30 Aug, 2011
The genre of statesman’s memoir rarely produces self-criticism, or even much candor. Apparently, the point is to redeem your large advance from the publisher with a brisk, self-complimenting account of your life and times, with emphasis on your moment in the limelight. There should, of course, be a dash of “news” and a few frank passages about your true feelings — about others, not yourself.
We’ve now had three self-serving memoirs from the past administration: the memoirs of president Bush, defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and vice president Cheney. Future historians who have the stomach to try to figure out what happened under our 43rd president will be frustrated by all three books, because none of them wrestles with the enormous issues raised by this pugnacious administration and the world-changing messes it left for its successors to clean up.
In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir by Dick Cheney – The Washington Post.
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