Reviews of Lipstadt's latest book on the Amazon website

Newspaper reviewers are, like the publishing industry, preponderantly Jewish, and therefore partisan. What do non-partisan readers think of Lipstadt's book on her trial for libel? Our website contributor LN comments: "You've posted a reader's review from the B&N site. Out of curiosity, I called up Lipstadt's book on Amazon.com. There were 15 reviews, 13 of which were clearly partisan (either top marks or bottom, 1/5 star or 5/5 stars) and therefore useless. But there was one 3-star review and one 4-star review from two people who actually read the book and gave honest reviews. (Both mention sloppy editing!) Here are fair excerpts."

[3 stars out of 5] "THERE is something off-putting about the tone of the book, as she comes across as humorless and self-centered, without much self-awareness, not promising in a first-person memoir, and the book could have been much better edited. From the beginning, Ms. Lipsdadt seems to relish ordering her underlings around, and even has her grad students gathering material for her next book proposal. The book downplays the part played by Yehuda Bauer, who urged Lipsdadt to beef up the material on Irving in her book; her compliance instigated the suit. There are a few howlers also, such as 'despite the fact that three publishers were vying for my manuscript on American press coverage of the Holocaust, UCLA denied me tenure.' . . .

Twelve questions to put to Prof. Lipstadt the next time you see her...

"Ms. Lipstadt did not say a word at the central event, the Irving trial in London, and her position as a figurehead sadly comes through clearly. What exactly did all those trips to London accomplish, except running up the tab? Her British publisher, Penguin, who footed the multi-million dollar tab for her defense, deserves more credit for their contribution, and the author seems stingy and ungrateful here. (Evans and Guttenplan tell how as many as 40 attorneys were working on this case at one time). And do we really need to know her exercise regimen and that she worked out daily during the trial?"

[4 stars out of 5] "AS interested as I was and am in the topic of Prof. Lipstadt's book, I nonetheless found myself slogging through it and thinking, 'This is a fascinating article for The New Yorker that has been made into a 350-page book.' . . . Could have used one more read by a sharp-eyed editor.

 Dossier on Deborah Lipstadt

 Lipstadt trial index

 Trial transcripts

  Lipstadt's praise for Binjamin Wilkomirski, the (ASSHOL) fraudster and liar:
"Deborah Lipstadt has assigned [Wilkomirski 's] Fragments in her Emory University class on Holocaust memoirs. When confronted with evidence that it is a fraud, she commented that the new revelations 'might complicate matters somewhat, but [the work] is still powerful.'"

  Twelve questions to put to Prof. Lipstadt the next time you see her...

  Controversy April 2001 over Emory's choice of Deborah Lipstadt as graduation speaker; won't get honorary degree