Buckley Won't Paint Parents as Saints

New book alleges that Wladyslaw Szpilman worked with Nazis

(NEWSER) - Wladyslaw Szpilman, the real-life Polish pianist whose memoir inspired Roman Polanski’s award-winning film The Pianist, actually collaborated with the Gestapo, according to a new book. Entitled Accused: Wiera Gran, the book quotes the private notes of Wiera Gran, a deceased Polish singer who once claimed that Szpilman “formed a gang to kill me.” Gran refers to Szpilman as a “Gestapo man,” and says he worked as a Jewish policeman who helped resettle Warsaw’s Jews, the Guardian reports. More»

'The Decider' focuses on moments where he stepped up

(NEWSER) - George W. Bush hasn't written a memoir, exactly. Instead he's been working "almost every day," his publisher, Crown, says, on Decision Points, which offers “gripping, never-before-heard details” on the biggest decisions of Bush's life, from the day he quit drinking to 9/11. An industry source tells the AP that W. has already finished a draft of the book, which is scheduled to be released November 9, exactly a week after the 2010 election. More»

Nick Hornby, Judy Blume, and more weigh in

(NEWSER) - What was the best book of the year? Salon asked Nick Hornby, Junot Diaz, Curtis Sittenfeld, and other people with better literary credentials than ours what they enjoyed in 2009. Their responses are in the photo gallery. More»

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin's book is already a sensation, and she hasn't even appeared on Oprah's couch yet. No question it will sell, but what other purposes might it serve for the self-styled rogue Republican, Andy Barr wonders in Politico . Herewith, his benchmarks to measure the book tour and media frenzy:

• Build her base: Shunning the big cities, and even the early-primary states, Palin is heading straight for Palin Country—places like Fort Wayne, Ind., and Birmingham, Ala.—to reconnect with supporters and nurture their "their powerful emotional connection to her."

From what she left in (Couric sniping) to what she left out (an index)

(NEWSER) - The moment America has been waiting for is almost here—the release of Sarah Palin’s memoir Going Rogue is just days away! For those who can't wait, Azaria Jagger of Gawker details the 10 juiciest tidbits that have leaked so far:

• John McCain: Palin claims his campaign charged her $50,000 to vet her, which the RNC was supposed to reimburse…when McCain-Palin won.
• Katie Couric: Palin used the "biased, 'badgering,' and ignorant" CBS anchor’s stylist during the campaign.