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Journalism of Courage
An innocuous search for 8220;book publicity8221; on Google yields upwards of 41,000,000 links, some to straightforward PR agencies, some to big-name publishers and yet others to the 8216;sell your own book by buying our 49.99 package8217; variety. Obviously, they aren8217;t aware of the 8216;leak-a-little8217; school of promotion. Gunter Grass8217;s new autobiography While Peeling the Onion may have had assured sales on the strength of the author8217;s name, but his confession of involvement in Hitler8217;s SS weeks ahead of release ensures the title will be flying off the shelves now. It8217;s a trusted gimmick, as the publishers of the following will vouch for:
8226; Indian Summers 2006: Former India coach John Wright8217;s account of his experience with the Boys in Blue and the Men Behind Them may not even have been published in India, but well-timed releases to wire services and 8216;friendly8217; newspapers ensure that it is one of the most-talked-about books in recent times, certainly in sporting circles. The zonal selection system? Saurav8217;s pigheadedness? Sehwag8217;s collar? For out-of-context excerpts, look to the front page.
8226; The Magdalene Line: The Expected One 2006: Said to be 8220;partly autobiographical8221;, this book is further fodder for Da Vinci-converts. What8217;s more, its author Kathleen McGowan claims to be the Holy Grail 8211; as explained by Dan Brown8217;s monster book 8211; herself, the descendent of the original union between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The credulous can queue here.
8226; A Million Little Pieces 2003: James Frey8217;s memoir of his years as an alcohol-drug-crime junkie shot straight to the top of the best-seller lists in 2005 after TV8217;s daytime diva Oprah Winfrey recommended it on her hugely influential bookclub. Frey appeared on her show, wrung hundreds of hearts with his agony tales and almost clinched a film deal, before a website revealed that much of his 8216;autobiography8217; was fabricated.
8226; Indira 2002: Katherine Frank8217;s biography was rescued from anonymity by a libel suit filed by Maneka Gandhi, who claimed the book contained 8220;scurrilous8221; references to her late husband Sanjay. A British court awarded her damages, and promised that future editions would delete the offending chapters. Incidentally, initial media reports were more concerned about the rumours about Indira8217;s alleged romances that Frank put on record.
8226; The biggest of them all, though, is yet to come. General Pervez Musharraf8217;s autobiography In the Line of Fire is due to be released in the US in September. Watch this space.
8212;Compiled by Sumana Mukherjee
