Now for Something Completely Different

Like most obsessive readers, I am fascinated by book reviews. Thus, Sunday is a joyous day in my house, when I run out to buy The New York Times (I know, I can get it online for free, but I really like having the whole paper in my hands, sampling it throughout the week) and hit several book section Web sites.

One of my great time-wasting exercises is to imagine why Reviewer A was chosen to review Book B. Often, the results are too predictable. For example, Peter Beinart’s new book on how liberalism will win the so-called war on terror is reviewed by the ubiquitous Joe Klein. Yawn. Klein is the Eva Longoria of political commentary--a mediocre talent with way too much media exposure.

Turning to The Washington Post, I saw an essay about the recent crop of books on the Founding Fathers (and I freely admit that I frequently get caught up in biographies about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, et al., as well as late-18th-century America). Then, I saw the byline. David Liss. David Liss, the mystery writer?

Liss is the author of well-received historical fiction, most notably A Conspiracy of Paper, which won the Edgar for Best First Novel in 2001. I reviewed, and for the most part liked, his most recent book, The Ethical Assassin. Now, I know nothing about Liss that I haven’t either read on his Web site or in press releases, so I have no idea if he has the credentials to be discussing, among other things, Richard Brookhiser’s new work, What Would the Founders Do?: Our Questions, Their Answers. For all I know, he’s merely an educated reader with an interest in history, who also happens to write crime fiction for a living.

And that’s why I applaud the Post for not handing this assignment over to someone like Joseph Ellis, who would certainly have had a few worthwhile things to say. It’s much more interesting to see somebody unexpected spreading his literary wings.