Milt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts and current Republican Presidential candidate, when asked on Fox News Channel what his favorite novel is, responded: Battlefield Earth, by L. Ron Hubbard. L. Ron Hubbard, of course, is the founder of Scientology (famously followed by Tom Cruise and others). Nothing more needs to be said.
Archive for the 'Books' Category
I have never, and imagine never will, really understood the obsession with Princess Diana. Yes, it was a tragedy that she died and the whole land mines thing was admirable, etc., etc.. Why on earth though are there 14 news books about her coming out this summer? And why are there over 180 books about her already published in the first place? Someone explain this to me. Can we at least agree that had she not died so young in an accident there wouldn’t be this level of interest?
I understand that sometimes famous people are either too busy or unskilled to write their own books, hence the heavy use of ghostwriters. Often this is for the best as an incoherent, awful book actually written by a famous person is obviously worse then a book written by a ghostwriter that incorporates the famous person's ideas/thoughts/words. Having said that, its probably a good idea to, you know, read the book that is purported to be yours. Case in point, former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX):
Appearing on Hardball with Chris Matthews to promote his new book, No Retreat, No Surrender, it's clear former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) didn't write it and perhaps never even read it before it was published.
Matthews asked DeLay about passages in his book where described former Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX) as "drunk with ambition." Amazingly, DeLay denied writing that, even after Matthews showed him the underlined passage in his own book. (Political Wire)
Here's the actual video of the whole exchange:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvOugoeztB0[/youtube]
I don't have the stomach to even attempt to talk about Dinesh D’Souza's latest book (just thinking about it makes me gag) but needless to say (then why am I saying it?) its trash on a level with Ann Coulter and the rest of that ilk. Just because I don't want to review it doesn't mean other's haven't. Here's a passage from Alan Wolfe's review that I think sums up my feelings quite nicely:
At one point in “The Enemy at Home,” D’Souza appeals to “decent liberals and Democrats” to join him in rejecting the American left. Although he does not name me as one of them, I sense he is appealing to people like me because I write for The New Republic, a liberal magazine that distances itself from leftism. So let this “decent” liberal make perfectly clear how thoroughly indecent Dinesh D’Souza is. Like his hero Joe McCarthy, he has no sense of shame. He is a childish thinker and writer tackling subjects about which he knows little to make arguments that reek of political extremism. His book is a national disgrace, a sorry example of a publishing culture more concerned with the sensational than the sensible. People on the left, especially those who have been subjects of D’Souza’s previous books, will shrug their shoulders at his latest screed. I look forward to the reaction from decent conservatives and Republicans who will, if they have any sense of honor, distance themselves, quickly and cleanly, from the Rishwain research scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Amen brother, amen. For further entertainment involving D'Souze looking like a fool, I refer you to this video of his appearance on the Colbert Report (via Andrew Sullivan).
I like reading books. During my carefree days of unemployment I was reading, on average, four a week, generally non-fiction but every once and a while I'd spice things up with a novel. Now that my work circumstances have changed (in that I have I have a job, actually two) my reading pace has fallen off a cliff. I'm right around finishing one book every week and a half and to be honest its probably closer to a book every two weeks. Its pathetic and I plan on picking up the pace shortly.
Having said all that, I notice to my chagrin that I haven't read a single book on the NY Times' 100 Notable Books of the Year (via Jill). Not a one. How this is possible I'm not sure but, sad to say, it is true. If my Dad were to find that out he'd ridcule me and beat me, just like he did when I was a kid and he caught me at pre-school wearing girls clothes (long story, all of which is true except the beating part. Or the ridiculing part). Luckily for me he hasn't quite figured out the connecting tubes that make up the internets. Regardless I'm making it through as many of those books as I can, starting, I think, with Thomas Ricks' Fiasco.
The moms and I went to Politics and Prose yesterday to check out Ron Suskind, author of "A Hope in the Unseen", "The Price of Loyality" and his latest effort "The One Percent Doctrine". I enjoyed his previous two books and imagine I'll enjoy the new one. "The One Percent Doctrine" is about foreign policy under the Bush Adminstration in general and more specifically how it was developed in the aftermath of 9/11. Should be, at the least, an interesting read.
As an aside, I intended to review books as I finished them and post the reviews here but I'm a little behind. The book featured to the right, "The Queen of the South", I actually finished a couple of weeks ago and I've since read three other books, so clearly I need to get my act together on that end. I'll get around to it shortly, I promise.
The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11