Senator Scott Brown to Pen Memoir, too Soon?

It seems that so many memoirs written these days, especially political ones, are written to reveal another angle of a scandal that has hypnotized the nation. So it is refreshing to see that Scott Brown, the recently elected Massachusetts senator, has gotten himself a book deal in which he will recount his life, which thus far is clean of political embroglios. According to a statement from Harper Collins, the book’s publisher, “Sen. Brown will write about his family background, his early career, and his ascent to the office of Massachusetts senator, one of the biggest political coups of the decade. He will also discuss the policies and issues he cares about most passionately.” I assume he will cover his modeling days and his nude spread in Cosmopolitan magazine.

It looks to be a very warm, fuzzy kind of affair, full of touching moments that fill American hearts near to bursting capacity. And people will read it, without a doubt, even Democrats should read it to find out more about the man who ruined their unstoppable senate majority and basically all plans for the future. But isn’t this a little too soon? Brown has been in office only a few months and the memoir is announced? It’s a long road ahead in politics and history has shown that a lot can happen in a very short amount of time in Washington. Given the book publishing cycle and the planned release about a year from now, who knows what can happen between now and the book’s publication? Standard practice in the memoir game is one publishes when the long road is behind them, when the accomplishments or horror stories can be viewed with proper hindsight and acuity. Harper Collins and the Republicans clearly want to capitalize on Brown’s momentum while the iron is hot, but this can also lead to terrible consequences. Just look at that now notorious South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford, who published The Trust Committed To Me in 2000. That trust is certainly gone now. And then there is John Edward’s attempt to manufacture that soft focus look back in Four Trials. (Check out the Amazon description of Edwards for the book. It’s worth a laugh and a great example of how an Internet page can reflect how much changes.) For the sake of Scott Brown, who I bare no grudge against, let’s hope that the future does not end up betraying history like it has these two gentlemen. I’d like to believe that Brown is smarter and more savvy than to go down that road, but Washington is a strange place. Only a year ago we elected who we thought was Superman as the president only to find out that he is just a man like everyone else, albeit a better man than most. For Brown, I hope that his political career steers clear of danger and therefore keeps his memoir relevant.

via Senator and GOP Star Scott Brown will Write Memoir.