Waiting on Dick Cheney's memoir
Dick Cheney, controversial politician and George W. Bush's vice president, has written a memoir.
"In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir," by Dick Cheney hits bookstores on Aug. 30, but it's already stirring up some media buzz. According to The Washington Post, the memoir "covers his four decades in politics, his life before, during and after the White House, his family and his health."
A first-person perspective on being in the White House during Bush's presidency is sure to be riveting and already the public is curious. But that doesn't mean that all the speculation surrounding the book is substantive and policy-oriented. So far, here are the questions that seem to have been raised most often about the book:
1. Will it be a bestseller? "Decision Points," George W. Bush's nontraditional memoir, received mixed views from critics but still sold $1.1-million of copies within the first two weeks of its publication. (Although first-day sales of Bush's memoir couldn't touch those of Bill Clinton's memoir, which sold 400,000 copies in a day.) Laura Bush's more traditional memoir "Spoken from the Heart," was also a strong seller. How will Cheney's memoir stack up next to these?
2. Advance publicity says that the book will also focus on Cheney's life after the White House. Does that mean that there will be commentary on Obama's tenure as president? If so, these chapters could be very interesting – and perhaps quite dark – given Cheney's open dislike of the president and the current economic climate.
3. Why did Amazon list Edward Hermann as the book's author? A harmless but entertaining mishap picked up by the Washington Post concerning the memoir is that the Amazon page currently credits Edward Hermann as the author. Hermann, well known for his roles on "The Gilmore Girls" and "The Practice," reads the audio CD version of the book. Cheney's PR team is probably less than thrilled about the mistake.
USA Today reports that NBC is the first network to set up interviews so far with Cheney in late August. Those coveted interviews are likely only a small part of the media blitz that will surround the release of Cheney's memoir.
If insider Washington stories are your cup of tea, you should probably go ahead and pre-order your copy of "In My Time" today.
Megan Wasson is a Monitor contributor.
