A Short Defense of Michael Wolff

I thought Stephen Metcalf's brutal Observer Book review -- and I don't think I am going overboard in saying it -- was more about Michael Wolff than the book he wrote.

One line in particular kind of pissed me off. It purports to unravel Wolff's entire philosophy of life at one sitting:

"Messrs. Diller and Murdoch are at the top. Poets are at the bottom. (Mr. Wolff makes a big deal out of his status as a parent. One wonders what it�s like to grow up in a household where the prevailing sentiment is, 'What clear-eyed person would want to be a poet?') In between lies everyone Mr. Wolff condescends to. 'I had to summon my energy to want to talk to them.'"

Well, I consider the Bloggers the poets of the media world -- we are certainly not Barry Diller. We of the creative and fertile mind waiting to get a shot at the big leagues, Elizabeth Spiers is our patron saint. Michael Wolff has always answered my emails and showed me the highest respect over the years. Metcalf's article struck me as pretty personal for a book review, even in the snarky precincts of the New York media game.

Stephen Metcalf's feelings towards Wolff's style interfered in his review.