Thursday, November 16, 2006
Judging a book by its cover: Regarding blurbs
I dropped by Barnes & Noble this evening to buy a birthday present for someone. I rarely emerge from a big box bookstore without having purchased something impulsively, and tonight was no different. I bought Steven Emerson's new book, Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US.
I bought the book because of its cover blurbs.
I admit, I've come to judging political books by their covers. Or at least their cover blurbs. Most current events books in the stores today have cover blurbs that give away the book as either stridently left or stridently right. Publishers presumably do this either to attract partisan buyers or because the book could not earn a favorable blurb from the opposite end of the political spectrum. Occasionally, though, there is a book that earns the praise of people who we know disagree politically. Now there's a reason to buy a book impulsively.
So it is with Jihad Incorporated. The leading blurb is from Richard Clarke, Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Security Group in the White House from 1992 to 2003, after which he quit to write a scathing critique of the Bush administration and advise Democratic presidential candidates. The second blurb is from my friend Andy McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor with deep experience in anti-terrorism investigations and prosecutions, presently Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and a regular contributor to National Review Online. Both men have devoted themselves to fighting al Qaeda, but they are informed by very different political views. Here they are both endorsing Emerson's book. That's good enough for me.
2 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Nov 17, 05:55:00 PM:
TH:
I wish I could say that much thought went into it.
Publishers get blurbs from "names." Also known as "somebodies." After scouring all available Rolodexes and calling in all their favors, they send out a bunch of books to likely candidates and keep their fingers crossed.
Sometimes they get lucky and land a good quote. Fair-and-balanced blurbs are good, but not always possible.
By , at
Sun Nov 19, 11:25:00 AM:
I can from experience that the above comment is true. But the the response that both would provide would give you a good indication of what you are purchasing.
Please let us know how you like it!
