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 ]
Vera, a cello player and Scrabble devotee, has been a New York Times subscriber for the past 75 years, developing her print habit somewhere around the Truman administration. These days, she's reading stories about Eugene O'Neill, TV dinners, book publishing and "getting older without getting... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2022-02-07 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Containers full of books at the bottom of the ocean are just one problem for an industry facing a host of shortagesThe supply chain crisis over the last year has caused quite a splash for the book publishing industry – literally.In early January, a large shipping vessel coming from Taiwan was... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-02-07 07:00:04 UTC ]
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The former defense secretary dropped a lawsuit against the Defense Department after it reversed decisions on what parts of his memoir were to be redacted, his lawyer said. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-02-05 17:11:36 UTC ]
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In this memoir of his early career, Amartya Sen emphasizes the rewards of an open-minded approach to the world. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-04 13:00:36 UTC ]
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Former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder sells a book about voting rights to One World, Random House buys a memoir from Deadwood creator David Milch, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In “Enough Already,” the veteran actor dishes about marriage, motherhood and what really matters to her right now. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-02-03 10:00:02 UTC ]
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Swift Press has acquired Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me after its author and original publisher Picador ‘parted company’ last month following widespread criticism of the bookAn independent publisher, Swift Press, has acquired Kate Clanchy’s Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-02-01 10:50:18 UTC ]
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The Broadway star is writing a memoir with the help of a journalist who encouraged her to share what she’s really like, alter ego and all. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-01-28 20:55:08 UTC ]
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A Life With Footnotes, by the late author’s former assistant and friend, has been authorised by Pratchett’s estate and is due to be released in SeptemberRob Wilkins, Terry Pratchett’s former assistant and friend, is writing the official biography of the late Discworld author, which will move... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-01-26 11:21:41 UTC ]
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Stephen Rubin, a consulting publisher at Simon & Schuster US, has written a behind the scenes memoir, Words and Music: Confessions of an Optimist, to be published by Applause Books in the US in January 2023. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-24 03:29:19 UTC ]
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Penguin Press buys a new novel from Celeste Ng, William Barr sells a memoir to Morrow, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Gill Books has pre-empted a "winding and bucolic" lockdown memoir by John Connell. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-18 15:05:08 UTC ]
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“Free,” by Lea Ypi, is a memoir about growing up in Albania amid the fall of communism. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-01-18 10:00:04 UTC ]
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Before he helped bring down Richard Nixon, the reporter grew up in a school of hard knocks. His memoir is a treasureFew reporters are synonymous with their craft. Bob Woodward of the Washington Post is one, his former partner, Carl Bernstein, another. Together, they broke open the Watergate... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-01-16 07:00:43 UTC ]
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A memoir by a man who has drawn caricatures for the greatest editors is a treasure trove of the American mid-century modernAt 92, Edward Sorel is the grand old man of New York magazines. For 60 years, his blistering caricatures have lit up the pages of Harper’s, the Atlantic, Esquire, Time,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-01-15 07:00:17 UTC ]
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I should preface this by saying that I’m a big fan of Steph Curry. He’s indisputably the greatest shooter of all time. He’s done more to revolutionize the game (for both good and ill I would argue, but that’s a discussion for another day…) than any other player of his generation. He proved the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-14 18:13:15 UTC ]
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The ’90s are back, as if they could ever truly peace out. Between Fear Street and Captain Marvel and the Alanis Morissette musical, the last mostly-offline decade is getting a gargantuan nostalgia polish. For my memoir Sticker—an exploration of my childhood in Charlottesville, Virginia via 20... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-01-14 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Grand Central buys a memoir from members of the U.K.’s first all-female rock group, Amy Fusselman sells a novel to Mariner, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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An “exhilarating and insightful” memoir of life as a fighter pilot from Commander Paul Tremelling has been signed by Penguin Michael Joseph. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-14 01:50:19 UTC ]
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“‘High-Risk.’ Was I that? What did those words even mean?” Edgar Gomez on sex, desire, and going on PrEP. | Lit Hub Memoir David Hollander considers how fiction can save us from despair. | Lit Hub “The true story of the diary’s composition reveals how much thought and effort Anne put into... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-13 11:30:16 UTC ]
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