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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Frank's debut is a curious blend of ribald, tongue-in-cheek narrative and political tell-all that winds up evoking an odd sense of nostalgia for a bygone era. Former President Bush remarks to pompous, amoral columnist Brandon Sladder that he ought to write a memoir and so Sladder does. Now in his 60s, Sladder has left a trail of sources, lovers, wives and erstwhile colleagues in his wake while climbing to the top of the newspaper heap. His adventures start in his hometown of Buffalo, where he gets his father fired from his job as an insurance salesman by using confidential information from his father's files to break a big story, then capitalizes on his newspaper boss's indiscretion to blackmail his way up the ranks. When the paper is sold, Sladder moves to Washington, D.C., where, before writing for a political magazine and then a major daily, he uses a prostitute to get dirt on local elected officials. Later, it's on to the world of TV and roundtable reporter shows, but the unctuous Sladder's personal life is a mess a merry-go-round of affairs, marriage for money and ill-advised alliances with the constants being his relentless ambition and a remarkable ability to justify his own heinous behavior. Frank's smooth, fast-moving and often hilarious prose makes this a quick read, although much of the humor is dark, and the repulsive narrator makes the journey a bit thorny. The political material is enlightening and well delivered, as Sladder reveals the way things work within the Beltway in the postwar era. The result is a witty, racy and fast-moving novel that remains compelling despite its odious protagonist. Agent, Tina Bennett. (June)Forecast: Frank's current job as a New Yorker senior editor will help generate buzz, as will speculation as to which (if any) real columnist his narrator might be based on.
From Library Journal
The innocuous, limp title is the single failure of this searingly satiric portrait of the hyperactive Washington, DC, news scene. Frank, onetime staff member of the Washington Post and its defunct rival, the Washington Star, and currently a senior editor for The New Yorker, has etched with acidic precision the story of Brandon Sladder, a mock maven who latched onto a journalism career with a bit of handy blackmail. Over a period of 40 years or so, this blot trashes two wives, two children, and a multitude of colleagues yet is never perceived as the one rotten apple spoiling the bushel. With pious quotes from Bartlett's, he whines about the trials of his successful life and claims as his confidante any famous person who ever shared an elevator with him. This book will surely be a hit in all the news capitals as insiders try to identify the true names masked behind the socialites, politicos, and other characters. Frank's mudslinging hits a media truth or two, but he plays it for laughs, and so will savvy readers in most public libraries. Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
Frank's debut is a curious blend of ribald, tongue-in-cheek narrative and political tell-all that winds up evoking an odd sense of nostalgia for a bygone era. Former President Bush remarks to pompous, amoral columnist Brandon Sladder that he ought to write a memoir and so Sladder does. Now in his 60s, Sladder has left a trail of sources, lovers, wives and erstwhile colleagues in his wake while climbing to the top of the newspaper heap. His adventures start in his hometown of Buffalo, where he gets his father fired from his job as an insurance salesman by using confidential information from his father's files to break a big story, then capitalizes on his newspaper boss's indiscretion to blackmail his way up the ranks. When the paper is sold, Sladder moves to Washington, D.C., where, before writing for a political magazine and then a major daily, he uses a prostitute to get dirt on local elected officials. Later, it's on to the world of TV and roundtable reporter shows, but the unctuous Sladder's personal life is a mess a merry-go-round of affairs, marriage for money and ill-advised alliances with the constants being his relentless ambition and a remarkable ability to justify his own heinous behavior. Frank's smooth, fast-moving and often hilarious prose makes this a quick read, although much of the humor is dark, and the repulsive narrator makes the journey a bit thorny. The political material is enlightening and well delivered, as Sladder reveals the way things work within the Beltway in the postwar era. The result is a witty, racy and fast-moving novel that remains compelling despite its odious protagonist. Agent, Tina Bennett. (June)Forecast: Frank's current job as a New Yorker senior editor will help generate buzz, as will speculation as to which (if any) real columnist his narrator might be based on.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From Library Journal
The innocuous, limp title is the single failure of this searingly satiric portrait of the hyperactive Washington, DC, news scene. Frank, onetime staff member of the Washington Post and its defunct rival, the Washington Star, and currently a senior editor for The New Yorker, has etched with acidic precision the story of Brandon Sladder, a mock maven who latched onto a journalism career with a bit of handy blackmail. Over a period of 40 years or so, this blot trashes two wives, two children, and a multitude of colleagues yet is never perceived as the one rotten apple spoiling the bushel. With pious quotes from Bartlett's, he whines about the trials of his successful life and claims as his confidante any famous person who ever shared an elevator with him. This book will surely be a hit in all the news capitals as insiders try to identify the true names masked behind the socialites, politicos, and other characters. Frank's mudslinging hits a media truth or two, but he plays it for laughs, and so will savvy readers in most public libraries. Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
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