The title of the post refers to the book I plan to write about my days as a door-to-door fundraiser for the John Kerry campaign.
I've noticed a trend recently, maybe it's been going on for much longer, but it seems that everyone is writing a book about everything they've ever done.
I saw a woman on "The Daily Show" last night who is a former CIA operative, and she's written a book about the CIA between the time of the Iran-Contra affair and Sept. 11. (Not their greatest years, by the way)
When Jon Stewart asked her certain questions, she very glibly responded,"Well, I could answer that, but I'd have to kill you," and then giggled like a schoolgirl. Apparently, there are parts of the book that were vetted by the CIA and blacked out, and she kept the blackened passages in the book.
I guess I don't understand if she can't write anything that reveals new information or is at all helpful, what is the point of the book?
And even if she could write previously covert information, I wouldn't really want her to reveal anything, because it could conceivably endanger national security.
Maybe it's just me, but it's my understanding that if you're in the CIA, you really shouldn't be in the business of writing a tell-all book about it.
When did everyone who's ever done anything obtain a book deal?
Ari Fleischer, former Bush press secretary has written a book called "Taking the Heat." Now, I fully understand that being a White House press secretary is a tough job. I could not imagine standing in front of some of the best reporters in the country being peppered with question after question when your administration leaves as much to be desired as the Bush administration does.
However, do we really need to read about Fleischer's experiences? He was only the press secretary from 2001 to 2003, I believe. It's not as though he served under FDR. He served three years. What of interest could he possibly have to contribute?
I've been listening to him plugging his book on NPR, and trust me, folks, he's not saying anything shocking. He still defends Bush, so it's not as though the book will reveal that he had an attack of conscience for working for a soulless administration, and that's why he quit.
Nope; it's just a book about some schmoe who was on TV in front of the seal of the President for three years and has faded back into semi-obscurity.
I don't mean to be cranky about this; books are awesome, as long as they serve some useful purpose.
It just seems to me that merely doing your job well is no longer enough. People have to say,"Hey! Look what I did. I can't really talk about it much in any educational or entertaining fashion, but now you know who I am, and I get to do the talk shows."
Of course, all this being said, I'm still writing a book some day about...ME.
So, what do I know?
4 comments:
Well, maybe the advent of the not-so-tell-all book isn't such a bad thing. I might never get around to penning the great Australian-American novel, and ghostwriting for all those political blowhards will help pay the mortgage.
Duly noted, although I think the world would be missing out if you don't write the great Australian-American novel. You can call it "Crikey Moses."
i just wait for books to come out on cd, or i'll just catch it in the movie theatre. it's hard to read a book while eating popcorn with extra butter and drinking a 64 oz coke. and it's not nearly as much fun if you can't throw gubbers at the person 4 rows in front of you.
Why, yes...that is true. You can't throw goobers at people while reading a book.
That's all I can really manage to say about that.
Post a Comment