Celebrity Memoirs

Although I haven't posted since April, I'm still thinking of memoirs. My husband, an ex-newspaperman and CEO, will be published by McGraw Hill in September. Of course, the usual memoirs published by legacy publishers these days are celebrity memoirs, because America eats up celebrities like chocolate bars. And yet, nine-tenths of these tell-alls are ghost written. "Life", the well-reviewed memoir of Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, was praised for its writing style, so unusual in a rock musician. The obvious answer is that Keith Richards didn't write his memoir; he either dictated it or talked to his ghost, the excellent writer, James Fox. Fox then set about to write the book using the musician's chatty, intelligent speech. If Keith Richards or other celebrities did write their memoirs, they would be no more intriguing than the one from the little old lady from Dubuque. Incidentally, my husband is (or was) a celebrity of sorts, and so far the trade reviews like his title. He can also write, having been a journalist and tells good stories. So, congrats to him and the rest of you who have no clout can try X-Libris. B. Phillips