THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

BOB'S WRITTEN BOOKS BEFORE, WHY WAS THIS ONE SO HARD TO GET PUBLISHED? | 2004-02-28

I have published two books, one was put out by the third biggest publisher on earth. Both Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus, though they hated what I said, admitted that I as a damned good writer. The Library Journal even recommended both books for purchase!

William A. Rusher, the first publisher of National review who remained its publisher for over twenty years, wrote the Foreword to my first book. Not only did he do it free, but he gave me a lifetime subscription to National Review for writing it!

I even made some hard criticisms of National Review in that book, but Bill Rusher just took them in stride. He felt my message overrode all that.

As I bragged before, Joe Sobran did the Foreword for "Why Johnny Can't Think!"

People like that don't work for lightweights.

This book, "Why Johnny Can't Think," is no more politically radical than the other two. But the only publisher who accepted it came back a month later and said he not only was backing out on it, he was destroying all reference to it in his files!!

An Australian reader wrote and asked what was going on.

The answer is that "Why Johnny Can't Think" could RUIN a publisher.

There are two reasons that "Why Johnny Can't Think" would ruin a publisher.

First, this book is an attack on everybody who controls book-buying in this country.

And I don't mean some kind of giant, secret conspiracy.

"Why Johnny Can't Think" attacks not only liberals and leftists, it jumps on neoconservatives and respectable conservatives like National Review, and it absolutely crushes social science professors.

It makes leftist actors and "artists" look silly. Not just wrong. Silly.

That is also a list of the people who control book-buying in America, and everybody knows it.

But what really made this book almost impossible for a publisher is HOW I go after all the people who control publishing in this country.

My basic theme is that a liberal ( or a neoconservative) is just a person who has not outgrown his freshman year in college.

Everything leftists say and that neoconservatives and respectable conservatives take seriously is just plain predictable and stupid. They don't mind being called names. But when somebody calls them the lightweights they are, it is unforgivable.

Have you ever seen a television discussion a conservative just laugh out loud at some ridiculous remark a liberal makes? Nobody laughs at them and gets invited back.

As Joe says in his Foreword, "Bob has long since stopped being invited back."