Henry Farrell notes that Doug Feith's blurbers seem to be damning him with faint praise. If, indeed, you can even call "It will certainly anger many readers because it takes a different position that most other accounts on the wisdom of going to war in Iraq, on what mistakes were made, and on what made them" praise at all. Contrast that with, say, Heads in the Sand which Fred Kaplan calls "a smart, vital book" and I think your choice in spring foreign policy reading is clear.
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Blurbs
11 Apr 2008 10:11 am
Comments (19)
Where is the best place to buy the book in terms of making it successful? Is Amazon sales rank more important? Do you get a higher cut in a regular bookstore? Inquiring minds want to know.
Hey, at least they didn't say the book fills a much-needed gap.
Where is the best place to buy the book in terms of making it successful? Is Amazon sales rank more important? Do you get a higher cut in a regular bookstore? Inquiring minds want to know.
I think the best thing to do, at this point, is order it online from Barnes & Noble. Hopefully if they see the book selling through their website, they'll decide to give it prominent placement in their stores come the official release on April 25.
Don't forget that important gift-giving occasions are coming soon. I'm sure all the moms of America would be delighted to receive a copy on Mother's Day, and millions of potential fans will be graduating from college in May and June.
Done. And I don't even feel guilty about it because B&N is like a 100% Democrat-donating company.
Re "which Fred Kaplan calls "a smart, vital book" "
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So how much did you have to pay Fred?
You don't understand the rhetorical conventions. Right-wing lunatics are straight shooters. For another example, see the cover of the last Princeton Alumni Weekly: "Speaking His Mind: No Topic Seems Too Hot for Randall Kennedy." Liberals are simultaneously flip-floppers and godless extremists who threaten America, which is hard to pull off, but somehow we do.
Hey Matt,
I bought your book through Barnes and Noble and that worked well. I'm working my way through it. Quite good so far!
On a related note I ate lunch across the table from Doug Feith the other day, but forgot to bring along your book. I was thinking I could have asked him to sign it as some sort of postmodern "ironic joke" the kids love so much.
I have a question about the most accurate if not best nickname in American history. Was Feith the "fucking stupidest guy on the face of the planet" or the "stupidest fucking guy on the face of the planet"? I like it better with the word fucking before the word stupid although it seems to roll of the tongue better the other way. You see, it works to have the word fucking as a modifier for the word stupid rather than as a guy who is really stupid but gets laid alot. I would love to hear from someone who is an English major or knows what the origonal qoute from Franks was. I've put some thought into this and would like to have it resolved.
your book sucks. i'm going with Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut. so there.
Tom C:
According to Bob Woodward, it was stupidest fucking, sadly.
Matt,
I think you're going to have to make the difficult decision to denounce your housemate or you are going to face a boycott from the gay community http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/liberal-homop-1.html
Okay, okay I'll buy it already!
As soon as it is available on audible.com.
I still think Feith's publishers should have used the Tommy Franks quote, just gave it a little positive "spin".
Like: "General Tommy Franks has described Doug Feith as being absolutely unique in the entire world for his intelligence and mental ability".
And once various "leftist" bloggers and media pundits slammed the publishers for this alleged deception, the huge wave of publicity---and the backlash from rightwing activists who totally hate all liberal bloggers---would have made the book a huge bestseller.
I think your choice in spring foreign policy reading is clear.
You're right. I'm in need of some comedy reading
Since you brought up blurbs, how on earth did Ezra get top blurb billing on your book with a joke blurb? Seems like a weird choice unless you think the only people looking at the book will be the couple thousand who read all the top lib bloggers.
Patrick G: If I'd been seated across from Feith at lunch, I wouldn't be playing a joke on him. I'd show him a photograph of a friend's son, combat-injured in Iraq, and hand Dougie my cell phone so he could speak directly to the soldier's mother and explain his role in creating the lies that created an invasion of Iraq which was utterly unnecessary. I really would have liked to hear what he would have said to her.
But, then, asking potential war criminals to account for themselves might be too direct for the nuanced, post-modern argument so many in D.C. seem to favor.
"I think your choice in spring foreign policy reading is clear."
Yeah, the next X-Men comic.
If your book sells more than 10,000 copies, email me. After twenty other books on the subject by people better known than you, I really can't see it.
Comments closed April 25, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
It's all right. Dougie will have his three friends write nice things about the book on Amazon.
And, when the number of negative reader reviews and comments grow too large, Dougie will just have Amazon remove them all -- as they did for little Jonah.
Posted by Jemand von Niemand | April 11, 2008 10:18 AM