Quill and Quire

Book news

« Back to
Quillblog

Author of forthcoming book about Sarah Palin rents home … next to Sarah Palin

Joe McGinniss is notorious for writing unflattering articles and books about high-profile American figures. (His first book was 1969’s The Selling of a President, about Richard Nixon.) One of his most recent targets is former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, about whom he is reportedly writing a book entitled Sarah Palin’s Year of Living Dangerously.

Whether to do research for the book, or just because, McGinniss has now rented a home in Alaska “ right next to Palin’s.

Here is Palin herself, on her Facebook page:

Spring has sprung in Alaska, and with this beautiful season comes the news today that the Palins have a new neighbor! Welcome, Joe McGinniss!

Yes, that Joe McGinniss. Here he is “ about 15 feet away on the neighbor’s rented deck overlooking my children’s play area and my kitchen window. Maybe we’ll welcome him with a homemade blueberry pie tomorrow so he’ll know how friendly Alaskans are.

We found out the good news today. Upon my family’s return this morning from endorsement rallies and speeches in the Lower 48 states, I finally got the chance to tackle my garden and lawn this evening! So, putting on the shorts and tank top to catch that too-brief northern summer sun and placing a giddy Trig in his toddler backpack for a lawn-mowing adventure, I looked up in surprise to see a new neighbor overlooking my property just a stone’s throw away. Needless to say, our outdoor adventure ended quickly after Todd went to introduce himself to the stranger who was peering in…

Even allowing for the fact that Palin is a kind of real-life Chauncey Gardner “ if Chauncey Gardner were not just dim and naive, but also corrupt, cynical, spiteful, self-aggrandizing, vain, and mendacious “ this seems like a creepy and provocative move on McGinniss’s part. It also, as can be seen from Palin’s faux-populist take, just feeds the notion “ pushed by Palin and eaten up by her followers – that she’s a truth-tellin’, straight-shootin’ gal from Wasilla who gets unfairly targeted by shifty liberals and journalists from down south.

By

May 25th, 2010

4:14 pm

Category: Book news