[conservative in nyc]

Kerry's own biographer admits the Christmas in Cambodia story is WRONG.

And Kerry has NO LEGITIMATE EXCUSE not to release his journals. The exclusivity agreement is a lie.

So says the Washington Post.

[shield]

bmp

[NavySEAL F-16]

The Kerry campaign has refused to release Kerry's personal Vietnam archive, including his journals and letters, saying that the senator is contractually bound to grant Brinkley exclusive access to the material. But Brinkley said this week the papers are the property of the senator and in his full control.

"I don't mind if John Kerry shows anybody anything," he said. "If he wants to let anybody in, that's his business. Go bug John Kerry, and leave me alone." The exclusivity agreement, he said, simply requires "that anybody quoting any of the material needs to cite my book."

Now, that's funny.

[GretchenM]

marker bump

[Paleo Conservative]

The Kerry campaign has refused to release Kerry's personal Vietnam archive, including his journals and letters, saying that the senator is contractually bound to grant Brinkley exclusive access to the material. But Brinkley said this week the papers are the property of the senator and in his full control.

This won't do Brinkley's academic reputation any good. He he!

[GretchenM]

I guess I should have expected this article to be marbled with syrupy pathos for the poor, besieged Brinkley but it's still difficult to stomach. "Brace yourself, Effie,"* before reading on.

Nobody picked on his Rosa Parks biography.

His cell phone is too full to receive any more messages. Reporters, sometimes four from one newspaper, call him hourly, demanding help in sorting fact from fabrication. The vets against Kerry go on cable TV and mischaracterize his work, he says. His knee needs surgery from too much running, his baby needs rocking, boxes in his new house need unpacking. His book editor needs his next manuscript. His New Yorker editor needs his next article. And NBC needs him to stop thinking like an academic and start talking like a pundit when it puts him on camera during next week's Republican National Convention.

This is an interesting tidbit from Brinkley, after spending time reading kerry journals and interviewing him: "His is a restless, restless mind."

And this: "said Brinkley, whose Republican parents are much prouder of his television commentary during the Reagan funeral than they are of his bestseller. 'I'm in the [political] center. I honestly have to tell you that's my framework.'"

*Oblique reference to Mrs. Doubtfire recounting marital relations with her "husband."

[LowNslow]

My distant cousin Stephen Ambrose is rolling in his grave.

It sounds to me by his words David Brinkley based his book almost entirely on Kerry's personal papers, individuals that John Hurley guided his way, and did little in depth or independent research.

Historian or Kerry Hack - you decide.

[NYCVirago]

This article says this about the latest version of Tour of Duty:

Brinkley has made corrections and revisions to the paperback version, he said, but most of those are minor, spelling errors and the like. A new introduction includes a fuller version of the Rassmann story; Brinkley said that Kerry couldn't recall the spelling of Rassmann's last name during their interviews, and the historian was unable to locate the Green Beret before his deadline.

But this isn't the first time the book had to be revised after being published. From an April Boston Globe article:

Brinkley and publisher William Morrow plan to release a revised edition of "Tour of Duty" in two weeks. "I started realizing, `I've got to fix this,' `I've got to fix that,' " Brinkley says. "Nobody believed we would get to this point where every aspect of the book is being dissected."

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/04/29/historians_duty_pr_for_kerry/