My New Book Is Trashed! Jude Wanniski January 12, 1999

Memo: To Letters Editor, The Washington Times
From: Jude Wanniski
Re: Your Lousy Book Review

[My new book, The Last Race of the Twentieth Century, recently published by Polyconomics, has finally been reviewed by a major publication. My local newspaper reviewed it, but forgot to include the name of the book in the review (sigh). A week ago, The Washington Times ran a review, which I invite you to read, although it is a stinky review. You also can read some reviews of website fans who bought the book in the last month when we made it available here (it can also be had at Amazon and major bookstores). They are not stinky. Here is a letter I've written to the WashTimes:]

I'm glad the The Washington Times let its readers know I've written a book about the 1996 presidential campaign, The Last Race of the 20th Century, but the book review by Peter Jay seems not to understand the point of my writing it. He dismisses the effort as an ego trip on my part, which is fair enough in that my ego was as involved in the campaign as it is in the book. The book is clearly no objective chronology.

My motivation in writing a book about the boring '96 Clinton-Dole campaign was to tell a story that was not told in the press at the time or in the only two books written afterward, by Dick Morris and Elizabeth Drew. As a political theoretician associated with Jack Kemp and the growth wing of the Republican Party, I thought a book from my idiosyncratic perspective would be useful to the tripartisan political class already thinking about the 2000 race. Instead of discussing, even trashing, the information and insights I offered, Jay simply argues I wasted his time. Sorry about that.

Sincerely,

Jude Wanniski