Sarah Palin's memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, is due out this month, but it won't be the only Palin books hitting the shelf this pre-holiday season. The editors of The Nation magazine have put together a book of essays that interrogates Palin's image, personality, and politics.
Going Rouge: An American Nightmare had plenty of opportunities to make a mockery out of Palin, or to make a parody of her own memoir. Rather than taking the low road, the editors of the book decided to make the book more "serious."
Editor Richard Kim says "the cover is a parody of hers and it certainly takes some shots and mocks Sarah Palin, but it is a very serious book and the book itself is not a parody. It is not at all intended as a joke or a parody."
The cover of Palin's Going Rogue is sunny and perky, while Going Rouge features Palin in her signature red suit with a lightening bolt striking in the background. I think they made their point...
The tag line for Going Rouge puts itself up against Palin's Going Rogue, claiming that Rouge will be the "most honest, revealing account of the Palin story to appear this fall." The description reads:
Sarah Palin has many faces: hockey mom, fundamentalist Christian, sex symbol, Republican ideologue, fashion icon, “maverick” populist. But, above all, Palin has become one thing: an American obsession that just won’t go away. Edited by two senior editors at The Nation magazine, this sharp, smart, up-to-the-minute book examines Palin’s quirky origins in Wasilla, Alaska, her spectacular rise to the effective leadership of the Republican Party, and the nightmarish prospect of her continuing to dominate the nation’s political scene.
At first glance, the book looks like a parody. But after reading the description and contributor list, it's clear this book is going to be a well articulated critique of Palin's position within conservative American politics. It's obvious that the cover, title, and release date are attempts to generate publicity - but will they distract from the book's content?
Both Going Rouge and Going Rogue are due out on November 17th, and are available from most major retailers. (But don't look for the ebook version of Palin's Going Rogue anytime soon: it's not due out until December 26th in an attempt to boost hardcover sales.)
Image from OR Books.