Barricade Books

December 2011

2011-12-01T19:32:11+00:00

More about that 800-pound gorilla –Amazon These days the publishing world is divided by how people feel about Amazon. I love Amazon…really. Honestly, when they order a book, they don’t return it. Returns are the tragedy of this business. You ship the books out, promote them and hold your breath, hoping they don’t come back at you. Every so often a bright newbie to the industry comes up with a genius idea: Give booksellers a bigger discount and sell books non-returnable. Why doesn’t that work? Because if booksellers don’t want your books they won’t want them even if they are free. If they don’t sell, back they come. These days, with more people reading on e-readers, sales of actual books are declining. The good news about e-books is they don’t get returned. And sales are increasing for those who use a Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc. Still, not a happy situation for publishers who like to see their actual books on the shelves of stores. Self-Publishing It used to be you had to have a publisher if you wanted your book published. There were and are Vanity publishers who will put anything between covers (or on e-platforms) for a hefty fee. At the same time, writers are getting smarter. More writers are self-publishing. It’s easy to find a company that will design your book, cover and all, edit it, put it into composition and produce it as a digital book. Some writers are very good at self-publishing. I read about those who have sold thousands of copies of their self-published books but there are many others who have gone through the process and then what happens? Not much. To repeat myself (see the August 2011 Hot News) it’s still up to the marketing to get anyone to know you are there. Some authors are better at this than others. Often, if they haven’t been successful selling their books, they look for a traditional publisher. Backlist, Backlist, Backlist Years ago a very talented editor started a new publishing company. It was going to have only front list books. That means you only publish for “now.” But the key to keep any publishing company in business is backlist. Books that are headline driven can have very short lives. If you sell enough of them in the first go, that’s great. And best-selling authors can provide that happy situation for themselves and their publishers. Those books make it through their first appearance and many, many more printings. Barricade has always tried to publish what are called “backlist” books. Those are the ones that are introduced with a big push when they are first published. But the hope is they become backlist titles that sell and sell. Sometimes very well, sometimes modestly. Many go on for years. Some of my favorite examples: LIVING THE MARTIAL WAY by Forrest E. Morgan, Major USAF. First published in 1992, it’s still going strong twenty years later. Another favorite is ENCYCLOPEDIA OF UNUSUAL SEX PRACTICES by Brenda Love. First published, 1992. Its many foreign editions are still in print and soon there will be an Icelandic translation. As many know, we have a long list of true-crime and Mafia books. One, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA by Rick Porrello made its debut in 1995…nearly 17 years ago. It has been in print for years and is a consistent seller. THE COMPLETE BOOK OF US PRESIDENTS by William A. DeGregorio is now in its 7th edition. Originally copyright 1984. We update it every presidential election. A brilliant idea that I wish I could take credit for was to republish the cult classic by Helen Gurley Brown, SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL. We met Helen and David Brown and Lyle suggested bringing her book out again. Helen was pleased but concerned that we not lose any money. We re-published in 2003, a relative “child” on our list – we’ve only had it for 9 years. 2012 marks the book’s 50th anniversary from the original publication. There will be much celebrating this birthday, including a BBC Radio special that interviews many people like Letty Cottin Pogrebin, who was involved in the first edition published by Bernard Geis. We’re printing a “50th Anniversary Edition.” Before we published, I went to Helen’s office at Cosmopolitan Magazine to talk about the book. She was really the epitome of “That Cosmopolitan Girl” although a beautiful mature woman by then. Her office walls were decorated in a leopard pattern and she was dressed very sexily down to her fishnet stockings. Hearst, the publisher, in a smart move, later made her Editor of all the international editions of Cosmopolitan. She traveled all over the world as each new edition was launched. Books into Movies The fun thing about books is that some times old ones surprise you. We have activity in film options on a number of our books. In development are SHARON TATE AND THE MANSON MURDERS and MY FACE FOR THE WORLD TO SEE, a memoir by the late Liz Renay that has both movie and theatrical interest. Miss Maggie Moore, whose film work has included HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH a one-woman show based on Ann Margret and many other credits, is determined to play Liz in a musical stage production. BRONX DA, by Sarena Straus, published a few years ago, has been optioned by CBS TV as the basis for a television series. Strong women seem to be very popular on television these days. If you haven’t watched it yet, don’t miss COVERT AFFAIRS an action drama on the USA network. The name of the lead character is “Annie Walker.” Beautiful, blond and very smart. Previously mentioned is I'LL DO MY OWN DAMN KILLIN' the story of Benny Binion, under option by Nick Cassavetes and BACK DOOR CHANNELS by Leon Charney that covers the peace talks in the Jimmy Carter era. The new paperback edition coincides with the release of the movie based on the book. In addition to theaters it will soon will be broadcast on PBS television stations across the country. Option Money Option money can be good income. I recall a conversation with Melvin Van Peebles some years ago. Van Peebles made a splash with the film SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG in 1971, and over the years sold options on other projects. As the option time expired, it was often renewed -- for additional payment. Or, it could be sold to another party. It was, as he described, "a living." I’ll end with a few personal notes: My very dear friend Jeanne Johnson died this summer after a yearlong battle with cancer. Jeanne lived life on her own terms and up to the very end was funny, smart and went out of this world as she wished to – having all her friends and the wonderfully supportive woman who Jeanne worked with, come to visit her. Her son Bill and daughter, Holly, were with her as she knew time was precious. Jeanne had great style and every one of us thought she was our best friend. She was. Rory Stuart, that master of multitasking, and my stepson, is now a full-time faculty member at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Look for notice for his gigs on his website: www.rorystuart.com Until next time, my best wishes for a happy holiday, Carole

August, 2011

2011-08-09T20:07:57+00:00

The Book Business— The challenge is how to keep up with the changes. The giants in publishing are covering every base, and e-books are growing in popularity. For the record, our books are available on electronic platforms, and our monthly reports show that sales of e-books are increasing. That’s good news. 800-Pound Gorilla— Amazon is a major force in the business. You no longer have to go to a bookstore to buy a book. Go to the Amazon website, put in the title of the book you are interested in or the name of the author, and you’ll find it. What you can’t do is browse the way you can in a bookstore and discover a book that you hadn’t been aware of. Bookstores. They are ordering very cautiously. But books that you can hold in your hand remain a vital part of our business. What sells a book is still the same old word-of-mouth. If you hear about it, read about it, a friend tells you about a good book, you are more likely to buy it. Whatever the format, as long as people are buying books, we’ll be supplying them. Good news— Bruce Mowday (“JAILING THE JOHNSTON GANG”) has partnered with Jim Donahue on “Why The Hall Not? and the Amazing Ride to Cooperstown.” This just-published book about baseball’s Richie Ashburn, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, has already gone back to press for a second printing. Books are shipping now to fill back orders. Co-authors, Bruce and Jim are everywhere in Pennsylvania promoting this “feel good” book about Ashburn, a baseball hero and genuinely nice guy who finally got into the Baseball Hall of Fame, partly due to the efforts of his greatest fan, Jim. Future news— Any day now “DENNIS HOPPER: The Wild Ride of a Hollywood Rebel” by Peter Winkler will be in bookstores and available as an e-book. Last month it was featured on the Turner Classic Movie channel as their monthly Book Corner pick. Hopper lived an incredible life, was married five times - was friends with Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Natalie Wood and Peter Fonda. Publishers Weekly says “…Winkler presents Hopper’s descent into drugs, alcohol, and violence; (and) the making of Easy Rider, the seminal 1969 counterculture film…” Coda— Recently I wrote about Allan Wilson, who died a few months ago. I was friends with Allan for forty years, but only knew a part of his life. A diehard bachelor, he had lots of relatives and many of them gathered at the apartment of Jim Tannenbaum, whose generosity made Allan’s life comfortable in his last months. There were too many people to name, but everyone had an Allan story. They loved him, and he generously provided books for their particular interests. There were many stories about Allan’s love of the track and other forms of gambling— all of which undoubtedly contributed to making the casinos richer. Jim Tannenbaum told about Allan taking him to the track at Belmont one Saturday. On the way back, he said he had to make a stop. Puzzled, Jim soon learned that the stop was at an OTB where Allan placed a bet on a horse at Santa Anita. It was a love fest, and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Thank you, Jim, for the party, the great food and the delightful touch of having a terrific pianist entertain us, closing with “Luck Be a Lady Tonight” from “Guys and Dolls”—an appropriate song for raising a glass to Allan J. Wilson. Short takes— A few years ago we published I’LL DO MY OWN DAMN’ KILLIN’, a bio of Benny Binion by Gary W. Sleeper. Binion, famous for the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas and the patron saint of the World Series of Poker, was a horse trader, a bootlegger, and the “boss gambler” of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. He was a real rough guy who admitted to killing a couple of guys. Now, Benny may have his story turned into a major film. We just optioned it to Nick Cassavetes who has appeared as an actor in a number of films such as “The Substitute” and “Backdoor Dreams” and is also a director, “She’s So Lovely” and “The Notebook.” Last minute news— We are rushing into a print a prepublication edition of Leon Charney’s “BACK DOOR CHANNELS: The Price of Peace” to coincide with a mid-September screening of the documentary film of the same name. The book and film reveal the story of the interplay between the official government channels and those who acted largely behind the scenes of the first Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel that began during the Jimmy Carter administration. Variety, in a review of the film, quoted Stuart E. Eizenstat as saying that all of Carter’s advisers warned him that getting involved in such a contentious foreign conflict would be political suicide. One thing to take away from the documentary is “…the tragic realization that not one American politician of (Carter’s) stature has been similarly willing to risk their future to push for peace.” On the Road— If you want to live vicariously, follow the bicycle journey of New York Times writer Bruce Weber. As I write this, Bruce is biking from Portland, Oregon, to New York, repeating a journey he made 18 years ago when he was 39. He’s now 57. He is marking his 25th anniversary at the Times with this adventure and blogging about it. You can follow and Tweet him at nytbruceweber. Go Bruce! Personal news— I’ll indulge myself a bit to celebrate the arrival on June 20 of my fifth grandchild, Miss Sloane Dara Kern. She joins her brothers, Dylan, Justin and Jackson, and parents Brad and Jen Kern. Ms. Sloane is the first girl in a long run of boys in our family that includes grand nephews and cousins. Until next time . . . Carole

APRIL/MAY 2011

2011-04-25T19:48:15+00:00

We will continue to offer our particular style of edgy books – many of them true crime; others are memoirs or books that inform, that make a difference. Here is the background on one of them. When we published HONOR BETRAYED –Sexual Abuse in America’s Military by Dr. Mic Hunter I thought – and still think – it was one of the most important books we’ve had on our list in recent years. It talks candidly about an issue that has been largely ignored but deserves attention. I expected a lot of media coverage about how military personnel, male, female, gay, people of color - are mistreated. The subject and the book persist, as the author tells us. This is how Mic came to write it: “The year was 2005 when I got a phone call: ‘You’ve written all these books on sexual abuse, when are you going to write one on the sexual abuse that takes place in the military?’ I was completely ignorant about this and concluded if I hadn’t read about it, maybe there was no problem. Curious, I began to look for information. I like to have first person accounts in my books rather than just report the findings of research. But, never having sserved in the military, I wondered if veterans would trust me with their stories? I anticipated getting nowhere when I revealed I was a civilian. I was completely wrong. I sent out a few e-mails and posted notices on military related websites. Almost immediately, I started getting phone calls and e-mails. Sure enough, the interaction began with the question, ‘In what branch of the military did you serve?’” Much to my surprise, when I revealed I had no military experience, every single person had the same response: ‘Good, I was afraid you’d be military, and then you wouldn’t believe what I’m about to tell you.’ In many cases the women and men who sent me their stories included medical records or other evidence to back up what they had shared with me. Now, with first person accounts, I began my research into what had already been written on the subject and was shocked by what I found; I became whole heartedly committed to seeing that the American people learn about what had been perpetrated on some of our troops. For the first time in my writing career I contacted a literary agent, He was impressed with the information and was convinced he would have a publisher on board quickly. After submitting a finished manuscript to more than 100 publishers, they all turned it down; believing that sexual abuse in the military is so rare the topic doesn’t warrant a book My research from the Department of Defense showed double-digit abuse rates. But those that would acknowledge the abuse claimed that military personnel are not seriously harmed. If that was true why did Veteran Administration hospitals have units dedicated to the treatment of military personnel who had suffered serious emotional damage as a result of being sexually abused? I had been through this process before in 1989 when I was seeking a publisher for my book, Abused Boys: The Neglected Victims Of Sexual Abuse. At that time, I was told that boys don’t get sexually abused and even if they did, it wouldn’t hurt them, at least not in the ways girls are affected. Of course, now it is common knowledge that boys can be, and are, abused, and that it damages them. Finally, Carole Stuart at Barricade Books, decided to take on the project. Once the book was printed I reached out to both the print and broadcast media. After having been interviewed hundreds of times, I was confident that I would have no trouble finding reporters to cover a story that could lead to our troops getting better treatment. I was interviewed but when it came time for the material to be printed or broadcast, the story was cut, - “The topic isn’t news worthy.” I sent copies of the book to those in Congress who have direct responsibility for veteran’s affairs and the Department of Defense, but only one even acknowledged receiving it. Despite the lack of attention from the media and elected officials, I keep getting letters and e-mails from those who suffered the abuse… thanking me for writing it and letting me know how important it has been in reducing the shame and isolation that comes from thinking ‘I was the only one this happened to.’ Here’s where the “better late than never” part comes in. Recently, a few stories on sexual abuse in the military have appeared, which gives me hope. Hope that those veterans whose injuries, both physical and psychological, resulted from sexual abuse will be treated with the respect and concern we show veterans wounded by the enemy. My publisher had a request for the book from The Oprah Radio network. A long article about sexual abuse in the military recently appeared in Newsweek on line by Jesse Ellison titled “The Military’s Secret Shame” that made reference to Honor Betrayed: Sexual Abuse In America’s Military. And just a few days ago, an order for a large number of copies came to the publisher from Pakistan. Twenty years after it was first published Abused Boys is still in print because the conditions that foster child sexual abuse have not been adequately addressed. I fear that twenty years from now our society will not have adequately addressed the conditions that permit, and even encourage, the sexual mistreatment of the most important part of our military-those who volunteer to serve. No author wants to be ahead of the curve but if Honor Betrayed is finally getting noticed, I’ll be content that my book is making a difference. When I see bumper stickers that exclaim, “Support our troops;” I think, what could be more supportive than seeing to it that they aren’t sexually abused by fellow Americans? NO GET OUT OF JAIL CARD IN THIS MONOPOLY GAME As most readers of Hot News know, we publish many True Crime books. Recently, the contents of one were used as an attempt to appeal a prison sentence. JAILING THE JOHNSTON GANG: Bringing Serial Murders to Justice by Bruce Mowday is the story of the dedicated law enforcement team that brought to justice, Norman, David and Bruce Johnston – serial murderers. They had their particularly style: when they couldn’t intimidate witnesses to their crimes, they murdered them. As reported in the Pennsylvania press recently, two surviving members of the notorious gang, tried to use the book as evidence for a new trial but Judge Howard Riley of the Chester County Court rejected the bid by the surviving brothers, David and Norman Johnston. They had petitioned the court after reading Mowday’s book. The judge ruled that the evidence was already available to them at their trial. Sometimes things turn out as they should. They will remain in prison – serving life sentences. Mowday has a new book coming soon – Richie Ashburn, WHY THE HALL NOT? The Amazing Journey to Cooperstown. It’s the story of Richie Ashburn, the much-loved Phillies’ baseball hero who was overlooked by baseball’s Hall of Fame. That all changed when co-author, Jim Donahue, was a boy. Jim met Ashburn and the player signed a ball for him. – Years later, Jim mounted a campaign and gathered nearly 200,000 signatures on a petition to get Richie Ashburn into baseball’s Hall of Fame. It’s a heartwarming story. Look for it this summer. NORMAN CORWIN – Another Play Opens I have to share the latest news about Norman Corwin. Now a very active Centenarian, he has a play that will be on soon. TOGETHER TONIGHT: Hamilton-Jefferson-Burr will be presented in classic radio drama style on May 7th at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn Little Theater in North Hollywood, California. The play is a conversation between the scrappy Aaron Burr, elitist Alexander Hamilton and the down-to-earth Thomas Jefferson. The meeting, did not actually happen but Norman created the piece using the characters’ own words, taken from their writings and speeches. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Over the many years I’ve been in publishing, first at Lyle Stuart, Inc. and now at Barricade Books we’ve had many talented young people working with us. Some were employees, others interns. Most are still talking to us! They’ve gone on in most cases, to other publishing jobs. Some are freelancers and continue to work for us as independent providers. They are all flourishing. I asked them to tell me about their lives now. Here, are a few of the people who made up the staffs of Lyle Stuart, Inc and Barricade Books. STEVEN BROWER Steven Brower is a designer who was the art director at Lyle Stuart, Inc. Steve grew and blossomed and is remarkably multi-talented. He works in many mediums: He is writing and designing books of his own. These include “Satchmo: The Wonderful World and Art of Louis Armstrong,” “From Shadow to Light: The Life & Art of Mort Meskin,”and “Breathless Homicidal Slime Mutants: The Art of the Paperback” Steve won the National Magazine Award twice for General Excellence, and achieved Gold and Silver at the Society of Publication Designers during his tenure as Art Director/Creative Director at PRINT magazine. Steve’s next book will be on Duke Ellington. He’s working with Ellington’s granddaughter, Mercedes Ellington. Rizzoli will publish so you know it’ll be fabulous to look at as well as to read. If he ever gets Barney Rosset to let go of his memoir (he’s been working on it for twenty years) Steve will design it. Steve has a solo exhibit of his design work at the Art Institute-Inland Empire in San Bernardino, CA that is on through mid-May. AMY PACKARD Amy Packard got her start in publishing as an intern for us in 1996. When she left Barricade Books in 2000 she was Publicity Director. Amy relocated to San Francisco in 2001. After a yearlong stint at a PR firm, she went back to her love of books and found a job working as the Publicity Director for a small, political, non-profit publisher called Encounter Books. She was with Encounter Books for four years then moved on to the San Francisco office of John Wiley & Sons publishers. Since 2006 Amy has been working primarily for the Jossey-Bass imprint of Wiley as the Publicity Manager focusing mostly on Leadership and Management titles. Over the years, she has worked with some high profile clients and authors including Ed Koch, Mr. T, Victor Davis Hanson, Patrick Lencioni, and Kouzes & Posner. Amy married a handsome, Italian man from Verona in 2007 and they currently reside in Oakland, CA with their cat Peanut. Until next time Carole

Allan Wilson

2011-01-27T18:44:05+00:00

ALLAN J. WILSON died on January 17th He was 94 years old Allan Wilson, longtime editor and friend, was a partner with Morris Sorkin in Citadel Press that was later purchased by Lyle Stuart, Inc. Both Morris and Allan were with the company up to and after Lyle sold it to Carol Publishing. He was comfortably passed retirement when the sale took place but Lyle made Stephen Schragis promise to keep Allan and Morris on. That he did. Morris eventually retired and then died but Allan stayed on. Ultimately, Carol Publishing let Allen go. Lyle and I told Allan he would always have a desk at Barricade Books. He was delighted and soon was traveling from NYC, where he lived to Ft Lee, NJ by bus. The work and journey soon became more than he could handle and he no longer came to the office. Allan J. Wilson’s book career started in l941 when he worked at Concord Books, a famous bookstore on Broadway. He purchased the store in 1951. It specialized in remainders, purchased in large lots either from wholesalers or directly from the publisher. Allan Wilson was also, as we shall see, a partner in the Jack Woodford Press. From Macmillan he got many copies of Ian Fleming novels, which sold wonderfully just at the start of Fleming‚s popularity in this country. Other big sellers were James Jones’ From Here to Eternity. From Jack Brussel he got sexologist Ivan Bloch’s book on de Sade, and a book about practical mathematics, Magic with Figures, the rights to which he eventually sold to Barnes and Noble, which published it under the title Math Without a Computer. Allan would buy as many as 4,000 books for a dime apiece and sell them for 39 or 49 cents. His general stock brought in people of all classes, and included the famous, among its customers O. Henry, Marlene Dietrich, and FDR. Allen sported checks for books ordered by FDR and Harry Truman. He sold half a million books in 1958, many to theatergoers. But this was his last good year. The advent of paperbacks and the consequent decline in sales of any kind of hardback hurt the Concord, as did the closing of the Paramount Theater, and the hardening of Times Square’s reputation as a dangerous place to be after dark. The Concord got increasingly less attention from theater and movie goers, who did not like to share sidewalk space with people who were rowdy, drunk, or high on reefers (a quaint name for marijuana) Such characters, when they wandered into the Concord, made other customers uneasy. They brought the scent of recklessness and defiance from the street into a respectable establishment. More and more playgoers left the area as soon as their shows were over. When Wilson closed his doors in 1965, the Journal American and the Times ran tributes, as did Walter Winchell. Lyle worked at Concord as a young man and it was there that they started a relationship that spanned close to sixty years. Alllan’s last years were spent in an assisted living apartment where he was looked after very nicely by the staff and a private aide, Ana Al who his nephew, Jimmy Tannenbaum provided. Allan really took to Ana Al, and the feeling was mutual. Allan never married although he had several long-term relationships with ladies. He had no siblings or children but thanks to Jimmy Tannenbaum and Ana Al, he had the comfort of a real family in his last year. Ana took him home with her from time to time and he experienced family, dogs and all. He almost made it to 95. That was his wish. Most of his productive years were filled with books, travel, cigars, vodka and gambling. He went to casinos but most of all, he loved the track. He’d go to the track every week and then the “track” was OTB. He had quite a publishing career. He was a terrific editor and in his time made some best sellers including Evelyn Keyes’ SCARLETT O’HARA’S YOUNGER SISTER, by Evelyn Keyes. He produced some 140 books for Citadel Press in their famous “Films Of” series that featured illustrated books about such stars as Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck and many others. Donald Bain, an author and friend, said “He truly was a gentleman and I treasure memories of having drinks with him at the Gramercy Park Hotel, a favorite haunt of his. He could be demanding (he edited CAVIAR! CAVIAR! CAVIAR!) I always loved working with him.” Allan was buried in his family’s grave plot next to his mother in Valhalla New York in the Mount Pleasant cemetery. . Lyle called Allan a bon vivant. He wore an ascot tie, smoked cigars and held open doors for ladies. Lyle said he reminded him of Franchot Tone. He was quite a gentleman.

Out Goes 2010-In Comes 2011

2010-12-27T16:04:38+00:00

OUT GOES 2010 – IN COMES 2011 WIKILEAKS Julian Assange is either a hero or a monster or a creep depending on who is describing him. But takes courage to leak documents that are judged “secret” I learned that when I started to work for Lyle Stuart who took on censorship by publishing THE KAMA KALA by today’s standards pretty tame. At the time even nude statues showing sexual positions were forbidden. THE ANARCHIST COOKBOOK in 1971 became an underground best seller. William Powell, the 21 year old found all the “recipes” for making Molotov cocktails and bombs in books available in the public library– all public documents. Most of the “recipes” did not work, but every college student had to have it. Most booksellers would not stock it but it managed to sell and sell. TURNER DIARIES was a novel of racist propaganda only available by mail. The Publisher wanted a wider distribution. Lyle agreed to do it only if he could write an introduction to our edition. In the introduction he wrote, “THE TURNER DIARIES is a dreadful book. It is ignorant. Even its author boasts, ‘It offends almost everyone; Afro-Americans, feminists, gays and lesbians, liberals, communists, Mexicans, democrats, the FBI, egalitarians, and Jews, Especially Jews: for it portrays them as incarnations of everything that is evil and destructive.’” Many attacked us for publishing it but in the introduction he went on to say “I have fought censorship all of my adult life. To me, the most precious of all rights in this marvelous country called the United States of America is the freedom to think, write, and say whatever is on your mind, subject to the laws of libel. …No one needs a First Amendment to write about how cute newborn babies are…nobody needs a First Amendment for innocuous ideas or popular points of view. …You and I must always protect the right of the minority – even a minority of one – to express the most outrageous and offensive ideas. Only then is total freedom of expression guaranteed.” The question is: can information hurt? Or does too little information hurt more? An example of information helping is about my friend, Ted Koryn. He grew up in Holland but his family fled at the beginning of World War II after his mother read, in German, Hitler’s MEIN KAMPF. She said, “We are getting out of Europe.” It was all there, Hitler’s grand plan, for anyone who read MEIN KAMPF. Should KAMPF be banned – or studied. WHAT’S UP AT BARRICADE? Some months ago I told the history of our publishing Rick Porrello’s THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA after discovering his family’s background. His notorious grandfather and three uncles were all connected to the mob. It is the only book to describe the first top-level meeting of the Sicilian-American Mafia and offers the first in-depth look at the life of Angelo “Big Ange” Lonardo. After the Cleveland Mafia book Porrello self-published To Kill The Irishman now a major film due to be released in March. Its stars include Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Paul Sorvino and Ray Stevenson as Danny Greene, the Irishman of the title. Porrello also runs the website americanmafia.com a great site to check if you are looking for other mob information and books. We of course are jumping on the opportunity to reissue THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA in paperback with a new introduction and new cover. It will be available in March, $16.95. (Order from us and get a 20% discount or from your favorite bookseller). PAUL KRASSNER WINS PEN AWARD I’ve known Paul Krassner for more years than I can recall. He’s been my friend and author. Our lives and families have intertwined for many years. A few years ago Barricade published his “Murder at the Conspiracy Convention “ with an introduction by George Carlin. It’s still available. Paul has long been known as the voice of the underground, and daring founder of The Realist, Recently, he received an honor he well deserves from PEN Oakland. PEN International, a Nobel Prize-winning organization devoted to defending freedom of expression, was founded in 1921. PEN Oakland (dubbed the “Blue Collar PEN” by The New York Times) was founded in 1989 by Ishmael Reed and co-founders Floyd Salas, Claire Ortalda and Reginald Lockett. The Oakland chapter was created as a “multicultural” conclave to “promote works of excellence by writers of all cultural and racial backgrounds and to educate both the public and the media as to the nature of multicultural work.” Below is an excerpt from Gar Smith’s column as it appeared in The Berkeley Daily Planet Oakland PEN Writing Awards Honor Paul Krassner, Local Writers Earlier this December, more than 100 literary buffs descended on the Rockridge Library and squeezed their way into a crowded upstairs meeting room to celebrate the winners of PEN Oakland’s 2010 Josephine Miles Literary Awards. PEN Oakland director and poet Gerald Nicosia introduced Paul Krassner as founder of The Realist, cofounder of the Yippies, confederate and editor for Lenny Bruce, and the author of a half-dozen books. Nicosia added a little-known note from Krassner’s long counter-cultural resume (which includes the accolade, “Court Jester to the Revolution”). During a stint as a radio DJ in New York, Krassner got into trouble for broadcasting advice on safe and professional abortion services. Krassner’s advocacy drew the attention of the authorities and resulted in a New York court trial. This trial, Nicosia noted, eventually lead to the historic Supreme Court ruling, Roe versus Wade, which legalized the choice option for America’s women. Krassner was the crowd’s favorite. The applause that erupted as he hobbled toward the podium quickly gave way to a standing ovation (and what better way to salute a stand-up comic?). Despite turning 78 in April, Krassner still radiates the same boyish exuberance that has endeared him to readers and cabaret crowds for more than five decades. Krassner’s only concession to age would appear to be the sturdy cane he leans on, but his bum leg is not a sign of aging — it’s the legacy of a police beating he sustained in the Sixties. As the author of “Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut” and other counter-culture classics, Krassner admitted some embarrassment at receiving the honor. “After spending most of my life as an iconoclast,” he said, he found it strange that he has come to be “treated as an icon.” But he expressed his deep appreciation for one aspect of the award. “I’m thankful that his plaque is not being awarded posthumously.” Krassner spoke about his current project: “Writing my first, long-awaited (at least by me) novel.” He related how he had complained to a friend that writing a novel is such an intense, creative process. “Why is it so hard?” his friend asked. “You’ve spent your whole life making thing up.” “Yes,” Krassner replied, “but that was journalism!” To read the entire article, please go online to the December 14 issue of The Berkeley Daily Planet Coming in early 2011: Gaming the Game: The Inside Story of the NBA Betting Scandal and the Gambler Who Made It All Happen by Sean Patrick Griffin (author of Black Brothers, Inc.) We are publishing a book revealing the whole story of the NBA betting scandal, the case that sent Jimmy “Baba” Battista (the gambler) and Tim Donaghy (the ref) to prison along with Tommy Martino (the intermediary). This trio of guys who knew each other from childhood were involved in an elaborate system of betting on games officiated by Donaghy. Sean Griffin whose BLACK BROTHERS INC was a best seller in the Mid-Atlantic region, was fascinated by the story of big-time illegal sports gambling involving the daily, secretive movement of millions of dollars via offshore sportsbooks. Starting in March 2008, Sean got to spend many hours with Jimmy Battista, whose personal “code of honor” prevented him from speaking with the Feds and he paid the price – prison. As such, authorities – like the general public – for the first time will be hearing how, where, and why the betting was done when they read GAMING THE GAME. If you think the ex-ref Donaghy, who penned his own book last year and has appeared in many media forums, was telling the whole story about the betting, and about the federal investigation, you’ve got to read this book. You will also learn about the tight-knit fraternity of the world’s heavyweight gamblers with whom Battista bet, who wagered in sums and in ways that most of us have never imagined. I addition to his extensive interviewing of Battista, Sean has reviewed confidential law enforcement files, court transcripts, referee and betting statistics, and Battista’s betting records. He has traveled around the U.S. interviewing current and federal law enforcement officials, sportsbooks manager, bookies, and other pro gamblers to make this a definitive account of the scandal and of big-time sports betting. SOME PERSONAL STUFF This being the end of the year I’ll indulge myself by writing about what’s going on in my family. Carla (my niece) and her twins Daniel and Benjamin (almost 8) are excellent. Carla is busy in sales and self-improvement seminars. The boys manage to be good kids and are very cute and very tall. Jenni and Brad and the three boys, Dylan, Justin and Jackson have adopted two kittens, Mookie (all black, female) and Sylvester (black and white, male) Rory is scheduling music work for this summer and already has offers for performances and workshops in Italy, Israel, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. Happy Holidays – until next year Carole

MY END OF SUMMER BLOG

2010-08-22T15:00:25+00:00

EVOLUTION OF A REVOLUTION Lyle Stuart was the first publisher of Dr. Albert Ellis with SEX WITHOUT GUILT. Soon after came the sensational (at the time) THE ART AND SCIENCE OF LOVE An icon of 20th century psychology, Ellis was a founder of the cognitive behavioral movement. Barricade Books continued publishing many of Dr. Ellis’ books including When AA Doesn’t Work for You, The Art and Science of Rational Eating and Sex Without Guilt in the 21st Century. After Ellis’ death two directors at the Albert Ellis Institute, James McMahon PhD, and Ann Vernon Ph.D., produced an impressive collection of Ellis’ writings. Evolution of a Revolution, traces the evolution of Ellis’ philosophy and methodology from its Freudian roots to present day cognitive therapy. This book will be an important addition to the field of cognitive therapy and will fascinate followers of Ellis’ unique, outspoken approach. Look for it in bookstores, on Amazon or directly from Barricade Books. BARRY FARBER Barry Farber will celebrate 50 years on the radio this September and was nominated this year to the National Radio Hall of Fame. He launched his career in New York in 1960 and began hosting a national talk show on the ABC Radio Network in 1990. “The Barry Farber Show” is nationally syndicated and is heard Monday through Friday over CRN Digital Talk Radio (http://crntalk.com/)and Saturday afternoons on the Talk Radio network http://www.talkradionetwork.com/). Everyone who was anyone has been a guest on Barry’s shows. He’s always a gentleman and while on the conservative side of issues, he invites opposing opinions, rare enough these days. Over the years, Barry has interviewed most of our authors. It got me to wondering what it was like to work for him. For that information I contacted friend Randi Levine-Miller, who has worked her publicity magic for more publishers than I can count, including our old company, Lyle Stuart Inc. These days Randi is a member of New York’s Friar’s Club and was named friar of the year in 2007. Like many in the media business, she was once Barry Farber’s producer. “Barry created new phrases and words which I still quote... 'imaginuity'" was one -- he also used the word "phospheresence" quite a bit. Barry fascinated, educated, mesmerized me with his keen mind & wit -- he also intimidated me like you can't imagine. I was just a young, starry-eyed girl from Mosholu parkway-- but I learned my lessons well. He had tremendous, positive impact on my life, as well as many others. I’ll always love & respect my "mashugana mentor"! In addition to his broadcasting career, Barry has published several books including "Making People Talk," "How to Learn Any Language," "How to Conceal Stupidity" and "How to Not Make the Same Mistake Once." (Barricade Books published the last one) His latest is almost finished and it’s charming, Title: “Chapter Ones.” As Barry says, after meeting and interviewing thousands of guests he figured he had the makings of 189 great books provided he could come up with all the other chapters. Not being able to do that this book is made up of single-chapter-books. What a smart idea. They cover a wide range of topics from Cocktails with Molotov” to “Colored Water.” The latter is one of my favorites and I have Barry’s permission to print it below in its entirety. Enjoy: Colored Water You may not trust the memory of a five-year-old but I'm asking you to trust me on this one. It's so stark and clear. I was five years old. My mother took me into Woolworth's Department Store in Greensboro, North Carolina and developed an ingenious idea of what to do with me when she wanted to rid herself of a small child and free-roam throughout the store. She took me downstairs to the toy department and positioned me in the middle of what she thought was the most exciting part of the whole operation for me. "Barry," she said. "I want you to keep that foot there and the other foot there where it is. Mother's got to go upstairs and do some shopping and I don't want you to move even one inch. Do you understand? I pretended I did, and maybe I almost did. Mother made me practice. Left foot here. Right foot there. Nothing moves until mother gets back, okay? Deal! I agreed. I was in the middle of the toy department, but I eventually got bored with the toys that were within my eyesight. And I didn't even think of moving one foot or the other. Eventually I looked up away from the toys and saw two water fountains straight ahead. I was one of those pain-in-the-neck kids who could read somewhat at the age of five. The signs over the water fountains interested me. One sign said, "white" and the other said, "colored." "White" and "colored," what was that all about? Don't forget; I was five. If you ask a five-year-old what color water is, he won't say "clear." He'll say "white." I thought one of those fountains shot forth plain "white" water and the other offered water of various colors. I had no knowledge of racial segregation at that age and suddenly I thought I might be treated to the spectacle of "colored" water, a prospect almost as exciting as fireworks at that age. I kept a keen eye on those fountains. Everybody who came to take a drink drank from the "white" fountain. I didn't realize they were all white people. I just thought they were all exceedingly unimaginative people who didn't want to experience the thrill of "colored" water. Finally a man came to the "colored" fountain, his skin color meant nothing to me, and my little heart leapt at the notion of finally seeing "colored" water. Alas, the water from his fountain was just like that from the "white" fountain. I clearly remember thinking, "Shucks. The "colored" fountain is broken today. It took a few years to realize the One who made the water had a different concept from the one who made the sign! That was, by the way, the same Woolworth's that made international headlines in 1960 when the first successful sit-in of black students from A & T College eventually broke restaurant segregation across the south. The water they were eventually served was indistinguishable from that of the whites. NEW IN PAPERBACK Two recent best sellers for Barricade will be available in trade paperback in about a month. They are two of the more than 20 titles in our True-Crime Series, which grows steadily. Both titles went into four hardcover printings and continue to be strong sellers. MAFIA AND THE MACHINE by Frank Hayde When it was first released in 2008, The Mafia and the Machine shot to the top of the local bestseller list, outselling John Grisham, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Cormac McCarthy at Kansas City area bookstores. Strong sales outside the Midwest have been a delightful surprise, though not altogether unexpected considering the key role the Kansas City Family played on the national scene. Author Frank R. Hayde, who is a U.S. Park Ranger with deep roots in Kansas City, became interested in the subject while working a stint at the Harry Truman National Historic Site, where he learned more about the political “Machine” that became openly intertwined with the powerful local Mafia syndicate. After four sold-out hardback printings, the book is now scheduled for a paperback edition, which includes an update on recent activities in the Kansas City underworld. Hayde will launch the paperback release with an October 23 signing at the Kansas City Store, followed the next day by a signing at the Kansas City International Airport. The Mafia and the Machine has a 4 ½ star rating out of 5 on Amazon and was described by Midwest Book Review as “Efficiently researched and told with a sense of excitement sure to intrigue readers of all backgrounds… a highly recommended contribution to American history and criminal history shelves.” JAILING THE JOHNSTON GANG: Bringing Serial Murders to Justice by Bruce E. Mowday Initially, the author hit the road and singlehandedly sold about 1500 copies of the book. He is an amazing speaker and went everywhere: libraries, book fairs, ladies clubs, you name it. This one describes the criminal activities of serial murderers Norman, David and Bruce a. Johnston, Sr. (the latter was leader of the gang). Sr. earned his reputation as a madman, butcher and Chester County, Pennsylvania’s most notorious criminal. Not bad enough? After raping his son’s girlfriend, Johnston Sr. ordered his brothers to murder his son and he shot his stepson to death. The book caught on and was the cleanest selling book of our list last year. To the non-book people: no returns. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY? I was going to end this Hot News with an amusing story but, when I read a recent commentary from Ed Koch, I quickly changed my mind. What is going on in this, our great nation is shameful. The movement to abolish the right of citizenship to those born in the USA and the argument against constructing a mosque near Ground Zero flies in the face of how this nation was conceived. What makes this country different and, if I may say so, great, is too important not to print Koch’s words: Ed Koch Commentary August 16, 2010 Citizens Recall And Be Guided By The Letter of President George Washington To The Jews of Rhode Island. It Applies To The Muslims of New York. President Obama was right to express his views on constructing a mosque near Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 catastrophe, “As a citizen and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan in accordance with local laws and ordinances. The President is also right to oppose as he does the efforts by some to amend the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution to bar babies born to illegal immigrants from becoming citizens. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was first to take up the fight to protect the legitimate rights of American Muslims to build a mosque near Ground Zero, was right and courageous to lead the way and point Americans in the right direction. President Obama, according to The New York Times of August 15th is now “faced with withering Republican criticism of his defense of the right of Muslims to build a community center and mosque near Ground Zero.” Those leading the charge against the President, according to The Times, “including Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, Representative John A. Boehner, the House minority leader and Representative Peter King of New York, forcefully rejected the President’s stance.” The President’s position will be remembered by later generations of Americans with the same high regard as President George Washington’s letter in 1790 to the Jews of Rhode Island who built the Touro Synagogue in that state. Moses Seixas of the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island wrote to George Washington: “Deprived as we heretofore have been of the invaluable rights of free Citizens, we now with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty disposer of all events behold a Government, erected by the Majesty of the People — a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance — but generously affording to all Liberty of conscience, and immunities of Citizenship: — deeming every one, of whatever Nation, tongue, or language equal parts of the great governmental Machine: — This so ample and extensive Federal Union whose basis is Philanthropy, Mutual confidence and Public Virtue, we cannot but acknowledge to be the work of the Great God, who ruleth in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth, doing whatever seemeth him good.” President Washington responded as follows: “...The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent national gifts. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my Administration, and fervent wishes for my felicity. May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy. G. Washington” Let us not do again, albeit in different form and to a different group what we did to Japanese-Americans during World War II when we rounded them up without cause. No Japanese-American was ever charged with treason, notwithstanding that they were placed in internment camps for the balance of the war. I am a proud Jew. Proud of my religion and my culture. Columnist David Brooks, also Jewish and similarly proud, in a New York Times article of January 12, 2010, wrote of our people’s accomplishments: “Jews are a famously accomplished group. They make up 0.2 percent of the world population, but 54 percent of the world chess champions, 27 percent of the Nobel physics laureates and 31 percent of the medicine laureates. Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, but 21 percent of the Ivy League student bodies, 26 percent of the Kennedy Center honorees, 37 percent of the Academy Award-winning directors, 38 percent of those on a recent Business Week list of leading philanthropists, 51 percent of the Pulitzer Prize winners for nonfiction.” We Jews also have our share of thieves, predators, child molesters, Ponzi-schemers, traitors and profiteers. Muslims have their share of great world accomplishments – the concept of zero, advancements in mathematics, medicine, chemistry, botany and astronomy. They also have their share of crazies, tyrants, homophobes, those holding hostile and irrational attitudes towards women, vilification of Jews, Christians, Hindus and other so-called infidels. Let’s be calm now and not need the passage of time to bring us to our senses and years later apologize. Of course, those who suffered the loss of loved ones, and those exposed to the catastrophe of 9/11 have every right to hold opinions opposing the building of the mosque. They are grieving and rightfully enraged at anyone associated in any way with the 19 Muslim terrorists who were responsible for the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans killed on 9/11, and all of us must sympathize with them and their feelings. But Americans must never forget who we are and why our Founding Fathers and those who built the original 13 colonies came here. It was primarily to find and create a new country in which they could practice religious freedom, denied them in England. Jews found that freedom of religion in New Amsterdam, where the East India Company of Holland directed the first public anti-Semite in that city – its Governor, Peter Stuyvesant – to let them in, he first refusing to do so. I believe we are locked in battle with fanatical Islam and will be for the foreseeable future. I do not believe the vast majority of Muslims, and American Muslims in particular, are fanatics or enemies of the American people. Government should neither favor nor hinder the efforts of religious institutions, other than to protect their rights to engage in carrying them out as permitted under the First Amendment of the Constitution. A final word on those seeking to end the concept of American citizenship by virtue of birth, led by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): Don’t they understand that the concept of citizenship by birth is one of the great American ideas of which we have been justly proud and which distinguishes us from many other countries and has served us well? They should not fear the Know Nothings, whose voices are loud, but whose numbers are small. They should not shame themselves by joining these violators of American values and traditions. Until next time, Carole

SUMMER

2010-06-04T21:53:51+00:00

SUMMER! Summer has officially started. Memorial Day marked the beginning of escaping from the comfort of your Monday-to-Friday home and travel great distances in lots of traffic to visit your weekend home or the weekend home of a friend. You pack a bathing suit, bring gifts of food or wine or flowers and enjoy yourself only to repeat the journey Sunday afternoon or evening to go back home. I had a house in Columbia County, upstate New York, for many years. The county became known as “The Unhamptons”—very low key. Now I find myself visiting friends in those Hamptons and even going to Montauk to see my daughter, Jenni, her husband, Brad, and the grandchildren, Dylan, Justin and Jackson. Montauk is referred to as “The End” since it is the very end of the Island. It’s all very pretty, the ocean is spectacular and worth the trip. BOOK EXPO 2010 As many of you readers of this blog know, book publishing is undergoing a transformation as we in the industry try to figure out what the impact of e-books on actual books will be. Our books, like those of most publishers, are up on electronic devices, and each month, we see an increase in sales of e-books. It’s hardly a blip on our radar, but it’s definitely happening. Nevertheless, the tradition of gathering at a huge convention center to hype this fall’s contenders for bestseller lists, and not-quite-bestsellers, continues. In the past, it was a three-day event called the American Booksellers Association convention that took place over the Memorial Day weekend. I’ve been doing this long enough to remember when it was held in Washington, D.C., always sultry that time of year. It took place in the garage of the Shoreham Hotel and was a raucous affair. Lyle Stuart, Inc., our company, gave away all kinds of things: orange juice, ice cream, bottles of Scotch whiskey–even money. You didn’t need an invitation to attend the parties that started after the exhibits closed. All that was necessary was to get off the elevator at a random floor, listen for laughter and the tinkling of cocktail glasses, and you headed in that direction. Boy, have things grown and changed. This year’s Book Expo America, the convention’s new name, was held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City a two-day, midweek affair—Wednesday and Thursday, May 26th and 27, thus freeing all to enjoy a real Memorial Day weekend holiday. The convention is a venue to show off new books and has also become a serious opportunity to sell subsidiary rights. That’s where publishers’ rights people make deals with foreign publishers, book clubs, audio companies, etc. that provide other sources of income outside of traditional (bookstore) outlets. The hyping of Big Fall Books was intense. I haven’t seen as many bound galleys of the hopeful authors and their publishers given away as this year. There were long lines at many booths where authors signed and gave out galleys. “Free” has unparalleled allure, and attendees were taking home their prizes in a variety of creative tote bags. Barbra Streisand kicked off the convention Tuesday night before the Expo opening. Barbra was interviewed by Gayle King about her book, A PASSION FOR DESIGN (Viking). She drew a big crowd including my niece, Carla Rose, who is in my debt forever for making this happen. Carla, a Streisand groupie, got a seat up front and networked herself into new friendships. Under “Small World” category, Carla, wearing a Barricade Books badge, sat next to Merrill Kalman who was in New York scouting authors to speak at a luncheon in Phoenix. Merrill asked if she knew Carole Stuart. “She’s my aunt!” Turns out Merrill is close friends with my son-in-law’s mother, also my good friend, Carol Kern, national president of Brandeis National Committee. They are both active in the Phoenix Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee where they host a yearly luncheon that draws top authors who speak and sell lots of their books. All this as a fundraiser for Brandeis. Merrill visited the Barricade booth, met author Mordechai (Morty) Dzikansky, whose book, TERRORIST COP, The NYPD Jewish Cop Who Traveled the World to Fight Terrorism, comes out this fall. Merrill, coincidentally, had been a NYC cop. She and Morty bonded, and perhaps, he will be a guest at the next luncheon in Phoenix. The Sunday evening before the convention, Morty presented a two-minute talk about his book at the Jewish Book Council, an impressive and important organization comprised of representatives of the major Jewish book fairs and Jewish community centers around the country. They listen to more than 150 authors over a three-day period and invite some to speak at their venues where lots of books are sold. Morty talked about how he became an expert in terrorism having witnessed many suicide bombing scenes. He was immediately invited to three Jewish book fairs. After reading TERRORIST COP, I was riveted with the information about security. The recent failed bombing attempt in New York’s Times Square (where, by the way, I was attending a play) prompted Morty to tell me he was not surprised that the street vendors called attention to the illegally parked car. Police are cycled in and out of the area, but the vendors—they are there on a daily basis year in, year out. “We tell them [the vendors] what to look for.” It certainly worked this time. But, Morty cautioned, “You can expect more of this.” The book not only relates what our Terrorist Cop witnessed after suicide bombings in Israel, Moscow, Istanbul and Spain, it also offers information about what to do and how to become more alert. LYLE STUART I close this Hot News with an article written by friend Jay Gertzman. June 24 marks the fourth anniversary of Lyle’s death. I thought it timely to reprint this essay that describes Lyle Stuart, not by me but through the eyes of a scholar and admirer. I have not identified any of the names in the article; those who are familiar with them will need no introduction. For those who are not—go to Google! Lyle Stuart: Between George Seldes and I. F. Stone Lyle Stuart, who died on June 24, 2006, at age 83, was as independent and progressive a journalist as America has produced. Stuart worked for Variety for a period in the late 1940s, but left disillusioned by the trade paper’s connections with insiders in Hollywood and its too-friendly relations with key advertisers. From that point on, Lyle Stuart became a maverick in the tradition of George Seldes. As a young book publisher (Lyle Stuart Inc. began in 1956), he dared publish a book by Fidel Castro, (HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME). He issued early exposés of the power of the DuPont family (THE DUPONT DYNASTY), of the FBI (INSIDE THE FBI) and its domestic spying. He published Ferdinand Lundberg’s study of the intractable gulf between the wealth of the “super rich” and the resources of the rest of the population (THE RICH AND THE SUPER-RICH) that became an international bestseller. He published pioneer sex therapist Albert Ellis (SEX WITHOUT GUILT) and best-selling THE SENSUOUS WOMAN, one of the first examples of the mainstreaming of sexually explicit material. In 1959, he proudly reissued Dalton Trumbo's classic antiwar novel, JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN, with an introduction by the blacklisted author. During this period of the 1950s and ’60s, he published a monthly newspaper, Exposé (renamed The Independent), a “press newsletter” (George Seldes’ term) that filled the gap between Seldes’ newsletter, In Fact, and I. F. Stone’s Weekly. Paul Krassner wrote a regular column titled “Freedom of Wit” for The Independent plus feature stories and later became managing editor. In 1958 while working in Lyle’s office he started The Realist. SStandard histories of American radical periodicals hardly mention Lyle Stuart’s work—an injustice, as well as a blunder. When Stuart, his first wife Mary Louise and writer Joe Whalen established their monthly Exposé in late 1951, it would not make anyone rich. In fact, Lyle never drew a salary from the paper. Aware from their own print media experience of the imbalance that corporate advertisers had created in print media, Whalen and the Stuarts were determined that Exposé would feature stories major newspapers would not touch due to fear of advertisers’ cancellations or pressure groups’ influence on subscribers or newsstand purchasers. Advertisements do exist in Exposé, mostly for books, but the editors never solicited them. Its founders determined never to reveal a confidential source, and so that no filaments of private wealth (even so-called “philanthropy”) ever entangled them, never to request a donation. The second issue was the turning point. It contained eight articles by Stuart on Walter Winchell, the preeminent gossip columnist of the Hearst newspaper chain. A liberal under FDR, Winchell had become an ardent commie hunter; prominent people were so afraid of him that they crossed the street to avoid coming under his gaze. His innuendos could kill reputations, and his personal truculence was deeply resented. In October 1951, he became embroiled in a nasty contretemps with dancer Josephine Baker about her claim that she, as a black woman, had received poor service in The Stork Club. Winchell was mentioned in her complaint to the NAACP; she accused him of blatantly snubbing her. As Neal Gabler’s book, WINCHELL GOSSIP, POWER, AND THE CULTURE OF CELEBRITY, shows, it was the club’s owner, Sherman Billingsley, not Winchell, who was discriminating against Baker. Winchell could have avoided the “pub-lousity” that followed by apologizing or downplaying the NAACP criticism, but that was not his manner. He wrote many self-justifying columns, ruining his reputation as a supporter of African-American causes. Knowing the potential of a Winchell exposé with smoke from The Stork Club firestorm still in the air, Stuart quickly re-edited his November Exposé and had the staff hand-distribute copies to Times Square newsstands. He had been disappointed with the way the distributor failed to get his first issue displayed and now offered dealers “twice the usual commission,” as Gabler reports, for displaying copies of the second issue. Within an hour, he received calls for more. Eventually, 91,000 copies were sold. Exposé had a few regular and very important columnists. One specialized in Jim Crow atrocities, another in money management and another in current newspaper policies. In 1956, Paul Krassner began doing satirical essays on his generation’s eccentricities, and Albert Ellis had a monthly essay on how Americans might liberate their sexual desires from taboos. Other publishers had considered Ellis’ sex-related essays too offensive to religious authorities to publish. Lyle Stuart Inc. later published them in book form. There were, in addition, a few top-flight writers whose work Stuart championed. One was Paul Blanchard, whose books on the power of the Catholic hierarchy to censor popular entertainment made him one of Lyle’s favorite advocates for First Amendment issues. Another was Drew Pearson, fearless investigator of Washington power brokers. In the 1950s and ’60s, Lyle attacked hypocrisy and political spin wherever he found it, fearing nothing. When he attacked the Anti-Defamation League for inflating the threat of anti-Semitic hate groups, his printer was forced by community pressure to refuse to do further business with him, and the mayor of North Bergen, New Jersey, had him removed from the board of directors of the Bergen County library. As a powerful supporter of racial equality, Stuart deplored the ADL’s failure to censure forcefully the lack of justice given Southern blacks. Further, he was irate when the organization gave Kate Smith, a singer on record as having anti-Semitic views, an award. Typical targets of Lyle’s investigations were: television networks, for abandoning their responsibility to inform people about national and international affairs because major advertisers wanted programming with which they could integrate their products; Boys Town, for quietly discriminating on the basis of applicants’ race and religion; the West German armed forces for employing former Nazi sympathizers; Eisenhower, for allowing the consumer protection laws to be weakened; the Army, for requesting a loyalty oath including a list of hundreds of suspected subversive organizations that the inductee was to swear he had not joined; the March of Dimes, for obscuring the impending dangers of various killer diseases; abortion laws, for condemning poor women to dangerous medical procedures while wealthy ones had easy access; prison regulations against sex in prison, for institutionalizing homosexuality and nurturing shame, violence, and recidivism. Exposé and The Independent were at the center of independent journalism for 18 years. To hell with Kate Smith. God bless Lyle Stuart, even though he lived and died an avowed atheist. Jay A Gertzman jgertzma@earthlink.net This is a summary of an article titled “Expose / The Independent,” published in Cult Magazines A to Z, ed. Earl Kemp and Luis Ortiz, (NY: Nonstop Press, 2009), pp.67-72. Until next time, Carole

April

2010-04-16T14:26:00+00:00

Hot News - April Jennifer’s Big Birthday I recently got back from Park City, Utah, where daughter, Jennifer Kern, celebrated her (gulp!) 40th birthday. She’s all grown up now and has her own family. All of them: Jen, husband Brad, kids Dylan (7), Justin (5) and even Jackson (2-1/2) are on skis. The big boys ski double black diamond and Jackson, not yet using poles, is fearless and will soon join his brothers. Family and friends spent spring break/Passover/Easter holiday at a fabulous house one block away from the main street in Park City, where the Sundance Film Festival is held. Every morning they suited up, opened the side door of the four-story home and got right on the ski lift literally next to the house(taking them to the top of the mountain. (Not the baby!) Most of the guests were skiers but some of us were shoppers, eaters and lazy people. It was great fun. Happy Birthday Jen. Another Big Birthday! On May 3rd; one of my dearest friends and authors, Norman Corwin will celebrate his 100th birthday. For those of you not familiar with Corwin, what follows will give you the briefest of looks at what he has done in his illustrious career and some of what is in the works for The Big Birthday Celebration. (Special thanks to Cristian Borjas, the wonderful fellow who looks after Norman for this information.) Emmy, Peabody, and Golden Globe winner, he began as a journalist and writer-director of acclaimed radio dramas before moving on to master virtually every kind of writing; essays, screenplays, television, and theater were just a few of the mediums he conquered. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay for “LUST FOR LIFE” when he worked with director VIncente Minnelli and star Kirk Douglas in the story of the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh. On now at the Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado, California, through May 23 is Corwin’s riveting play, THE RIVALRY, a close-up portrait of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas two larger-than-life personalities, and the behind-the-scenes drama between the men and Senator Douglas's beautiful, witty wife Adele. THE RIVALRY was on at the Ford Theatre in Washington D.C. and Justice Sonia Sotomayor was so enthralled she’s trying to have it play at the White House. Norman promised to invite me! For many, Norman is best known for On A Note of Triumph. On May 8, 1945, 60 million Americans tuned in to hear this radio masterpiece marking the end of World War II in Europe. Lauded by Carl Sandburg as "one of the all-time great American poems," it was the most listened-to radio drama in U.S. history. You can listen to it by going on the NPR website: www.npr.org. They rebroadcast it on May 26, 2005 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the historic broadcast. The Corwin family is something of a genealogical miracle. Norman’s brother, Emil, just turned 107. Their father, Sam, lived to 110. When Authors Meet Authors Recently, two of our authors met at our office.Tom McShane STOLEN MASTERPIECE TRACKER, (with Dary Matera) and Jim O’Neil A COP’S TALE: NYPD – THE VIOLENT YEARS (with Mel Fazzino) discovered both were living on Long Island; both were retired – McShane from the FBI and detective sergeant O’Neil from the NYPD. Need I point out both are Irishmen? The inevitable happened and they were soon a team. Tom told Jim he was working on an unsolved theft involving paintings valued in today’s market at close to $600-million. This past March 18 marked the twentieth anniversary of the theft from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and there’s still not a clue as to who the perpetrators are. What greater challenge could you offer law enforcement guys? Toss in the $5-million reward and it wasn’t long before they were uncovering facts that should have been obvious to any good investigator. When Jim spoke to Anthony Amore, currently the head of security for the museum, and told him what he found all he said was, “If you had been involved in the initial investigation this would have been solved nineteen years ago.” Of course, Mel Fazzino and pal Melissa Stanton who helped publicize A COP’S TALE became part of the team. Stolen were three Rembrandts, one Vermeer, five Degas drawings, and a Manet. I hope they find them and get the reward. And I hope they remember Barricade when they write about it! Coming This Fall from Barricade Books You’ll be hearing lots more about our Fall/Winter list but here’s an early look at two of our upcoming titles. Our a long relationship with Leon Charney began in 2001 with our publication of THE CHARNEY REPORT, interviews from his television show of the same name with a wide range of guests from the world of diplomacy and politics to literature and entertainment. In 2006, Charney gained acclaim with THE MYSTERY OF THE KADDISH written with Saul Mayzlish. This September we will publish BATTLE OF THE TWO TALMUDS. Charney and Mayzlish again extend their reach into Jewish history exploring the reasons and methods rabbis and talmudic scholars abandoned the Holy Land to settle in what came to be known as the lands of the Diaspora. TERRORIST COP by Mordecai Dzikansky and Bob Slater incorporates both Judaism and true-crime. Morty Dzikansky became a cop - unusual for a Jew - even more so for an orthodox Jew. A rarity in the NYPD, he soon became the go-to Jewish cop whenever a crime involving Jewish issues came up. One major assignment was the case of the stolen torahs. The thefts seemed to center around Englewood, New Jersey. A lot of torahs were being stolen and fenced. Morty found the thieves, the torahs, and closed the case. After the Twin Towers came down on 9/11, New York City’s police commissioner Ray Kelly assigned him to live in Israel and learn as much as he could about suicide bombers. This information would be vital to the security of New York City as evidenced by the extremely effective security methods New York uses to counter terrorism. Much of the book details Morty’s witnessed accounts of the aftermath of suicide bombings and reporting back to the NYPD about how the Israelis confront the ongoing horror of repeated attacks. His background eventually took him beyond Israel to Turkey and Moscow where he gathered intelligence and sent it back to New York. It is truly a heart-stopping read. Look for it in November. I close this Hot News with a piece written not by me but by dear friend, Patrick O’Connor who fills my mailbox with funnies and makes me smile. GENE KELLY’S BROTHER AND THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND When I was eight years old I said to my father, “Please may I take tap dancing lessons?” He didn’t say the words but he gave me that look which clearly said only sissies take tap dancing lessons. Ever the smart mouth I said “What about your friends the Kelly brothers.” Gene Kelly, his younger brother Fred, their mother and sister had a dancing school in East Liberty; a streetcar ride away from Braddock. My father, an Irish tenor who sang around Pittsburgh, must have known them through that or else they were originally from Homestead or Munhall. Fred Kelly was a staff sergeant on General Eisenhower’s staff in England prior to D-Day in Europe. Fred was not in the entertainment section but Eisenhower knew he could tap dance and asked him if he would go to Buckingham Palace and teach the then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret to tap dance like Shirley Temple. Sergeant Kelly went several times a week and indeed taught the little princesses to tap dance. He also taught them to do the Can-Can. When the English papers found out that an American soldier had taught the princesses the Can-Can there was a major scandal and England, all England, was horrified. The Can-Can as you may recall is a dance where the girls raise their skirts above their heads and expose their thighs which was considered very, very shocking in those backward days. The country was up in arms. Fred Kelly was nearly court-martialed for doing such an outrageous thing. Years later there was a command performance in the presence of the now Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip for the premiere of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS starring Gene Kelly. After the film there was a receiving line with the Queen and the Prince at the head of it. The only time in history that Queen Elizabeth broke ranks and left her position; she went up to Gene Kelly and said, “You must be Fred’s brother.” Until next time Carole

DAVID BROWN

2010-02-02T16:25:11+00:00

David Brown, film and Stage Producer, and our author, died at the age of 93. His obituary, written by Bruce Weber, appears in the New York Times today, February 2nd. He was an elegant, talented man and a good friend. His wife, Helen Gurley Brown survives him. They were married for 51 years. Below is a repeat of my Hot News of last August all about the Browns. It's worth reading again. (I posted this after I wrote my blog of February 1 -- please don't miss that!) sex and the very married girl Posted by Carole Stuart on August 28, 2009 | (0) Comments Helen Gurley Brown is in the news again. A biography, Bad Girls Go Everywhere, gives her the recognition she has earned as a truly liberated female. In the days of the militant women’s movement, Helen had the nerve to go in the opposite direction. As editor for Cosmopolitan, she was a girly girl and proud of it. How to meet, catch a man. How to be sexier, etc. It must have resonated with women because she stayed at the top of the heap for many years. Her devoted husband, David Brown, no slouch himself, was co-producer of such films like, A Few Good Men, The Verdict, and Cocoon as well as the Broadway musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. David also wrote all the cover lines for Cosmopolitan when Helen was its editor. Lyle and I had the pleasure of publishing both David and Helen. David’s two books, The Rest of Your Life is the Best of Your Life and Brown’s Guide to the Good Life Without Tears, Fears or Boredom. We also republished two of Helen’s, her best selling Sex and the Single Girl and Sex in the Office. (Check all four titles on our website). I think of Helen and David as the nicest, easiest to work with authors. They are both pros—will go anywhere to sign books. And they have. Helen went to Bookends, a terrific bookstore in Ridgewood NJ where all the top authors appear. Unfortunately, the evening of her signing was rainy and dismal. But she was undaunted as was the crowd who came to hear her. She signed and sold a lot of books. David was the same. He’d sit in a booth at a convention, pleasantly greeting people and signing books. When we published Brown’s Guide to the Good Life he had a signing at Barnes & Noble on 82nd Street and Broadway, set up by the events manager, Lou Pizzitola. It was a great crowd and it soon became the “David and Helen Show” as Helen joined in from the audience bantering lovingly with David. Helen’s concern was that Barricade not lose money on the books. Not to worry, Helen, we did fine. My fondest feelings for David and Helen come from their thoughtfulness after Lyle died. Lots of friends were calling and were very attentive. They could have done the same. They went a step further, took me to dinner at Le Cirque and cheered me up. Their love for each other is an example of how relationships can work.

Moving Day and Other Bits and Pieces

2010-02-01T19:08:54+00:00

MOVING DAY AND OTHER BITS AND PIECES Barricade Books is moving. As of February 1, we are not going far—just next to our current space in the same office building One change—we are no longer in Suite 308A. The new address is Suite 309,185 Bridge Plaza North, Ft. Lee NJ 07024. For anyone (like me) who still keeps a Rolodex, make note of this. WHAT’S NEW IN THE FUTURE OF BOOKS? EBooks, Kindle, Sony Reader, The Tablet, The Nook, PDFs, etc. Is there any topic of greater speculation in publishing than rights to electronic books? I attended a large group of publishers, writers, literary agents and other assorted people in the industry recently held by The Author’s Guild at Scandinavian House in New York City to explore and discuss where this new medium will lead us. It seems to me that no one knows what the impact will be on the industry, but all were sure that it will—and already is—significant. My opinion, for the record, is we are all racing to catch up and be there—wherever “there” is. Our authors want their books on the devices—but how many know how little money is involved? Publishers can’t fix the prices for which books are sold. The Kindle sells most books for $9.99. Lately, it’s been written about how some books are given away free. It's just been reported that Amazon, bowing to pressure from Macmillan will adjust its pricing policy. Add to the mix the many thousands of self-published books where authors can produce their own PDFs and get them up on a variety of Web sites, Amazon, Banes & Noble, etc., not to exclude their own sites. We too are eager to be in the game and will soon have our Web site equipped to not only sell our actual books direct to the consumer, we will also be able to make some books available for downloads, only from Barricade Books. The wisest comment of the evening was from Susan Cheever. Cheever was the “author” on a panel made up of a literary agent, publisher and marketer of electronic books. Cheever pointed out that it’s still up to the author to create the book in the first place. Ebooks are here, and they appear to be staying. They offer a new opportunity to market our books. But here’s to the authors, let them continue to write new books, and let’s hope readers will continue to read. Today it was reported that Amazon agreed to change their pricing policy for books available on Kindle, responding to pressure from Macmillan. What of the actual bookstores? The New York Times just reported the closing of Skyline Books after 20 years in business on West 18th Street in New York City. The owner, Rob Warren, can’t afford the rent increases or “behemoth bookstores and Web sites.” So he will begin selling online. There goes, as a customer called Skyline Books, “…the best bookstore on the East Coast.” IN THE EARLY DAYS Before we would grow to be one of the major publishers of mafia/true crime books, we met Rick Porello. Rick had been researching the murders of his notorious grandfather and three uncles—members of the Mafia. After nine years, he put his work together, and the result was THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA. Barricade published his book in 1995 in cloth, and it eventually went into a paperback format. Fifteen years later, it is still in print and has been one of our best-selling titles in the series. The story of Rick Porello and his family changed his life and started us on the path to publish more than 22 true-crime titles. Below, in Rick Porello’s words, you can follow his journey from Mafia family member to author. Angelo “Big Ange” Lonardo and The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia Even by the time that Licata, Italy, had served as an Allied landing point during the 1943 World War II invasion of Sicily, its distinction as having produced some of the most powerful men in the Italian-American Mafia, one in particular, was still unknown. Then in 1995, I memorialized the bloodshed that cursed my ancestors and revealed the significance of two cities, one American, one Sicilian, and their progeny in the history of the Mafia. The book: The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia. Its subjects are my grandfather, his six brothers, and their four Licatese countrymen, the Lonardos. By 1920. they had settled in Cleveland, Ohio, and stood apart from thousands of other immigrants seeking the freedom of America and working hard and patiently toward success. By 1927, the sons of Licata and Cleveland were wealthy, powerful and feared purveyors of corn sugar, a key ingredient of bootleg whiskey. The fortune and reign of the brothers Porrello and Lonardo among America’s first Mafiosi didn’t last long. By 1932, my grandfather was dead of a single bullet to the brain. Three of his brothers shared his fate. Three Lonardos, also. As the sugar war closed, one teenager, Angelo Lonardo, avenged his father’s murder and thus sealed his own fate, swearing, above God himself, his allegiance to that dark and secret organization. Fast forward to 1977, the murder of another ethnic mobster, the Irishman—Danny Greene—and unprecedented convictions across the U.S. Facing life in prison, the once powerful don Lonardo shocked family and friends and betrayed omerta. From a witness stand, he bought his freedom. And dozens of his brethren lost theirs. By the time don Lonardo died a very old man, the Italian-American Mafia had become public and penetrable, the very antithesis of the once-mighty society brought to Cleveland from Licata. The above story was only the beginning of Rick’s adventure. Going in a different direction from his family, Rick was a veteran of a Cleveland policy agency with a degree in criminal justice. Today, he is a Cleveland-area police chief and author of three books about organized crime. After THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA, Rick started publishing his own books. His second book, To Kill the Irishman—the War that Crippled the Mafia, is now a major motion picture starring Ray Stevenson, Chris Walken, Val Kilmer and Paul Sorvino due to be released later this year. Visit http://www.movieset.com/theirishman We plan to take publishing advantage by bringing an updated edition of THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA when the movie opens. A little family note: Eileen Brand, Lyle’s sister-in-law, edited THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA. Last year, at age 91, she self-published The Bodacious Ballot Box Burglary and Other Mysteries of My First Ninety-one Years. An engaging and insightful read. Go to http://ballotboxburglary.com/ to download it for free or to order a paperback copy. Another little family note: Grandson Aaron Jaffe designed the Web site. Let me know if you’re interested in working with him. BRRR. IT’S COLD OUT THERE . . . On February 20, good friend, Steven Lidsky—my Columbia County pal—is taking a plunge—in Upper Rhoda Point at Camp Mohican in Copake, New York. This is the second leap in the lake for Steven and, he promises, the last—all for charity. Steven is service coordinator supervisor of COARC. COARC (Columbia County ARC) is a nonprofit agency, now in its 45th year, which creates opportunities for developmentally disabled adults and children in Columbia County, N.Y. Part of the statewide NYSARC, they run residential group homes and apartments, a sheltered workshop, supported employment (job coaches), adult day programs and various children's services such as a preschool and summer camp. Last year, the Polar Bear Plunge was held to raise money for activities at COARC’s summer camp for developmentally disabled children. This year, it is to raise funds for a new playground for their integrated preschool. If you want to contribute, mail a check made out to COARC to Steven Lidsky, COARC, 65 Prospect Ave Hudson, NY 12534. For additional information, please phone Steven at (518) 828-6043, ext. 100 or e-mail: Steve1@COARC.org FRANK SERPICO STILL BEARDED, HANDSOME AND FASCINATING The New York Times recently did a long piece about Frank Serpico, made famous when Al Pacino portrayed him in Sidney Lumet’s brilliant film of the same name. As many will remember, Serpico was an unusual cop, dressing in disguises from street vagrant to butcher to orthodox rabbi. He became an outcast from the NYPD when he turned whistle blower exposing widespread corruption in the New York Police Department and testified at the Knapp Commission hearings that shook up the department. We met years ago when he lived quietly and out of public eye by choice. He was, and still is, quite the flamboyant fellow, dressing in unusual clothing. At the time we met, he had a very large Great Dane, a gentle giant of a dog. He told an amusing story of the filming of Serpico where he was on the set as an adviser. Lumet was filming a dramatic scene that took place in the bathroom of a rundown apartment. The victim of this scene was having his face pushed repeatedly into a toilet—a dramatic style of interrogation. Frank went to Lumet and said, “Sidney, that’s not how it happened.” Lumet, without missing a beat, replied, “Pussycat, it’s a movie.” Years later, I was surprised to see Frank at one of my favorite tango parlors. He was surprised to see me, too. In the Times article, it refers to some of his interests, including tango. (Message to Frank—I’d love to take a few turns around the floor with you.) FLOYD ABRAMS AND FREE SPEECH Floyd Abrams deserves the acclaim he has achieved as a First Amendment lawyer. He recently spoke about press freedom on a panel that took place at the New York Times, which was written about, in the January 30-31 issue of the Wall Street Journal by reporter James Taranto. Lyle and I met with Abrams when we were facing a long, expensive libel action against Barricade Books, which I don’t care to discuss here lest it bring back bad memories. It was in our opinion a First Amendment issue, and you couldn’t do better than have Floyd Abrams represent you in such a case. Abrams was elegant, smart and gracious. He was also thoughtful about our plight and amiably pointed out that we could not afford to hire his firm at their rarefied rates. He had a few suggestions including looking for a patron. Alas, that did not happen. Nevertheless, he was a gentleman. This long, very good piece in the Wall Street Journal discusses how Abrams has represented the New York Times Co. from time to time, notably in the Pentagon Papers case of 1971. Now, he was on the opposite side against the Times in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission where the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision invalidated federal laws that made certain political speech a crime. This was not Abrams’ case but he took interest in it because it overturned a case he lost, McConnell v. FEC, where a 5-4 majority upheld provisions of the 2002 McCain-Feingold law, including one that criminalized corporate funding of “electioneering communication” within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election. He now supported Citizens United, which produced the critical documentary about Hillary Clinton, saying it was a very committed conservative entity and should have the same protection of speech by the First Amendment no matter how disdainful their expression for a candidate is. It’s the unpopular (as seen by some) expression that needs the protection of the First Amendment. He went on to talk about restrictions on campaign contributions, which he was in favor of. Abrams thought there was room for more government involvement about contributions because “. . . there is a greater risk of something in the order of quid pro quo corruption . . . As of right now, the court has struck the balance pretty well.” The article was written before the Supreme Court overturned the limit on campaign contributions. Until next time, Carole