Matt McCarthy’s recently-published ODD MAN OUT, his “his salacious memoir of his summer as an obscure minor league pitcher,” is full of “wide-ranging errors and misquotations” according to the NYT. “Statistics from that season, transaction listings and interviews with his former teammates indicate that many portions of the book are incorrect, embellished or impossible.” Are they minor chronological errors and the complaints of those who are depicted in an unflattering light, or indications of a seriously flawed or even invented narrative? The newspaper clearly implies the latter–but would they have treated Ball Four the same way if it were published […]
Memoir
Lerner Pulls Angel Girl
Lerner Publishing Group, also duped into publishing Herman Rosenblat’s fake Holocaust love story in the children’s book ANGEL GIRL (released this September), is recalling the book. The company is “issuing refunds on all returned books” and “no longer offering the book for sale.” They say in a statement they were “shocked and disappointed to learn that the widely publicized” story was fabricated. Author Laurie Friedman, who had interviewed the Rosenblats to retell their story for children, says “throughout the development of this book, the Rosenblats reviewed my manuscript and assured me of the authenticity of the details of their story. […]
Berkley Cancels Holocaust Memoir as Author Confesses
On the quietest Saturday of the year, Berkley cancelled publication of Herman Rosenblat’s ANGEL AT THE FENCE: The True Story of a Love That Survived, scheduled for release in February. In a short statement the publisher, which initially defended the book following a long piece in The New Republic, said the cancellation came “after receiving new information from Rosenblatt’s agent, Andrea Hurst.” They also said that they “will demand that the author and the agent return all money that they have received for this work.” (The NYT said later that it was sold “for less than $50,000.) In a statement […]
Journalist Tries to Verify Boy Soldier's Story
Journalist Malcolm Knox–who uncovered the lies in Norma Khouri’s book–worked with Sudanese refugee and one-time boy soldier Cola Bilkuei on his book COLA’S JOURNEY and was asked to verify the book’s accuracy. (Just published in Australia, it is not available elsewhere for now.) “So what are we left with? Aside from boy soldiers, a priest and a lawyer who knew Cola in Africa, we have the assurances of the Australian government, which gave Cola his first passport and checked on him through cousins who already lived here…. “Ultimately, though, between what could be verified and what lies on the pages […]
Speaking of Vetting Memoirs
The NYT takes an interest the forthcoming IN HIS SIGHTS, written under the pseudonym of Kate Brennan, “one of the first full-length memoirs of a stalking victim….The stalking, which continues sporadically today, is at once bizarre, terrifying and, owing to Paul’s deep pockets, maddeningly relentless and difficult to trace, according to the book. It led the author to move 16 times in 16 months, she writes.” The paper makes it clear that “her true identity and that of Paul were revealed to the New York Times so that the newspaper could confirm the outlines of her case.” Harper editor Jennifer […]
Pelosi on Tour; Carr Care
First female Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was a lot more popular when she signed to write her memoir than she is now as she embarks on a two-week media tour to promote the 174-page memoir, KNOW YOUR POWER: A Message to America’s Daughters. As an LAT story points out, it’s not a political book, even though it comes during presidential campaign season: “Pelosi has charted her journey from homemaker to the first female speaker of the House in an upbeat account her publisher classifies as a self-help book, inspired by conversations with women around the country…. Though she […]