Some first impressions on Joe McGinniss’ poorly written documentation of mental illness that is “Searching for the Real Sarah Palin”
Please do not waste your money on Joe McGinniss’ book on Governor Sarah Palin, titled “Searching for the Real Sarah Palin” and released by Random House this month. I just finished reading it this morning and it’s honestly one of the worst books — if not the actual worst — that I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading. Thankfully, a friend of mine who works in a bookstore lent it to me and I am returning it today, so I didn’t have to buy the book (and neither did my friend). I certainly didn’t want to participate in any royalties that would have gone to McGinniss (not that many people are, since my friend says the book is not selling at all and is in fact marked down considerably already, being a real turkey in the publishing world from its launch).
Even if you find it in a bargain bin some day for $1.00, it’s really not worth it unless you are one of those crafters who take terrible books, hollow them out, and make decorative hidey-safes out of them (there’s always at least one of these tables at every craft fair in Chicago, and I’m forever left wondering what other people need to hide so badly that books have to be destroyed this way for the purpose…though if any book needed to be ripped apart by crafters and bedazzlers, it’s McGinniss).
I normally read a book every two or three days, but it took me 11 days to finish McGinniss’, because it’s just so poorly written and so clearly the documentation of the author’s clear and untreated mental illness.
The only thing I can compare it to is Stephen King’s “The Shining”, because over the course of the book McGinniss degenerates into a Jack Torrance-like figure, believing unseen forces are out to get him and something nefarious is continuously going on around him — complete with a majestic, forested, mountain setting.
The book is creepy. McGinniss’, not King’s.
There’s an entire chapter devoted to McGinniss’ bizarre speculation that Trig Palin is not in fact Governor Sarah Palin’s son, but the child of an unnamed, mystery woman (or, maybe a ghost) who — according to McGinniss — was horrified at the thought of having a Down Syndrome child so she agreed to hand the baby over to the Governor to raise. McGinniss claims Senator John McCain and Governor Palin met in February 2008 and concocted this plot together — because McCain knew conservative Christians would not support his candidacy unless his running mate was a female Republican Governor who had recently birthed a special needs baby.
Joe McGinniss actually alleges this in his book. It’s in Chapter Nineteen. If this was really “The Shining”, the blood would be getting off the elevator on the second floor, chasing little Danny Torrance on his tricycle at this point.
McGinniss is incredibly hostile to Christianity all throughout “Searching for the Real Sarah Palin” and refers to Barack Obama as if he’s really some “Lightbringer” that should never be questioned or criticized. Know this well, and you’ll have a solid idea of what’s woven throughout the 300-some odd (and often, VERY odd) pages.
Here and there, McGinniss talks about geese and squirrels living in the woods near him like they are people. They’re characters in the book, and often more credible than some of the kooks he “interviewed” for his “research”.
The book is plastered with more expletives than stalls in a truck stop restroom, but written with a fraction of the wit, class, or charm.
There’s also a strange amount of time devoted to things McGinniss was eating during the time he spent stalking the Palin family, all the while insisting to anyone who would listen, even the birds and the squirrels, that he wasn’t really stalking them. He was just “observing” them. Repeatedly, he’d invite interview subjects over to the house and make jokes about none of them wanting to peer over the Palin’s fence or look in the Palin children’s windows. I think it’s beyond creepy of McGinniss to even joke about doing things like this, or to make light of the situation he created where the parents next door had to concern themselves with what the stranger next door might be up to.
McGinniss spends an unnatural and inappropriate amount of time talking about Piper Palin. Though he doesn’t make any threats towards her, he lingers too much on Piper when detailing book signings or political events where Piper was amongst other Palin family members supporting the Governor. In these instances, McGinniss doesn’t take the time to describe what others in the Palin entourage are wearing or what they’re doing…only Piper. Always Piper. If another author, with a different obsession, wrote a similar book going on about Sasha Obama this way, I’m sure Secret Service would move in next door to him.
Creepy.
When not waxing at length about the Palin children, McGinniss spends the rest of the book quoting things he read on the various hate sites dedicated to attacking Governor Palin on a daily basis. He quotes from these blogs the way others might quote Scripture, which is interesting because of the decidedly anti-Christian bent of the book.
Most often, when sources are referenced, they’re described as “a local handyman”, “someone in town who used to work for Sarah Palin”, or “a person eating pie at a diner who told me that Sarah Palin is evil”.
Seriously.
And then McGinniss goes on for several pages about how much all of these people are so terrified of the Palins that they refused to give their names, fearing retribution.
This reminded me a lot of all the horrible books that have been written about Hillary Clinton through the years, where fetishists obsessed with her accused her of doing all sorts of voodoo on her political opponents, but then refused to give their names and go on record with their accusations claiming they were too afraid of her to do so.
THAT reminds me a lot of people who snipe at public figures on the Internet but refuse to give their real names, hiding behind ridiculous aliases and avatars since what they’re saying isn’t the least bit true. All of these people howl and wail when dragged out into the sunlight and their real agendas are exposed.
It’s weird to see the same things that were done to Hillary Clinton being done to Governor Palin, but not surprising because most of the garbage McGinnniss typed up is rooted in the same misogyny and sexism that fueled 80% of the Hillary Derangement Syndrome…which is now being eclipsed by rabid Palin Derangement Syndrome.
I actually think it’s worth my time and yours to sit down and do a write up of the Top Ten Worst Delusions in McGinniss’ book on Palin — because I have no doubt PDS sufferers coast to coast will parrot the attacks in McGinniss’ book so I might as well spend today refudiating them while the book is still fresh in my mind.
Before I do whatever I need to do to flush this thing out of my head once and for all.
If you have read the book yourself, please use this thread to post your own comments of what you though of it. Honestly, it’s chock so full of lies I’m sure Random House is going to pay a large settlement to the Palin family for just Chapter Nineteen alone, with it’s vile attacks on little Trig. There’s also the fact that McGinniss repeatedly calls Governor Palin a racist, at least once a chapter, which is patently untrue…and, coincidentally, the very thing Leftists do when they want to attack someone but have nothing substantive and reality-based to say in the form of criticism. So, they just call the person a RAAACIST!, as the Alinsky Rules playbook dictates.
Followed by McGinniss to the demented letter in his own “book”.
© 2011, Kevin DuJan. All rights reserved.
Also Recommended:
- STRATEGY NEEDED: How to help Sarah Palin and her family with their stalker, and new neighbor, Creepy McGinniss
- First impressions on Going Rogue by Sarah Palin
- Super creepy Joe McGinniss on Today Show promoting his slimey “book”
- She just wants to be Sarah Palin.
- Do you know where Sarah Palin will be on Friday 9/16/11 and Saturday 9/17/11?
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I have not read and it is not included in my list of books to read this decade. I saw McGinnis briefly on the View and it was funny the way that he said that "he didn't believe that Trig was not her child, but . . ." then he goes on to speak about flight attendants saying that she did not look pregnant or some unknown man on his way to Juneau seeing her and saying the same thing. First of all, Sarah Palin back then was not an easy recognizable character since most of American did not know who she was, so for a flight attendant to remember her from three years back and so sure that it was that day when she gave birth is ludicrous. Second, the unnamed man on his way to Juneau, unmaned, need I say more? Third, I think that the other Governors at the conference would have noticed whether or not she was pregnant. Fourth, my friend in Alaska told me when I asked her after the first whiff of Trig not being her baby, that Sarah Palin was definitely pregnant. I guess Joe McGinnis could not get hold of my friend. She, most likely would have given her name.
when the lamestream media, which is no friend of the palins, panned the book, i knew it had to be really bad. and if i needed more proof of it's insignificance? upon visiting a borders bookstore that was closing, i saw stacks of this book on a shelf. 70% off. a few days later, i went back to the store for it's final closeout. the same amount of this book was there (ok, i didn't count them, but the stacks of books looked about the same height) 90 % off.
heh. revenge is a dish best served cold, and i can think of no greater revenge than this attention hog sinking into the obscurity he deserves.
Given how hard it is to actually get a publisher to publish a book, the thing I am most shocked about is that a professional publishing company like Random House actually published this tripe. I should think that they would rather pay you, Kevin, for a quality book about real political experiences that would be profitable. I hope Sarah sues them, and reaps a solid settlement.
I highly recommend something like the movies "My Favorite Year", "Princess Bride" or "Roger Rabbit" to clean your brain of all the vileness.
Glad it was your computer and not your health that caused your absence!
I think it is pretty funny to even suggest that Trigg is not Sarah's little sweetie…heck I bet anyone could get a hospital or insurance record with her name & his on it from his birth…come on! Ridiculous!
Thanks for reading Kevin…it sounds like a real evil mess of a book. Also did you see that the Palin's have a law-suit against Random House the publishers!
Go Sarah!!!
That Joe McGinniss believes the MSM is actively protecting Palin from her detractors and never did any vetting of her is pretty much all the proof one needs that Joe is certifiable. That he includes Keith Olbermann and his former pals at MSNBC in that cabal of MSM Palin-protectors proves him to be dangerously psychotic.
The fact that his sources are either completely anonymous (i.e. fictitious) or are people who are mentally unstable (Jesse Griffin, anyone?) is more proof that McGinniss has to be insane to believe them to be credible sources.
The left was so certain the Tea Party/Palin supporters are such rabid racists that, obviously, if Palin had premarital sex with a black man — Oh, the HORROR! — we'd all freak out and drop her like a hot potato. Funny how that didn't happen, isn't it? It's almost like the left has this cartoon caricature image of what a conservative is. Which means… that maybe we're not racists? Or total sexual prudes?
Nah! We're just all so brainwashed by Caribou Barbie, I'm sure…
That this book is subtitled "Searching for the Real Sarah Palin" while it's chock-full of lies will be the point that sinks Random House and old Joe, if the Palins seek compensation for the damage done to their reputations.
Even if he legitimately has a beef with Sarah Palin (which I don't believe he does, but let's stipulate it for the sake of argument), what point is served by going after her children? The answer is, none. The children of politicians have been off limits pretty much forever (with the exception of the Bush daughters), yet for some reason, with Palin, even her infant/toddler special needs child is considered a legitimate target.
Frankly, it's not only sick, it's obscene. (And, yeah… fixating on Piper Palin and describing what she's wearing… that just makes him look like a total pedophile. Maybe there's something in Old Joe's background we should insist be checked out… Just sayin'.)
The only saving grace is that the book is so obviously over the top in presenting the left's rabid hatred aimed at Sarah Palin, that it may well change a lot of minds… I mean, even Whoopi Goldberg thought McGinniss had an unnatural obsession with her and her family. If Whoopi thinks he's gone off the deep end, maybe other lefties will see it, too. One can only hope…
So maybe when Random House settles with the Palins (because you know they will) they can simply re-title the book something like, "Joe McGinniss: My Crazy Booze and Dope-Induced Lies and Ramblings About Sarah Palin" Or perhaps, "The Geese and Squirrels Made Me Write All This Crazy Shit — They Talk To Me, Ya Know?." Or simply, "A Once Adequate Journalist Rides Off The Rails Demonstrating His Irrational Hatred Of A Woman Who Never Did Anything To Hurt Him."
Oh, and in the settlement, I hope Palin demands to receive all the royalties on that book…