Posted on 06/25/2005 7:07:58 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Every once in a while, something hits your desk and makes you wonder whether there really isn't an argument to be made for book burning.
Edward Klein's "The Truth About Hillary" — a purported biography of the New York senator and former first lady, which arrived this week — is precisely that sort of something.
Prurient in its focus, shameless in its methodology and vile in execution, this volume is a near-perfect example of what has come to be called "bio-porn," a particularly noxious subgenre of the polemic literature that nowadays infests our bestseller lists.
A book like this does not have a publisher so much as it does an aider and abettor — called Adrian Zackheim, who runs Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin U.S.A. established to bring to market the "conservative" titles that lately have been reliable moneymakers. The problem with an enterprise conceived to pick conservative pockets rather than address conservative consciences is that it tends to miss some of the movement's finer points — such as self-restraint and civility. But even now, few serious conservatives are willing to stand by and watch them trampled quite as wantonly as Klein has done.
"Mr. Klein's problem," Peggy Noonan wrote this week, "is that he assumes the market is conservative and conservatives are stupid. They're not, actually." The former speechwriter for President Reagan went on to call the book "poorly written, poorly thought, poorly sourced and full of the kind of loaded language that is appropriate to a polemic, but not an investigative work."
The New York Post's John Podhoretz described Klein's book as "one of the most sordid volumes I've ever waded through."
Just how sordid?
Well, it even triggered the gag reflex on Fox News, where Bill O'Reilly announced on-air that he would not interview Klein.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I'm actually a bit surprised at the otherwise much revered Peggy Noonan's negative view of Klein's book.
Char :)
Feeble attempt on the Beast's part to numb the public down.
Well if Peggy feels that strongly against the book, and the MSM is suggesting book burnings and trying to blackball the book...I think I'll break my cardinal rule of never buying nor reading a book concerning the Clinton's out of principle.
Per Rush's opinion that some of these "conservatives" denouncing the book are trying to get in the MSM's graces to show they aren't rabid Hillary haters. May be some truth to that.
Personally I don't see the need for such extremisism on the part of these people if they don't like the book. I didn't advocate we burn Kitty's book and Klein supposedly has a good reputation. She did not. Good grief.
I like Peggy, but it's not like she doesn't have a dog in this fight.
The question to be answered is, "Is the information in the book substantially correct?" I suspect it is.
I get the feeling that the info is correct. Also that the book "hits below the belt." So is it fair? I wouldn't want to say. Maybe not fair, but still true? I put a request in for the book at our local library...
I'd say it is recompense for the Clinton Machine Tactics which are coming around to bite Hillary on the butt. They don't deserve any better treatment for what they did to the country.
Genralizations don't cut it when it's all there in black and white. If the book is innacurate, show us where in the text it's inaccurate. If it hits below the belt, refer to the text and tell us why.
Make that "generalizations."
Hillary's media minions.
I am listening to the audiobook now. Having read a few books on the Clintons, most notably "Deriliction of Duty" and "Unlimited Access", I tend to believe every word I am hearing. All this stuff about the domestic staff being forbidden to look her directly in the eyes, and people ducking in offices to avoid her just sounds too authentic to me.
Also, I cannot believe the average person would find nothing unusual in the fact that Hilliary's billing statements for the Rose Law Firm miraculously were 'found' two days after the statute of limitations expired on the Whitewater scandal.
Among other things.
Exactly right!
Thanks for the ping!
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