Wednesday, June 29, 2011

David Brooks: the grit in the critic's oyster

John Gray has written a review of David Brooks' new book (The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement) that is doubtless far more interesting than the book itself.

And Ruth Franklin at Book Forum has a fascinating article about the history of the best seller. Loved this anecdote:
In Making the List, his 2001 book about best sellers, former Simon & Schuster editor in chief Michael Korda recalls that the publishing house once commissioned a study of which books made the most money. After a detailed presentation, the consultant said to the editors, "Do you guys realize how much money the company would make if you only published best sellers?"
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3 comments:

  1. TimTJune 29, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    I want to read the whole of that review when I get home, but some months ago I did read an excerpt of Brooks' book in the New Yorker, and it was pretty bad. He invents two completely unbelievable and unlikeable characters, confronts them with unlikely non-problems, and offers them unconvincing non-solutions. All the while carrying on in a dull pseudo-scientific tone. Yawn-inducing stuff.

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  2. PacoJune 29, 2011 at 11:09 PM

    Tim: That's a superb review in its own right!

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  3. mojoJuly 1, 2011 at 4:52 PM

    "IT has long been known that one horse is faster than another. The question is, which one?"

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