"George W. Bush worked on the book in secret for two years, without a book deal, without dribbling a word out to Bush alums or other Republicans who would have leaked it in a second. As far as the outside world knew, he was just spending all of that time working on his paintings. Only his family and friends knew about the secret book project. And, of course, he told the star of the book: his father. On Thursday, Bush stunned the political world with the news that his next book will be about his father, George H.W. Bush. One president writing about another — 43 writing about 41. And, on a more personal level, a son writing about a father with whom he was supposed to have a tense rivalry — from everything else we’ve read about them. When Bush’s book comes out on Nov. 11, it’s sure to force a re-evaluation of the Bushes on many levels: the history of the elder Bush’s presidency, the true nature of the relationship between the father and the son, the novelty of one president writing about another, the evolution of the younger Bush in his post-presidential years, and the political future of the Bush dynasty. And it promises a unique perspective — it’s not as if there’s a massive collection of presidential biographies by other presidents. 'Look, we have only had two father and son acts in presidential history so far, and to my knowledge John Quincy Adams didn’t talk about his father,' said Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at New York University and the author of a biography of George H.W. Bush. The book will mark the most important step George W. Bush has taken to re-emerge from the low political profile he’s kept since he left office. Ever since he returned to Texas in 2009, the 68-year-old Bush has largely stayed out of politics, declining to criticize President Barack Obama’s performance even as other Republicans, including his own vice president, Dick Cheney, have had no such reservations. He did promote his memoir, 'Decision Points,' in 2011, but otherwise has focused on his presidential library and his paintings. The timing of the book won’t be ideal for another Bush: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who will have to decide around the release date whether to try to become the third Bush president. He’d be competing for attention with his brother’s book about his dad, and the whole setup might spark yet another round of speculation about the brothers’ rivalries. Some top Republicans in Washington are convinced that Jeb Bush will pass on a 2016 bid, so it might be a moot point. An aide to the ex-governor did not respond to requests for comment. News of the book came as a surprise to the political world, even among people who follow the Bush saga closely. Matt Schlapp, George W. Bush’s former political director and now the chairman of the American Conservative Union, said he had 'no inkling' of the project — no talking points to help promote it, or even a heads up. 'The first I heard of it was on the news,' said Steve Munisteri, the chairman of the Texas Republican Party, who recalls meeting George W. Bush several times when Bush was an operative on his father’s presidential campaign in 1988. Munisteri said he is eager to read it and thinks it’s time for a reassessment of the elder Bush." (Politico)
Who is that beautiful black man in the hat?
"Lily Safra, the wealthy widow of banking billionaire Edmond Safra, had a near miss in St-Tropez with Lady Colin Campbell, whose 'Empress Bianca' is a thinly veiled fictionalization of the Brazilian jet-setter’s life. Michael J. Griffith — the New York lawyer who represented Ted Maher, the nurse who served eight years in jail for the 1999 arson fire that killed Edmond — had just had dinner with Lady Campbell on a friend’s yacht when he spotted Lily walking out of the trendy Le Quai, in front of the docked boat. Lily was getting into her limo while a bodyguard held the car door — and, in a real twist of irony, sitting right behind the limousine was a fire engine. In Campbell’s book, it’s suggested the main character set fire to her apartment, killing her husband and his nurse.
'Truth is stranger than fiction,' Griffith told friends at New York’s Da Tommaso Restaurant. Lily previously sued the London publisher of Campbell’s roman à clef, forcing the 2005 book to be re-called and destroyed." (RichardJohnson)
"When I met Elaine Stritch, she was sober, and I was drunk. It was 1998 at a book party for Joan Collins at the bygone social X-ray hangout Mortimer's. The party is a blur of martinis mixed with the floating heads of other women of a certain age: Nan Kempner, Arlene Dahl, Blaine Trump. It was my idea of heaven. I'd moved to New York from a small town in the South to drink at parties like this. I was the publicist for Ms. Collins' book, which is how I got in the door. At 30, I thought I was jaded when it came to bending elbows with the rich and famous. Until I saw Her. Across the room stood tall and boney, whiskey-voiced, seventy-something Ms. Stritch. She was chatting in a corner with a younger woman. This was before she had had the biggest hit of her life with her one-woman show At Liberty about her career and struggle with the bottle. But then she was most famous (and most beloved by me) for "The Ladies Who Lunch," her showstopper from Stephen Sondheim's Company, which was almost 30 years in the past. It was one of my favorite songs to drink to. In the alcoholic rant of a song she lobs acerbic barbs at the empty lives of rich society matrons who lunched -- at places just like Mortimer's, come to think of it -- and punctuates each zinger with an increasingly guttural 'I'll drink to that!' I thought she would be thrilled that someone the same age as her most famous performance not only recognized her but was also such a rabid fan. Clearly I didn't know as much about celebrities as I thought. I pardoned my intrusion and introduced myself. 'Hello, Miss Stritch. I'm Jamie Brickhouse, Joan's book publicist. It's such a thrill to meet you. I'm a huge fan of yours.' Nothing. Just a cigar-store Indian stare. 'I loved you in Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance.' Still nothing. Not even a smile. Then, 'Oh, Miss Stritch, I can't tell you how many drunken nights you've gotten me through with 'The Ladies Who Lunch.' No chuckle. No thank-you. She didn't even tell me to get lost. She broke her cigar-store Indian stare. In a crusty voice -- mouth moving like a ventriloquist's dummy -- she instantly deflated my fan balloon with, 'You know, it's really rude to only introduce yourself to the famous person and not also to the person that the famous person is with.' I thought about saying, 'Jesus, have a drink,' not knowing she was sober. Instead I mumbled an apology and headed to the bar. I'll drink to that! Despite that episode, or perhaps because of it, I remained a deeper fan." (Jamie Brickhouse)
"'I'm a big believer that you go with your cravings,' says Jane Pratt, the creator of xoJane, and the founding editor of Sassy and Jane. That explains the anything-goes approach she takes to her diet: She'll chase a Breslin lamb burger with Domino's pizza, get lobster delivered from Wolfgang's, and throw together duck-egg pancakes with xoJane contributor (and former Diet subject) Courtney Love, just to see how they turn out. To read all about this — and so much more — check out this week's Grub Street Diet ... I have my tea routine, but if I wake up hungry, what I would usually do is eat the breakfast I make for my daughter in the morning: the not-healthy combination of Nutella on white bread with the crusts cut off. I spread the Nutella on like I'm icing a cake. Lunch was at Courtney Love's apartment, but before that, she took me and my daughter to this chanting thing. And on the way back, instead of going to a restaurant, we stopped by Dean & DeLuca and we got ingredients for pancakes. My daughter was intrigued by the duck eggs, so we made some of the pancakes with duck eggs. They were a little richer. And we ate sausage and chocolates. I ate dinner at a friend's apartment in Tribeca. A couple of different people cooked: They made delicious pappardelle pasta, my favorite, with some delicious sauce, and my other friend made cupcakes." (Jane Pratt)
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