"Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children . . ."1) FAIR & BALANCED . . . Barack Obama's new children's book, Of Thee I Sing (9780375835278) 17.99, was released yesterday. It's also illustrated by one of our favourite artists, Loren Long. Yesterday, I stumbled upon USA Today's article on the book that featured this headline, 'Obama Shares Dreams for his Kids in Book on 13 Americans.' FoxNation.com used the USA Today article verbatim for their website, but somehow in the interim, the banner with a picture of Chief Sitting Bull nestled next to it became, 'Obama Praises Indian Chief Who Killed U.S. General.' Okay, even as a conservative I would have chuckled at their heavy-handed tactic. However, as a student of American history, I was more offended by the allusion to the Battle of Little Bighorn, and the not one, but two errors in the headline. First of all, George Custer had been reduced in rank to Colonel in the 'peacetime' army, and Sitting Bull didn't even participate in the battle. But hey, why let the truth get in the way of a great headline? You can read it yourself at http://gawker.com/5690436/fox-news-turns-obamas-kid-book-into-anti+american-war-epic .
--Sitting Bull
2) MAMA GRIZZLY . . . Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin's new reality show Alaska debuted this past week with strong ratings. In fact, it was the best ratings ever for any Discovery Channel show. Ms. Palin certainly has a knack for self-promotion, so I can say without reservations that her new book, America By Heart (9780062010964) 25.99, should hit the top spot on the bestsellers list when it's released next Tuesday. As for watching her show, I think someone on the internet put it best, "I really enjoyed her first reality show 'Running for the Vice-Presidency.' So I'm sure her new show will be just as entertaining."
3) BLACKHAWKS DOWN . . . Triumph Books has really outdone themselves with their new title, One Goal Achieved: The Inside Story of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks (9781600785597) 39.95. In fact, this book is a steal at $39.95. It's a full-colour coffee table book with all kinds of cool paraphernalia, including a facsimile of a Stanley Cup Finals ticket, packets of player scouting reports, and trading cards. I hope they do an identical book for the Detroit Red Wings when they win the Stanley Cup this season . . .
4) KINGDOM COME . . . Jay-Z, arguably one of the biggest names in hip-hop, has released his memoir / history of rap / book of rhymes in his new handsomely illustrated title, Decoded (9781400068920) 35.00. He explains how he goes about crafting his songs and reveals the lyrical references. This book has been selling great out of the gate and should continue through the holidays . . .
Odds & Sods
Mark Twain has been making a lot of personal appearances. In fact, I heard that he presented Tina Fey with his Mark Twain Award this past week. We are expecting more copies of The Autobiography of Mark Twain V1 (9780520267190) 34.95 on Tuesday. Backorders are piling up . . .
She was no Helen of Troy, but I hear Cleopatra was quite the looker back in the day. National Book Award winner Stacy Schiff's bio on Cleopatra (9780316001922) 29.99 will be back in stock today . . .
A quirky little title that you might have missed is Judith Schalansky's Atlas of Remote Islands (9780143118206) 28.00. It's kinda cool . . .
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