In the late eighties, Mark Hertsgaard wrote a hugely important book called On Bended Knee, which catalogued the myriad ways in which the press was in thrall to the Reagan administration (contrary to the myth of the liberal media, which was in play even then).
I didn’t realize how badly I wanted someone to do the job for our current age until I started reading Eric Boehlert’s Lapdogs. As soon as I picked it up, I realized that this is what we’ve needed. If you follow the blogs closely, there probably won’t be any huge surprises, but it’s useful (if overwhelming) to have the entire argument laid out in one coherent narrative, rather than picking it up in bits and pieces over time. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Put it this way: I have a general rule against taking work-related reading matter to bed — my nighttime reading tends more toward mysteries and other escapist fiction — but this one is engrossing enough, I broke my own rule. A worthy successor to Hertsgaard, and a fabulous gift for anyone who yammers on about the liberal media, and how hard they are on Bush.
A couple of other media notes…
Official friend of TMW Daniel Handler has a new book out, here. (You may be more familiar with his alter ego, Lemony Snicket.)
And Neil Young’s new CD, Living With War, is available for preorder on Amazon — #3 with a bullet, as I write this.
And speaking of books and CDs and things — a number of generous readers sent birthday gifts off my Amazon wish list last month. I’m way behind on everything as a result of the book tour, including sending out thank yous, so I wanted to acknowledge those gifts here, and express my gratitude. Those unexpected packages showing up in the middle of the workweek are one of the happier little perks of this job.