Yet another literary hoax or fraud has been uncovered in the publishing field. And, once again, Oprah Winfrey has played a role in promoting and marketing it.
With memories of James Frey’s fiction-peddled-as-fact A Million Little Pieces still fresh in many readers’ minds comes the revelation that the Holocaust love story of Herman and Rosa Rosenblat, scheduled to have been published in book form next month by Berkley under the title Angel at the Fence, is at least substantially the product of Herman’s imagination.
Details of the story as revealed on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” had troubled some Holocaust scholars for a while, but it was the persistent objections of Professor Ken Waltzer, the director of the Jewish Studies program at Michigan State University, that led to a written retraction by Herman Rosenblat last week. He confessed that the story of how he met his wife in a concentration camp was an invention.
For publishers Berkley, indignation, a hasty cancellation of February’s release of the title, and an angry demand for the return of all advance monies from the author and his agent, Andrea Hurst, has obscured their responsibility in the near-publication of a work of fiction in the guise of biography.
The questions arise once again: how much responsibility falls on the shoulders of the publisher to ensure that a work promoted as factual conforms strictly to the truth? Few would argue that Berkley should rely strictly on the word of the author and agent as to the veracity of the story being offered, but how far should due diligence extend? If an alarm bell goes off in reading the manuscript, what obligation does the publisher bear in proving or disproving the claims of the author?
What portion of the burden should be borne, if any, by the literary agent peddling the work? Is there any ethical responsibility on the part of any of the parties in relation to the readers? And hasn’t Oprah learned her lesson yet? She’s done a tremendous job in promoting literature, authors, and the publishing industry, but what responsibility does she bear to determine the authenticity of a work? Is the science of fact-checking dead?
I’d be interested in the reader’s opinions on these questions.
Another Million Little Pieces
1 January 2009
01 January 2009
30 December 2008
Janeology: A Review
The recent headlines in newspapers and on cable news shows regarding Casey Anthony, the Orlando woman accused of murdering her three year old daughter Caylee, bring back haunting memories of other headlines from previous years of mothers accused of killing their children. Andrea Yates, a Houston woman, drowned her five children in a bathtub on 20 June 2001. Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, rolled her Mazda Protégé into John D. Long Lake in October 1994 with her three year old and fourteen month old sons locked in the back seat.
Questions surface in the national discussion after episodes like these occur. What kind of a monster is able to kill her children? What could possibly have driven her to such an act? Why did she have to take the lives of innocent kids?
Each case has its own answers. Anthony, who is still presumed innocent pending trial, presents the profile of a woman who enjoyed the party scene and may have considered a child as a hindrance in her pursuit of that lifestyle. Smith apparently sought a relationship with a wealthy local businessman who had no interest in an entangling family. Yates suffered mental illness due to severe post-partum depression, according to the verdict at her appellate trial.
But is there anything that weaves the cases of these women together, some common causality that drove them to commit their horrendous crimes? Is there a pattern that lies behind the obvious illness each woman suffered?
These questions have intrigued Karen Harrington, a Texas native and mother of two daughters. The result of her ponderings is her debut novel, Janeology.
In her story, Jane Nelson, wife of Tom and mother of twins Simon and Sarah, snaps one fine Texas morning and drowns the twins in the kitchen sink. Sarah fortunately survives the episode, while Simon does not. Jane is brought to trial and found not guilty by reason of insanity. All of this is revealed and disposed of in the first two dozen pages of the book. Commendably, Harrington does not dwell on the unsavory and shocking crime itself. She is more concerned with the “why” behind it.
Around a year after the “not guilty” verdict is handed over, the prosecutor’s office prefers charges against Jane’s husband Tom for child endangerment and neglect. He certainly should have known that his wife was mentally unstable and unfit to be left alone with her children while Tom went off to work as a professor at a local college. It is this turn of events that propels the book into its consideration of the roles of “nature versus nurture” in the development of the mental illness that drove Jane to her crime.
The fundamental questions underlying the novel are articulated by one of the characters late in the story:
“…which came first, motherhood or the insanity? Did having children so overwhelm her that it triggered her madness? If she had been childless, would her latent insanity have stayed a secret? And if that’s true, are there thousands of childless women whose sanity stays in check only because they’ve never owned a Sippy Cup? Chicken/egg? Mother/killer?”
The questions are explored in an unraveling of Jane’s life and that of her immediate ancestors in a series of vignettes that form the core of the book. Harrington does yeoman’s work in peeling back the onion of Jane’s family history through this device, adopting different voices and styles as she probes the murky influences on a seemingly normal, loving wife and mother in contemporary America.
There are no hard and fast answers revealed in Janeology; the superficial reader may be disappointed in the lack of concrete conclusions drawn and tied up neatly with a bow at the end of the story. This perception would be unfortunate. Like all good literature, the journey is worth more than the destination. Harrington pokes the reader into thinking through the story’s issues and drawing his own conclusions.
Janeology has been described as a legal thriller; this overstates the case, as it can be argued that it’s neither a legal story nor a thriller. Rather, it is a quiet, reflective work of psychological inquiry that induces the reader to consider the intricacies of both the human mind and the influence of family on the formation of character and personality. In this work, Karen Harrington succeeds admirably in revealing the depth and development of her two principal characters and displaying her own talent in telling a compelling story in superb fashion.
Janeology is Harrington’s debut novel. This reader is licking his chops at the prospect of reading more of her work in the future.
Janeology, by Karen Harrington. Available in hardcover from Künati, Inc., publishers. 246 pages.
Janeology: A Review
Kenneth M. Rhodes
30 December 2008
Questions surface in the national discussion after episodes like these occur. What kind of a monster is able to kill her children? What could possibly have driven her to such an act? Why did she have to take the lives of innocent kids?
Each case has its own answers. Anthony, who is still presumed innocent pending trial, presents the profile of a woman who enjoyed the party scene and may have considered a child as a hindrance in her pursuit of that lifestyle. Smith apparently sought a relationship with a wealthy local businessman who had no interest in an entangling family. Yates suffered mental illness due to severe post-partum depression, according to the verdict at her appellate trial.
But is there anything that weaves the cases of these women together, some common causality that drove them to commit their horrendous crimes? Is there a pattern that lies behind the obvious illness each woman suffered?
These questions have intrigued Karen Harrington, a Texas native and mother of two daughters. The result of her ponderings is her debut novel, Janeology.
In her story, Jane Nelson, wife of Tom and mother of twins Simon and Sarah, snaps one fine Texas morning and drowns the twins in the kitchen sink. Sarah fortunately survives the episode, while Simon does not. Jane is brought to trial and found not guilty by reason of insanity. All of this is revealed and disposed of in the first two dozen pages of the book. Commendably, Harrington does not dwell on the unsavory and shocking crime itself. She is more concerned with the “why” behind it.
Around a year after the “not guilty” verdict is handed over, the prosecutor’s office prefers charges against Jane’s husband Tom for child endangerment and neglect. He certainly should have known that his wife was mentally unstable and unfit to be left alone with her children while Tom went off to work as a professor at a local college. It is this turn of events that propels the book into its consideration of the roles of “nature versus nurture” in the development of the mental illness that drove Jane to her crime.
The fundamental questions underlying the novel are articulated by one of the characters late in the story:
“…which came first, motherhood or the insanity? Did having children so overwhelm her that it triggered her madness? If she had been childless, would her latent insanity have stayed a secret? And if that’s true, are there thousands of childless women whose sanity stays in check only because they’ve never owned a Sippy Cup? Chicken/egg? Mother/killer?”
The questions are explored in an unraveling of Jane’s life and that of her immediate ancestors in a series of vignettes that form the core of the book. Harrington does yeoman’s work in peeling back the onion of Jane’s family history through this device, adopting different voices and styles as she probes the murky influences on a seemingly normal, loving wife and mother in contemporary America.
There are no hard and fast answers revealed in Janeology; the superficial reader may be disappointed in the lack of concrete conclusions drawn and tied up neatly with a bow at the end of the story. This perception would be unfortunate. Like all good literature, the journey is worth more than the destination. Harrington pokes the reader into thinking through the story’s issues and drawing his own conclusions.
Janeology has been described as a legal thriller; this overstates the case, as it can be argued that it’s neither a legal story nor a thriller. Rather, it is a quiet, reflective work of psychological inquiry that induces the reader to consider the intricacies of both the human mind and the influence of family on the formation of character and personality. In this work, Karen Harrington succeeds admirably in revealing the depth and development of her two principal characters and displaying her own talent in telling a compelling story in superb fashion.
Janeology is Harrington’s debut novel. This reader is licking his chops at the prospect of reading more of her work in the future.
Janeology, by Karen Harrington. Available in hardcover from Künati, Inc., publishers. 246 pages.
Janeology: A Review
Kenneth M. Rhodes
30 December 2008
27 December 2008
TWOBT
(This Weekend on Book TV)
Schedule for Book TV on C-SPAN 2 this weekend (27-8 December):
Time
(ET) Duration
(approx.) Program
Author(s)
12:00 AM 56 min 2008 Miami Book Fair: Dave Barry and Frank McCourt
Authors: Dave Barry; Frank McCourt
1:00 AM 1 hr, 2 min 2008 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books: Moments that Shaped America Panel
Authors: Douglas Brinkley; Michael Eric Dyson; Edward Humes; Elizabeth Taylor; Bruce Watson
2:00 AM 47 min Julia Keller "Mr. Gatling’s Terrible Marvel"
Author: Julia Keller
2:45 AM 14 min Interview with Sara Nelson, Publisher Weekly
Author: Sara Nelson
3:00 AM 1 hr After Words: Amity Shlaes, author of "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression" interviewed by Nick Gillespie
4:00 AM 59 min After Words: Niall Ferguson author of "The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World" interviewed by Adrian Wooldridge, Washington bureau chief for The Economist
5:00 AM 1 hr, 26 min 2008 National Book Awards Ceremony
Author: 2008 National Book Awards
6:30 AM 27 min 2008 National Book Festival: Immaculee Ilibagiza, "Led by Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide"
Author: Immaculee Ilibagiza
7:00 AM 1 hr, 1 min After Words: Sir David Frost author of "Frost/Nixon: Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews" interviewed by Timothy Naftali, Director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library
8:00 AM 48 min You Are Not Forgotten: A Family's Quest for Truth and the Founding of The National League of Families
Author: Carol Jose
8:45 AM 41 min Politics
The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive
Author: Marvelyn Brown
9:30 AM 1 hr, 19 min 2008 Miami Book Fair - Cornel West and Tavis Smiley
Authors: Tavis Smiley; Cornel West
11:00 AM 1 hr, 1 min Steal This Vote: Dirty Elections and the Rotten History of Democracy in America
Author: Andrew Gumbel
12:00 PM 1 hr, 57 min History
Michael Burlingame, "Abraham Lincoln: A Life"
Author: Michael Burlingame
2:00 PM 1 hr A Short History of the United States
Author: Robert Remini
3:15 PM 1 hr, 21 min A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It
Author: Stephen Kinzer
5:00 PM 59 min History
Champlain's Dream: The European Founding of North America
Author: David Hackett Fischer
6:00 PM 57 min Encore Booknotes
A History of the American People
Author: Paul Johnson
7:00 PM 55 min Strength and Compassion
Author: Eric Greitens
8:00 PM 52 min Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof: Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences, With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory
Author: Roy Blount Jr.
9:00 PM 51 min Born Liberal, Raised Right
Author: Reb Bradley
10:00 PM 1 hr After Words: Philip Dray, "Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen" interviewed by historian Peniel Joseph
11:15 PM 1 hr, 58 min The National Security Council: A Legal History of the President's Most Powerful Advisers
Author: Cody Brown
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Time
(ET) Duration
(approx.) Program
Author(s)
1:15 AM 39 min History
Titanic's Last Secrets
Authors: John Chatterton; Richie Kohler; Brad Matsen
2:00 AM 48 min You Are Not Forgotten: A Family's Quest for Truth and the Founding of The National League of Families
Author: Carol Jose
3:00 AM 1 hr, 33 min The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation?
Authors: Mark Bauerlein; Neil Howe
4:30 AM 1 hr, 28 min History
Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45
Author: Max Hastings
6:00 AM 41 min Politics
The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive
Author: Marvelyn Brown
7:00 AM 51 min Born Liberal, Raised Right
Author: Reb Bradley
8:00 AM 1 hr, 21 min A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It
Author: Stephen Kinzer
9:30 AM 1 hr, 27 min Public Lives
Letter To My Daughter
Author: Maya Angelou
11:00 AM 46 min Public Lives
Illustrator & Political Cartoonist David Levine
Author: David Levine
12:00 PM 1 hr After Words: David Reynolds, "Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson" interviewed by Robert Remini, author and historian for the U.S. House of Representatives
1:00 PM 1 hr, 1 min Steal This Vote: Dirty Elections and the Rotten History of Democracy in America
Author: Andrew Gumbel
2:00 PM 48 min You Are Not Forgotten: A Family's Quest for Truth and the Founding of The National League of Families
Author: Carol Jose
3:00 PM 57 min 2008 Miami Book Fair: Salman Rushdie, "The Enchantress of Florence: A Novel"
Authors: Nathan Englander; Salman Rushdie
4:00 PM 1 hr, 28 min Politics
Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of "Energy Independence"
Author: Robert Bryce
5:30 PM 27 min History
2008 Miami Book Fair: Calls with John Stauffer, "Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln"
Author: John Stauffer
6:00 PM 1 hr After Words: Philip Dray, "Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen" interviewed by historian Peniel Joseph
7:00 PM 28 min History
2008 National Book Festival: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, "Leading Ladies: American Trailblazers"
Author: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
7:30 PM 1 hr, 24 min Public Lives
Harry S. Truman
Author: Robert Dallek
9:00 PM 1 hr After Words: Philip Dray, "Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen" interviewed by historian Peniel Joseph
10:00 PM 1 hr, 33 min The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation?
Authors: Mark Bauerlein; Neil Howe
I'm sure there is something here that's to your liking!
Schedule for Book TV on C-SPAN 2 this weekend (27-8 December):
Time
(ET) Duration
(approx.) Program
Author(s)
12:00 AM 56 min 2008 Miami Book Fair: Dave Barry and Frank McCourt
Authors: Dave Barry; Frank McCourt
1:00 AM 1 hr, 2 min 2008 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books: Moments that Shaped America Panel
Authors: Douglas Brinkley; Michael Eric Dyson; Edward Humes; Elizabeth Taylor; Bruce Watson
2:00 AM 47 min Julia Keller "Mr. Gatling’s Terrible Marvel"
Author: Julia Keller
2:45 AM 14 min Interview with Sara Nelson, Publisher Weekly
Author: Sara Nelson
3:00 AM 1 hr After Words: Amity Shlaes, author of "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression" interviewed by Nick Gillespie
4:00 AM 59 min After Words: Niall Ferguson author of "The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World" interviewed by Adrian Wooldridge, Washington bureau chief for The Economist
5:00 AM 1 hr, 26 min 2008 National Book Awards Ceremony
Author: 2008 National Book Awards
6:30 AM 27 min 2008 National Book Festival: Immaculee Ilibagiza, "Led by Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide"
Author: Immaculee Ilibagiza
7:00 AM 1 hr, 1 min After Words: Sir David Frost author of "Frost/Nixon: Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews" interviewed by Timothy Naftali, Director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library
8:00 AM 48 min You Are Not Forgotten: A Family's Quest for Truth and the Founding of The National League of Families
Author: Carol Jose
8:45 AM 41 min Politics
The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive
Author: Marvelyn Brown
9:30 AM 1 hr, 19 min 2008 Miami Book Fair - Cornel West and Tavis Smiley
Authors: Tavis Smiley; Cornel West
11:00 AM 1 hr, 1 min Steal This Vote: Dirty Elections and the Rotten History of Democracy in America
Author: Andrew Gumbel
12:00 PM 1 hr, 57 min History
Michael Burlingame, "Abraham Lincoln: A Life"
Author: Michael Burlingame
2:00 PM 1 hr A Short History of the United States
Author: Robert Remini
3:15 PM 1 hr, 21 min A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It
Author: Stephen Kinzer
5:00 PM 59 min History
Champlain's Dream: The European Founding of North America
Author: David Hackett Fischer
6:00 PM 57 min Encore Booknotes
A History of the American People
Author: Paul Johnson
7:00 PM 55 min Strength and Compassion
Author: Eric Greitens
8:00 PM 52 min Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof: Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences, With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory
Author: Roy Blount Jr.
9:00 PM 51 min Born Liberal, Raised Right
Author: Reb Bradley
10:00 PM 1 hr After Words: Philip Dray, "Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen" interviewed by historian Peniel Joseph
11:15 PM 1 hr, 58 min The National Security Council: A Legal History of the President's Most Powerful Advisers
Author: Cody Brown
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Time
(ET) Duration
(approx.) Program
Author(s)
1:15 AM 39 min History
Titanic's Last Secrets
Authors: John Chatterton; Richie Kohler; Brad Matsen
2:00 AM 48 min You Are Not Forgotten: A Family's Quest for Truth and the Founding of The National League of Families
Author: Carol Jose
3:00 AM 1 hr, 33 min The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation?
Authors: Mark Bauerlein; Neil Howe
4:30 AM 1 hr, 28 min History
Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45
Author: Max Hastings
6:00 AM 41 min Politics
The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive
Author: Marvelyn Brown
7:00 AM 51 min Born Liberal, Raised Right
Author: Reb Bradley
8:00 AM 1 hr, 21 min A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It
Author: Stephen Kinzer
9:30 AM 1 hr, 27 min Public Lives
Letter To My Daughter
Author: Maya Angelou
11:00 AM 46 min Public Lives
Illustrator & Political Cartoonist David Levine
Author: David Levine
12:00 PM 1 hr After Words: David Reynolds, "Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson" interviewed by Robert Remini, author and historian for the U.S. House of Representatives
1:00 PM 1 hr, 1 min Steal This Vote: Dirty Elections and the Rotten History of Democracy in America
Author: Andrew Gumbel
2:00 PM 48 min You Are Not Forgotten: A Family's Quest for Truth and the Founding of The National League of Families
Author: Carol Jose
3:00 PM 57 min 2008 Miami Book Fair: Salman Rushdie, "The Enchantress of Florence: A Novel"
Authors: Nathan Englander; Salman Rushdie
4:00 PM 1 hr, 28 min Politics
Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of "Energy Independence"
Author: Robert Bryce
5:30 PM 27 min History
2008 Miami Book Fair: Calls with John Stauffer, "Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln"
Author: John Stauffer
6:00 PM 1 hr After Words: Philip Dray, "Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen" interviewed by historian Peniel Joseph
7:00 PM 28 min History
2008 National Book Festival: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, "Leading Ladies: American Trailblazers"
Author: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
7:30 PM 1 hr, 24 min Public Lives
Harry S. Truman
Author: Robert Dallek
9:00 PM 1 hr After Words: Philip Dray, "Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen" interviewed by historian Peniel Joseph
10:00 PM 1 hr, 33 min The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation?
Authors: Mark Bauerlein; Neil Howe
I'm sure there is something here that's to your liking!
23 December 2008
Merry Christmas!
Well, it's almost here-- Christmas Day.
Let's make a concerted effort to support the publishing business, book lovers. Have you left some of your shopping until the very last minute? How about giving gift cards from your favorite booksellers? Will you get a gift card good at one of the major mass retailers? Instead of using it for clothing or electronics, buy some books!
As writers, whether published or just aspiring, or as readers, we need to remember that a healthy publishing industry is largely up to people just like us. Do the right thing-- buy a book!
I'd like to wish everyone, regardless of your religious beliefs or lack of them, a very merry Christmas. May the blessings of the season bring you peace and joy!
Let's make a concerted effort to support the publishing business, book lovers. Have you left some of your shopping until the very last minute? How about giving gift cards from your favorite booksellers? Will you get a gift card good at one of the major mass retailers? Instead of using it for clothing or electronics, buy some books!
As writers, whether published or just aspiring, or as readers, we need to remember that a healthy publishing industry is largely up to people just like us. Do the right thing-- buy a book!
I'd like to wish everyone, regardless of your religious beliefs or lack of them, a very merry Christmas. May the blessings of the season bring you peace and joy!
19 December 2008
TWOBT
Here is the posted schedule for Book TV this weekend. (All times EST)
8:00 AM 46 min Public Lives
Illustrator & Political Cartoonist David Levine
Author: David Levine
8:45 AM 14 min Interview with Sara Nelson, Publisher Weekly
Author: Sara Nelson
9:00 AM 1 hr, 33 min Politics
Panel Discussion on the Economy with Thomas Friedman, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Michelle Singletary
Authors: Barbara Ehrenreich; Thomas Friedman; Michelle Singletary
10:30 AM 1 hr, 6 min The First Billion Is the Hardest: How Believing It's Still Early in the Game Can Lead to Life's Greatest Comebacks
Author: T. Boone Pickens
11:35 AM 18 min In Depth Vignette: John Hope Franklin with Greenhouse Tour
11:50 AM 5 min 2008 National Press Club Book Fair - David Pietruza "1960"
Author: David Pietruza
12:00 PM 1 hr, 59 min The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion
Author: Marcia Mitchell
2:00 PM 40 min Public Lives
John Jay: Founding Father
Author: Walter Stahr
2:45 PM 1 hr, 21 min A Passion for Mars: Intrepid Explorers of the Red Planet
Author: Andrew Chaikin
4:00 PM 50 min History
1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs- The Election that Changed the Country
Author: James Chace
4:45 PM 14 min Interview with Sara Nelson, Publisher Weekly
Author: Sara Nelson
5:00 PM 5 min 2008 National Press Club Book Fair: Joseph Langford "Mother Teresa's Secret Fire"
Author: Joseph Langford
5:15 PM 39 min Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
Authors: Bryan Burrough; John Helyar
5:50 PM 6 min 2008 National Press Club Book Fair - Charles Lackman "The Last Lincolns"
Author: Charles Lackman
6:00 PM 57 min Encore Booknotes: Caroline Kennedy and Ellen Alderman, "In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action"
Authors: Ellen Alderman; Caroline Kennedy
7:00 PM 1 hr, 8 min Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
8:15 PM 1 hr, 30 min Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq
Author: Peter Mansoor
10:00 PM 1 hr After Words: David Reynolds, "Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson" interviewed by Robert Remini, author and historian for the U.S. House of Representatives
11:00 PM 39 min Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
Authors: Bryan Burrough; John Helyar
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Time
(ET) Duration
(approx.) Program
Author(s)
12:00 AM 1 hr, 59 min The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion
Author: Marcia Mitchell
2:00 AM 51 min Born Liberal, Raised Right
Author: Reb Bradley
3:00 AM 40 min Public Lives
John Jay: Founding Father
Author: Walter Stahr
3:45 AM 49 min Politics
Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Author: Riki Ott
5:00 AM 50 min History
1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs- The Election that Changed the Country
Author: James Chace
6:00 AM 1 hr, 33 min Politics
Panel Discussion on the Economy with Thomas Friedman, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Michelle Singletary
Authors: Barbara Ehrenreich; Thomas Friedman; Michelle Singletary
7:30 AM 1 hr, 24 min History
Worlds at War: The 2,500-year Struggle Between East and West
Author: Anthony Pagden
9:00 AM 1 hr, 55 min Politics
Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement
Author: Ron Robinson
11:15 AM 45 min Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery
Author: Nick Popaditch
12:00 PM 59 min After Words: Brian Michael Jenkins, author of "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?" interviewed by P.J. Crowley
1:00 PM 58 min Politics
No Room for Democracy: The Triumph of Ego over Common Sense
Author: Richard Rosenbaum
2:00 PM 1 hr, 59 min The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion
Author: Marcia Mitchell
4:00 PM 1 hr, 55 min Politics
Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement
Author: Ron Robinson
6:00 PM 1 hr After Words: David Reynolds, "Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson" interviewed by Robert Remini, author and historian for the U.S. House of Representatives
7:00 PM 51 min Born Liberal, Raised Right
Author: Reb Bradley
8:00 PM 46 min Public Lives
Illustrator & Political Cartoonist David Levine
Author: David Levine
9:00 PM 1 hr After Words: David Reynolds, "Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson" interviewed by Robert Remini, author and historian for the U.S. House of Representatives
10:00 PM 58 min Politics
No Room for Democracy: The Triumph of Ego over Common Sense
Author: Richard Rosenbaum
11:00 PM 1 hr, 2 min Politics
2008 Miami Book Fair: Writers and Artists Against the Surveillance State Panel
Authors: Billy Collins; Carl Hiaasen; Francine Prose; Esmeralda Santiago; Art Spiegelman
Enjoy!
8:00 AM 46 min Public Lives
Illustrator & Political Cartoonist David Levine
Author: David Levine
8:45 AM 14 min Interview with Sara Nelson, Publisher Weekly
Author: Sara Nelson
9:00 AM 1 hr, 33 min Politics
Panel Discussion on the Economy with Thomas Friedman, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Michelle Singletary
Authors: Barbara Ehrenreich; Thomas Friedman; Michelle Singletary
10:30 AM 1 hr, 6 min The First Billion Is the Hardest: How Believing It's Still Early in the Game Can Lead to Life's Greatest Comebacks
Author: T. Boone Pickens
11:35 AM 18 min In Depth Vignette: John Hope Franklin with Greenhouse Tour
11:50 AM 5 min 2008 National Press Club Book Fair - David Pietruza "1960"
Author: David Pietruza
12:00 PM 1 hr, 59 min The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion
Author: Marcia Mitchell
2:00 PM 40 min Public Lives
John Jay: Founding Father
Author: Walter Stahr
2:45 PM 1 hr, 21 min A Passion for Mars: Intrepid Explorers of the Red Planet
Author: Andrew Chaikin
4:00 PM 50 min History
1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs- The Election that Changed the Country
Author: James Chace
4:45 PM 14 min Interview with Sara Nelson, Publisher Weekly
Author: Sara Nelson
5:00 PM 5 min 2008 National Press Club Book Fair: Joseph Langford "Mother Teresa's Secret Fire"
Author: Joseph Langford
5:15 PM 39 min Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
Authors: Bryan Burrough; John Helyar
5:50 PM 6 min 2008 National Press Club Book Fair - Charles Lackman "The Last Lincolns"
Author: Charles Lackman
6:00 PM 57 min Encore Booknotes: Caroline Kennedy and Ellen Alderman, "In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action"
Authors: Ellen Alderman; Caroline Kennedy
7:00 PM 1 hr, 8 min Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
8:15 PM 1 hr, 30 min Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq
Author: Peter Mansoor
10:00 PM 1 hr After Words: David Reynolds, "Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson" interviewed by Robert Remini, author and historian for the U.S. House of Representatives
11:00 PM 39 min Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
Authors: Bryan Burrough; John Helyar
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Time
(ET) Duration
(approx.) Program
Author(s)
12:00 AM 1 hr, 59 min The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion
Author: Marcia Mitchell
2:00 AM 51 min Born Liberal, Raised Right
Author: Reb Bradley
3:00 AM 40 min Public Lives
John Jay: Founding Father
Author: Walter Stahr
3:45 AM 49 min Politics
Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Author: Riki Ott
5:00 AM 50 min History
1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs- The Election that Changed the Country
Author: James Chace
6:00 AM 1 hr, 33 min Politics
Panel Discussion on the Economy with Thomas Friedman, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Michelle Singletary
Authors: Barbara Ehrenreich; Thomas Friedman; Michelle Singletary
7:30 AM 1 hr, 24 min History
Worlds at War: The 2,500-year Struggle Between East and West
Author: Anthony Pagden
9:00 AM 1 hr, 55 min Politics
Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement
Author: Ron Robinson
11:15 AM 45 min Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery
Author: Nick Popaditch
12:00 PM 59 min After Words: Brian Michael Jenkins, author of "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?" interviewed by P.J. Crowley
1:00 PM 58 min Politics
No Room for Democracy: The Triumph of Ego over Common Sense
Author: Richard Rosenbaum
2:00 PM 1 hr, 59 min The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion
Author: Marcia Mitchell
4:00 PM 1 hr, 55 min Politics
Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement
Author: Ron Robinson
6:00 PM 1 hr After Words: David Reynolds, "Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson" interviewed by Robert Remini, author and historian for the U.S. House of Representatives
7:00 PM 51 min Born Liberal, Raised Right
Author: Reb Bradley
8:00 PM 46 min Public Lives
Illustrator & Political Cartoonist David Levine
Author: David Levine
9:00 PM 1 hr After Words: David Reynolds, "Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson" interviewed by Robert Remini, author and historian for the U.S. House of Representatives
10:00 PM 58 min Politics
No Room for Democracy: The Triumph of Ego over Common Sense
Author: Richard Rosenbaum
11:00 PM 1 hr, 2 min Politics
2008 Miami Book Fair: Writers and Artists Against the Surveillance State Panel
Authors: Billy Collins; Carl Hiaasen; Francine Prose; Esmeralda Santiago; Art Spiegelman
Enjoy!
18 December 2008
Tight Times Ahead
Publishers Weekly website in its 18 December post adds another log onto the fire that appears to be the publishing industry.
Random House chairman Markus Dohle, in his first annual letter to his employees, noted that the biggest challenge of 2009 for the company will be controlling rising costs. Not exactly breaking news, granted, but it does reinforce the general belt-tightening that is an ongoing process in the industry.
Dohle encourages his company to reformulate the way it does business, and to react in a quicker and more streamlined way to the changes in the marketplace. “Let us share a commitment to become more resourceful, more accountable, more responsive, and more collaborative as we continue to acquire and publish the best books in the world," he exhorts in his memo.
He also speaks to the recent phenomenon of retailers ordering lower initial quantities of new titles while expecting faster re-order shipments on books that prove to be quicker movers than expected. He states that Random House sales and operations teams “are working to build capabilities that will significantly reduce the time it takes us to re-supply our customers and to respond to consumer demand for our titles.”
HarperStudio is taking this idea a step further, tackling one of the thorniest marketing issues in the industry: retailer returns. They've pioneered a working agreement with Borders Group, Inc., according to the Wall Street Journal, to sell their imprint's books to Borders on a non-returnable basis in exchange for a sharp discount, reported to be between 58 to 63%.
This is huge. For the better part of a decade, industry observers have pointed out that the publishers' policy of allowing retailers to return unsold copies of titles for full credit could very well sound the death knell for publishers. The policy originated in the years after World War II, when the industry was comparatively flush, as an incentive to booksellers to take a chance on undiscovered authors, allowing them to buy books for little more cost than than return parcel post expense.
Anyone with a calculator and the business sense of an eight year old running a sidewalk lemonade stand can see the glaring weaknesses of the full credit return policy. Bookstores can order what will probably be wildly excessive quantities of titles, limited only by their warehouse space, in the hope that they've got a larger supply of an undiscovered gem than their competitors and score a killer profit. If the sales fizzle far short of hopes, they simply slap a new shipping label on the unsold cases and call UPS or FedEx for a pickup.
The publisher, on the other hand, goes through the expense of printing (paper, ink, covers, binding, etc.) of far more copies than they'll reasonably expect to sell. A few months (or weeks) later, they've got 50% or more of their shipment back in their warehouse, ready to be sold to remainder jobbers for a penny or two on the dollar. Meanwhile, their operating costs balloon, and the bottom line hemorrhages. This in a business where the average return on investment is around two or three percent: grocery store profit margins, folks.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of the HarperStudios-Borders experiment. Will it work? Will it proliferate to other imprints and other retailers? What effect will it have on the breakout chances of new and undiscovered authors? And my favorite category of question on new proposals, in what way will the Law of Unintended Consequences rear its ugly head?
Tight Times Ahead
(c) 2008, Kenneth M. Rhodes
18 December 2008
Random House chairman Markus Dohle, in his first annual letter to his employees, noted that the biggest challenge of 2009 for the company will be controlling rising costs. Not exactly breaking news, granted, but it does reinforce the general belt-tightening that is an ongoing process in the industry.
Dohle encourages his company to reformulate the way it does business, and to react in a quicker and more streamlined way to the changes in the marketplace. “Let us share a commitment to become more resourceful, more accountable, more responsive, and more collaborative as we continue to acquire and publish the best books in the world," he exhorts in his memo.
He also speaks to the recent phenomenon of retailers ordering lower initial quantities of new titles while expecting faster re-order shipments on books that prove to be quicker movers than expected. He states that Random House sales and operations teams “are working to build capabilities that will significantly reduce the time it takes us to re-supply our customers and to respond to consumer demand for our titles.”
HarperStudio is taking this idea a step further, tackling one of the thorniest marketing issues in the industry: retailer returns. They've pioneered a working agreement with Borders Group, Inc., according to the Wall Street Journal, to sell their imprint's books to Borders on a non-returnable basis in exchange for a sharp discount, reported to be between 58 to 63%.
This is huge. For the better part of a decade, industry observers have pointed out that the publishers' policy of allowing retailers to return unsold copies of titles for full credit could very well sound the death knell for publishers. The policy originated in the years after World War II, when the industry was comparatively flush, as an incentive to booksellers to take a chance on undiscovered authors, allowing them to buy books for little more cost than than return parcel post expense.
Anyone with a calculator and the business sense of an eight year old running a sidewalk lemonade stand can see the glaring weaknesses of the full credit return policy. Bookstores can order what will probably be wildly excessive quantities of titles, limited only by their warehouse space, in the hope that they've got a larger supply of an undiscovered gem than their competitors and score a killer profit. If the sales fizzle far short of hopes, they simply slap a new shipping label on the unsold cases and call UPS or FedEx for a pickup.
The publisher, on the other hand, goes through the expense of printing (paper, ink, covers, binding, etc.) of far more copies than they'll reasonably expect to sell. A few months (or weeks) later, they've got 50% or more of their shipment back in their warehouse, ready to be sold to remainder jobbers for a penny or two on the dollar. Meanwhile, their operating costs balloon, and the bottom line hemorrhages. This in a business where the average return on investment is around two or three percent: grocery store profit margins, folks.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of the HarperStudios-Borders experiment. Will it work? Will it proliferate to other imprints and other retailers? What effect will it have on the breakout chances of new and undiscovered authors? And my favorite category of question on new proposals, in what way will the Law of Unintended Consequences rear its ugly head?
Tight Times Ahead
(c) 2008, Kenneth M. Rhodes
18 December 2008
13 December 2008
Book TV
Book lovers-- have you discovered Book TV yet?
I can't blame you if you haven't. The weekend feature makes its home on C-SPAN2, normally a place given to the drone of interminable Senate speeches and ponderous panel discussions and committee hearings.
But on the weekends, C2 is transformed into a buffet celebration of non-fiction authors and their works. There are interviews, round-table discussions, talks by authors at book signings, and more. The odds are excellent that you'll find something on their schedule that appeals, and you'll come away enlightened and educated for certain.
Here's their schedule for tomorrow, Sunday, 14 December, from 9 AM Eastern time:
9:00 AM 1 hr, 9 min Descent Into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
Author: Ahmed Rashid
10:00 AM 47 min Sweet Release: The Last Step to Black Freedom
Author: James Davison, Jr.
11:00 AM 58 min After Words: Michael Medved, author of "The 10 Big Lies About America" interviewed by Mona Charen
12:00 PM 2 hr History
Michael Burlingame, "Abraham Lincoln: A Life"
Author: Michael Burlingame
2:00 PM 57 min History
America’s First Families: An Inside View of Private Life in the White House
Author: Carl Anthony
3:00 PM 58 min History
Panel Discusson on the American Presidency with Presidential biographers and historians Robert Caro, Ted Sorensen, and Bob Clark
Authors: James Atlas; Robert Caro; Bob Clark; Ted Sorensen
4:00 PM 59 min History
First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives
Author: Bonnie Angelo
5:00 PM 42 min 2007 Chicago Tribune Printers Row Book Fair: Dan Walker
Author: Dan Walker
6:00 PM 59 min After Words: Brian Michael Jenkins, author of "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?" interviewed by P.J. Crowley
7:00 PM 2 hr History
Michael Burlingame, "Abraham Lincoln: A Life"
Author: Michael Burlingame
9:00 PM 59 min After Words: Brian Michael Jenkins, author of "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?" interviewed by P.J. Crowley
10:00 PM 1 hr, 2 min The Mind of Jihad
Author: Laurent Murawiec
11:00 PM 55 min History
A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight
Author: Robert Mrazek
I can't blame you if you haven't. The weekend feature makes its home on C-SPAN2, normally a place given to the drone of interminable Senate speeches and ponderous panel discussions and committee hearings.
But on the weekends, C2 is transformed into a buffet celebration of non-fiction authors and their works. There are interviews, round-table discussions, talks by authors at book signings, and more. The odds are excellent that you'll find something on their schedule that appeals, and you'll come away enlightened and educated for certain.
Here's their schedule for tomorrow, Sunday, 14 December, from 9 AM Eastern time:
9:00 AM 1 hr, 9 min Descent Into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
Author: Ahmed Rashid
10:00 AM 47 min Sweet Release: The Last Step to Black Freedom
Author: James Davison, Jr.
11:00 AM 58 min After Words: Michael Medved, author of "The 10 Big Lies About America" interviewed by Mona Charen
12:00 PM 2 hr History
Michael Burlingame, "Abraham Lincoln: A Life"
Author: Michael Burlingame
2:00 PM 57 min History
America’s First Families: An Inside View of Private Life in the White House
Author: Carl Anthony
3:00 PM 58 min History
Panel Discusson on the American Presidency with Presidential biographers and historians Robert Caro, Ted Sorensen, and Bob Clark
Authors: James Atlas; Robert Caro; Bob Clark; Ted Sorensen
4:00 PM 59 min History
First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives
Author: Bonnie Angelo
5:00 PM 42 min 2007 Chicago Tribune Printers Row Book Fair: Dan Walker
Author: Dan Walker
6:00 PM 59 min After Words: Brian Michael Jenkins, author of "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?" interviewed by P.J. Crowley
7:00 PM 2 hr History
Michael Burlingame, "Abraham Lincoln: A Life"
Author: Michael Burlingame
9:00 PM 59 min After Words: Brian Michael Jenkins, author of "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?" interviewed by P.J. Crowley
10:00 PM 1 hr, 2 min The Mind of Jihad
Author: Laurent Murawiec
11:00 PM 55 min History
A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight
Author: Robert Mrazek
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