Page-Turner - Criticism, contention, and conversation about books that matter.

August 27, 2008

Simon Says What?!

Since the various machinations of publishers are of specific interest to us Book Benchwarmers, my heart sank like a leaky swift boat to see Simon & Schuster, publisher of “All the President’s Men,” put out the error-strewn “Obama Nation,” by Jerome Corsi; Rick Hertzberg, er, flushed the publisher on his blog a couple of weeks ago, then followed up in this week’s Comment. Contradiction, even hypocrisy, seems to be a lamentable trait of mammoth publishers. But is it avoidable? How can Alice Mayhew, who edited “Men,” work for the same employer as Mary Matalin, Corsi’s editor, without the clash hitting a schism-starting number on the Richter scale? Caroline Kroll Reidy, the president of Simon & Schuster, has suggested that Threshold, the conservative imprint that published “Nation,” rounds out the S & S title list, but books like “Obama Nation” are a disservice not only to those they mean to smear, but to those whose voice they claim to represent. No group appreciates being pandered (or lied) to—if it’s smart.

Need to get more worked up? No problem:

1. On Media Matters, a case-by-case rebuttal.

2. Charles Kaiser’s Full Court Press blog.

3. “The goal is to defeat Obama.” Corsi, quoted in the Times.

4. Where you’d least expect it: Commentary.

5. An interview on NPR’s “On the Media,” with Kaiser and Eric Boehlert.

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