The Homa Files

Bottom line: Self-obsessed Beltway politicos have (another) beef with Sarah Palin’s book “Going Rogue.”

Excerpted from WSJ: Once a Rogue, Always a Rogue, Nov.  13, 2009

Political types in Washington make a show of turning up their noses at actually buying and reading books such as “Going Rogue.”

But familiar faces can regularly be spotted in store aisles anyway scanning for their names in the index.

Sarah Palin’s book won’t have an index, denying Beltway habitués the instant gratification of knowing whether they are included.

Instead, political and media types who want to know if they figure in accounts of her conflicts with the McCain campaign or with major news media personalities such as Katie Couric will actually have to buy the book and at least skim it.

* * * * *

Publishing a political book without an index was pioneered a dozen years ago by John Brady, author of “Bad Boy: The Life and Politics of Lee Atwater,” a biography of the controversial master of negative campaigning who advised the first President Bush’s 1988 election bid.

Mr. Brady’s intent was to boost sales.

For scholars and other serious readers he offered a copy of the index to anyone who sent him a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

His ploy worked exactly as intended …  some people reportedly  bought the book just to see if they were mentioned  in it..

Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703683804574533840931957188.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

This entry was posted on November 16, 2009 at 7:40 am and is filed under Books & Publishing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.