'NY Times' Public Editor Investigates the Paper's Book-Review Process

By: Kimberly Maul (The Book Standard) When the New York Times published its 100 Notable Books of the Year list on Dec. 4, many readers noticed a possible unfair advantage for some authors: Out of the 61 nonfiction titles featured, six were written by Times staffers.

The books "Are Men Necessary?," by Maureen Dowd; "Becoming Justice Blackmun," by Linda Greenhouse; "Conspiracy of Fools," by Kurt Eichenwald; "102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers," by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn; "The Accidental Masterpiece," by Michael Kimmelman; and "The World is Flat," by Thomas L. Friedman, were chosen by the paper as some of this year?s "Notables."

In response to letters from readers and bloggers, the Times' public editor, Byron Calame, detailed his own internal investigation, in a piece published yesterday, regarding the Gray Lady's book-review process.

He also touched on an earlier controversy at the paper of record, this one involving Dowd, when the Times Book Review chose Kathryn Harrison -- whom Dowd had mocked in several of her own Times columns in 1997 -- to review the columnist's book "Are Men Necessary?". In her review, Harrison said of the book?s mostly recycled earlier Dowd columns: "They suffer the opposite of synergy, adding up to less than the sum of their parts. ... Like most people who work hard at seeming to be naturally funny, Maureen Dowd comes across as someone who wants to be liked."

In his column yesterday, Calame wrote, "Mr. [Sam] Tanenhaus [editor of the Times Book Review] and his editors genuinely care about general readers and the literary world, and want their choices to have credibility. Yet the perception of a conflict of interest can hang over both the weekly review process and the notable-books list when Times staffers are involved."

Calame also noted that, while the Washington Post's list of its editors' picks for the year's 69 best nonfiction titles includes four books by Times staffers, the Top 10 Best Overall List in the Times includes none.

As tracked by Nielsen BookScan, sales of the books in question run the gamut:

* "The World Is Flat" (published in April): more than 906,000 copies. It is currently No. 1 on The Book Standard?s Political Science Chart (and No. 12 on the Overall Chart).

* "Conspiracy of Fools" (March 14): 96,000 copies.

* "102 Minutes" (Jan. 12): 68,000 copies.

* "Are Men Necessary?" (Nov. 8), reported here as having performed below expectations thus far: 53,000 copies. It rests at the No. 1 spot on The Book Standard?s Social Sciences Chart.

* "Becoming Justice Blackmun" (May 2): 19,000 copies.

* "The Accidental Masterpiece" (Aug. 18), 9,000 copies.