A MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER

The following is a message from Jon Karp, Twelve's Editor-in-Chief.

The greatest experience of my twenty years in the publishing business has been working with Edward M. Kennedy on his long-awaited autobiography, True Compass, which Twelve will publish on September 14. Over the past two years, I've had the incredible opportunity of asking Senator Kennedy every question I could think of – and receiving answers that deepened my understanding of national politics and took me inside one of the most heralded families in America. His book will be a revelation, an international event, and a lasting contribution to American history.

Senator Kennedy kept a personal journal through nearly 50 years of his public life, beginning with John F. Kennedy’s campaign for president in 1960. Five years ago, he began an oral history project at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, where he began to address all aspects of his life – his family, his career in the Senate, and his view of the historic events of our time. In writing his memoirs, he worked with collaborator Ron Powers, co-author of the #1 bestseller Flags of Our Fathers and author of Mark Twain: A Life, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

The manuscript is 650 pages and I’ve read every word of it multiple times; it is dazzling – a candid, heartfelt, and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life. I can’t wait to share it with you.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Karp
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
TWELVE

For your Friday Afternoon: TWELVE Steps to Better Book Publishing

In case you missed it" Twelve's Editor-In-Chief penned an article for Publishers Weekly recently, describing what publishers can do to succeed in an increasingly difficult industry. Most of the advice boils down to simply being realistic.

We are acquiring and publishing too many books. We buy them opportunistically, and at times thoughtlessly. We edit and launch them too quickly. We market them carelessly and ephemerally. Too often, we abdicate our responsibility to be filters, guides, guardians and gatekeepers. And now, as in many other industries, we are suffering the effects.

There's some humor, luckily, to take the edge off of this bleak assessment. Karp supports his claims by taking the reader on a tour of his local bookstore-- pointing out some dazzlingly superfluous works:

Who could resist a history of the potato, titled, of course, Potato. Amazingly, this wasn't the only work available on the subject. There's also The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World. Wasn't it intellectually responsible of the publisher to limit the scope of the subtitle to the Western world?

To read the rest, including twelve specific steps to a more sustainable publishing model, and more books that lack reasons to exist, click here.

CHRIS MATTHEWS DISCUSSES LOSING MUM AND PUP

Today on The Daily Beast: Christ Matthews-- host of Hardball, bestselling author, survivor of malaria-- asks whether Losing Mum and Pup satisfies JFK's criterion for biographical success (i.e., Does it compelling convey what its subject was like?). Its an interesting question, and a complicated one. Here are some key excerpts:

"If [Buckley] left some things out as he takes us through his parents’ last months, it’s like one of those plays by Harold Pinter. What he doesn’t say says a lot."

"As you read Buckley’s story of the year in which he lost both parents, there’s a “life goes on” quality to it all. He seems to be saying in numerous ways that, given it all—the spats, the toughness—the palpable love between his parents won in the end."

You can read the whole thing here; to see other recent reviews of the book, check out:

• Janet Maslin, "Turns out it all Does Seem Funny," New York Times
• Mona Charen, "Under Buckley's Giant Shadow," The National Review
• John R. Coyne, Jr., "Son's Memoir Honors "Great" Buckley Parents," Washington Times