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 ]
The perks were few and far between when I was an editorial assistant in book publishing in the early aughts. Mostly I did the job for the books and the proximity to authors and the occasional access to free leftover sandwiches from some lunchtime meeting or other (I was also lucky to do this... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-06 08:55:08 UTC ]
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Source Code: My Beginnings, out next year, will include ‘some of the tougher parts’ of the entrepreneur’s early lifeBill Gates has announced that he will be telling his “origin story” in a memoir due to be published next year.Source Code: My Beginnings will cover the businessman and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-06-04 16:02:08 UTC ]
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Reading Anna Akbari’s memoir of online manipulation, you think you’ve seen it all — then you keep reading. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-06-04 14:30:08 UTC ]
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Two interlocking thrillers, demonic possession in the suburbs, a Cambodian memoir told through food, and more of today's best book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-06-03 15:00:00 UTC ]
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“As I became more entrenched in the White nationalist movement, I gained more power to cause more harm to people and society in ways I came to deeply regret.” R. Derek Black on the extreme ideology of their upbringing and how young White nationalists are programmed to hate. | Lit Hub Memoir “I... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-30 10:30:30 UTC ]
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If you couldn't access the Internet Archive and its Wayback Machine over the past few days, that's because the website has been under attack. In fact, the nonprofit organization has announced that it's currently in its "third day of warding off an intermittent DDoS cyber-attack" in a blog post.... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-05-29 03:59:50 UTC ]
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A tribute to Paul Auster, featuring Siri Hustvedt, Don DeLillo, JM Coetzee, and more. | Lit Hub “I’ve had to forgive myself for what I chose not to see. For choosing myself.” Nina St. Pierre on understanding and accepting a schizophrenic mother. | Lit Hub Memoir James Shapiro on Willa Cather and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-28 10:30:47 UTC ]
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Caleb Carr, a military historian and bestselling author of "The Alienist," made his last book a touching memoir of life and love with a feline companion. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-05-26 19:05:41 UTC ]
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This memoir by a gay Appalachian man is about reckoning with a homophobic family but one full of love, forgiveness, and understanding. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-24 13:00:00 UTC ]
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The events will showcase writers and speakers from countries in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa to UK audiences, and feature up-and-coming UK writers selected as part of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 2023 list.This specially selected event series brings together our work with the... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2024-05-24 10:51:02 UTC ]
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I had a conversation recently with a friend whose debut memoir is coming out soon, about the dread he feels at the idea of his father reading his book. I think pretty much every memoirist faces a version of this critical moment—when we have to face the fact that all of the vulnerable, private... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-24 08:55:44 UTC ]
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Poets write some of the best memoirs, and this one will have you feeling like you're in each of these cities. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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AudioFile recommends 10 excellent new audiobooks for spring, including masterful new works from Hanif Abdurraqib, Percival Everett, and more. Whether you’re looking for a memoir told in the author’s own voice or a fascinating novel performed by professional narrators, you’ll find something... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2024-05-21 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Paul Scheer's memoir-in-essays, 'Joyful Recollections of Trauma,' centers largely around the abuse he and his mother suffered at the hands of his stepfather. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-05-21 10:00:29 UTC ]
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When my daughter was a year old, my mother handed me a worn-out copy of Pearl S. Buck’s The Child Who Never Grew (1950). The act of giving me this book felt significant, like an inheritance that she passed on to me. She, as the mother of a child with disabilities, passed it on to […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-20 08:55:53 UTC ]
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Yesterday, the iconic Riot Grrrl Kathleen Hanna published a memoir with Ecco/HarperCollins. And Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk is already being touted as an “electric, searing” history from one of rock’s biggest icons. Unfortunately, the book has some competition. From a nefarious bevy... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-15 16:58:59 UTC ]
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The Lit Hub Author Questionnaire is a monthly interview featuring seven questions for five authors with new books. This month we talk to: * Noé Álvarez (Accordion Eulogies: A Memoir of Music, Migration, and Mexico) Anna Dorn (Perfume & Pain) Abby Geni (The Body Farm) Aimee Nezhukumatathil... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-14 08:56:57 UTC ]
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“I had assumed my mother had written a novel about real estate—after all the title was A Hot Property…” Kate Feiffer on reading her mother’s x-rated novel and considering female-authored erotica as a form of social critique. | Lit Hub Memoir Jessica Shattuck recommends a reading list of of the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-13 10:30:32 UTC ]
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How Fall Became The Big Season in Publishing, SHOGUN Season 2 news, a RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE sequel, and Amazon's Big Book Sale is Live...and Good. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-10 18:14:10 UTC ]
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Atria lands a memoir by ‘Ted Lasso’ costar Brendan Hunt; Viking takes Lindsay Owens’s exploration of price gouging, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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