On Tuesday, Donald Rumsfeld—who, as defense secretary under George W. Bush, was a driving force behind the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—died. Major outlets wheeled out pre-written obituaries. The AP’s, by Robert Burns, bordered on hagiography. Its headline initially declared Rumsfeld “a cunning leader undermined by Iraq war”; that language was later changed to “cunning leader who oversaw a ruinous Iraq war,” but the opening paragraph still says that “try as he might,” Rumsfeld “could not outmaneuver the ruinous politics of the Iraq war,” as if he had been forced to play chess against a supercomputer. The Iraqi death toll from the war is not noted; the American death toll is—but not before Rumsfeld’s charitable work on behalf of veterans, his “accomplished” college wrestling career, and colleagues’ recollections of his smarts and patriotism. The first words of the article’s URL are “Chicago Bears,” a reference to the football team Rumsfeld supported as a kid. Because the AP is a wire service, the obituary was republished widely. Other prominent efforts were better, but did not adequately foreground the human cost of Rumsfeld’s military aggression: The New York Times addressed Iraq only after mentioning the records he broke as defense secretary (he was the youngest person in that post, under Gerald Ford, then the oldest, under Bush) and his reputation as a “combative infighter” who challenged “military orthodoxies.” The Washington Post described him as “controversial,” but... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2021-07-02 12:32:38 UTC ]
“Somewhere beneath the bugle blast, the beer bloat, the crush of bodies, I was part of something.” Kyle Seibel on attending the Gathering of the Kyles (in Kyle, Texas). | Lit Hub Memoir “I am talking, of course, about #Scandoval, a word that I, a lowly lifestyle journalist and nascent author,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-03-26 10:30:02 UTC ]
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Booksellers take stand against influence of conservative billionaire by limiting orders of his company’s books and placing them on lower shelvesA conservative Catholic billionaire and media owner is facing an independent bookshop rebellion in France over his influence in the publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-03-22 06:00:42 UTC ]
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Barbara Marcus, one of the most prominent and influential figures in children’s book publishing for decades, will step down as president and publisher of Random House Children’s Books on May 1. She will be succeeded by Mallory Loehr, currently EVP and publisher of the Random House Books for... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-03-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“Crucially, The Living Mountain needs to be understood as a parochial work in the most expansive sense.” Robert Macfarlane on Nan Shepherd’s uniquely poetic memoir of life in the Cairngorm Mountains. | Lit Hub Criticism “I went home and obeyed those directions for some three months, and came so... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-03-19 10:30:35 UTC ]
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This week, the hosts discuss Black Bag, Deli Boys, and the enduring legacy of Dave Eggers’ memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2025-03-19 07:20:00 UTC ]
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In the memoir “Firstborn,” Lauren Christensen writes about losing the daughter she was expecting. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2025-03-17 16:00:04 UTC ]
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Sam Altman, the OpenAI boss, has declared its new model ‘good at creative writing’. We asked writers including Tracy Chevalier, Kamila Shamsie and David Baddiel if they agreeThis week has seen writers divided over a story written by an AI model that is “good at creative writing” – at least... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-03-14 16:00:23 UTC ]
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SOIL will make you reconsider everything you think you know about nature (including your own connection to it). Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-03-14 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Whether the Meta boss and his ex-lieutenant Sheryl Sandberg are truly beyond awful is neither here nor there. I thought he was done with factcheckingI am as shocked as I am confused that Mark Zuckerberg is going all-out to block a memoir by Facebook’s former director of global public policy,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-03-14 12:37:30 UTC ]
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‘Careless People,’ which contains unflattering portrayals of Meta executives, is getting a sales boost despite attempts to stop its promotion. A new memoir that paints Facebook’s parent company and its executives in a negative light is rising on Amazon’s Best Sellers rankings faster than you... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2025-03-13 19:40:00 UTC ]
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His memoir “Growing Up” depicted her hometown “like a shining city on a hill.” Other authors who mean a lot to the musician (and now childrens’ book writer): Kevyn Aucoin and Hilary Mantel. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2025-03-13 09:00:09 UTC ]
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The new memoir about Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg is billed as an exposé – but it feels like a morality tale for our timesMany years ago, when Facebook was an entity most people had warm – or at least neutral – feelings towards, I visited the company’s HQ in Menlo Park, California. I admired the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-03-12 17:57:42 UTC ]
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Oprah Winfrey has chosen a new memoir by venture capitalist Amy Griffin for her book club Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2025-03-11 12:30:31 UTC ]
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“Careless People,” a memoir by a former Facebook executive, portrays feckless company leaders cozying up to authoritarian regimes. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2025-03-10 12:07:24 UTC ]
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Most musicians can only make money on the platform by writing songs inoffensive enough to get on to one of its vapid playlistsIn the hands of some of its most gifted practitioners, songwriting is a kind of emotional alchemy. For the past week, I have been returning to a perfect example: Every... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-03-09 16:38:43 UTC ]
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Peter Wolf befriended music legends, married a movie star and led the J. Geils Band. His new memoir reminds us: He was there. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2025-03-07 11:00:38 UTC ]
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A new memoir by the historian Martha S. Jones combines a trenchant analysis of race and the historical record with a homage to other Black women scholars. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2025-03-04 10:00:40 UTC ]
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At the 30th annual Audies, presented by the Audio Publishers Association and held in New York City on March 4, winners across 28 categories were announced. Barbra Streisand’s memoir took home the night's biggest honor, Audiobook of the Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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At last, it’s official: Andrew Cuomo is running for mayor of New York City.That sentence would have seemed inordinately strange a year or two ago. But Cuomo had been telegraphing for many months that he wanted to launch a comeback. And now he’s running, with a Manhattan launch event and... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2025-03-03 15:46:55 UTC ]
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