Joe McGinniss' The Rogue Fails to Shock or Awe

Publisher, author printed info they 'knew to be false,' says attorney

(NEWSER) - Here's something that's bound to get more people reading The Rogue. Sarah Palin is threatening to sue author Joe McGinniss and his publisher for his tell-everything tome about the former Alaska governor, which includes gossip about drug use and adultery, reports ABC News . The work was roundly criticized in the press for repeating unsubstantiated rumors . The book "contains a series of lies and rumors presented as fact and combined with 'anonymous' sources," charges Palin attorney John Tiemessen in a letter to the head of the Crown Publishing Group. Tiemessen quotes an attached email apparently written by the author which “clearly describes the fact that Mr. McGinniss researched and investigated many false and scurrilous allegations, and concluded that there was absolutely no evidence anywhere backing these allegations," he writes. More»

McGinnis 'traffics in innuendo and falsehoods,' Palin says

(NEWSER) - Todd Palin was pretty peeved when Joe McGinniss moved in next door, and he's downright furious now that the author's book on his wife has been released, Politico reports. The Rogue—which accuses Sarah Palin of adultery and illegal drug use , among other things—"is full of disgusting lies, innuendo, and smears," Palin told reporters, noting that even the New York Times has called the book "dated" and "petty." More»

At least, according to the Enquirer 's sources

(NEWSER) - Never shy about trumpeting scoops from the mountaintops, the National Enquirer 's latest is, as usual, less than subtle: "WORLD EXCLUSIVE! SARAH PALIN BOMBSHELL BOOK SHOCKING CLAIMS!" Turns out the Enquirer says it has sources with information about Joe McGinniss' upcoming book on Palin , and they say it reveals that Palin had what the tabloid terms a "steamy interracial hookup" with NBA player Glen Rice in 1987, nine months before marrying Todd Palin. (They also say that both Sarah and Todd have used cocaine; Palin allegedly once snorted cocaine off an oil drum during a snowmobiling trip.) More»

An 'undercurrent of fear' grips Palin's town

(NEWSER) - When Joe McGinniss moved in next door to the Palins on Wasilla's Lake Lucille, "Mama Grizzly" was furious . But, McGinniss claims, the rest of the town welcomed him. He's heading home to Massachusetts today to write his book, and talks to the AP about Palin's politics and the "undercurrent of fear" that grips her hometown. Some highlights:

• On his welcome to Wasilla: The locals "started bringing me blueberry pie," he recalls. "I had many offers of handguns to borrow. I turned them all down."

He loses job after joke gone wrong

(NEWSER) - The editor at Sarah Palin's hometown paper who reminded Joe McGinniss that Alaskans can use "deadly force" to protect their property is now looking for a job. The publisher of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sent Tom Mitchell packing after his line set off a media firestorm of its own, reports the Alaska Dispatch . "It certainly caught fire," said Mitchell. "Palin's a spark plug for a lot of things." More»