday night, the Senate finally wrapped up several 12-hour days. . . . At first, the whole legislative battle was exciting. Then it became exacting. Finally, it reached the exhausting pain-in-the-neck state. I stumbled into my apartment long after the dinner hour. . . . I'd poured myself a glass of nice Chianti, plopped some diced onions and celery from the plastic bags into a pan with dash of olive oil, and was happily chunking up a passable eggplant. I popped the play button on my answering machine . . . when I heard the unfamiliar voice put in his two bits, 'Norie, Norie Gorzack. You better watch out, you know. You're treading on dangerous ground. . . . But the guys from Nam, guys from Delta Force, know you're up to the job. . . .' I played the recording through two more times, and then went back to my eggplant."