Edward Klein: the difference between the truth and a lie

[DonViejo]

He's a veteran journalist whose new book on the Clintons sits atop the bestseller list, but Klein again stands accused of fabrication. Friends and former colleagues describe the man behind the controversy

Jon Swaine in New York

The opening scene in Blood Feud, the new book by Ed Klein about the Clintons and the Obamas, is a classic of the 77-year-old author’s scurrilous brand of political non-fiction.

On a sunny afternoon in May last year, we are told, Hillary Clinton gathered six girlfriends from Wellesley's class of 1969 for a boozy lunch at Le Jardin du Roi, a bistro near her home in Chappaqua, New York. Recently liberated from the State Department, Clinton is said to have let loose on her erstwhile boss, accusing President Obama of having “no hand on the fucking tiller”.

Klein discloses breathlessly that “the wines had been carefully chosen by Roi, the owner of the restaurant,” and that “Roi waited on Hillary personally and prepared a special vegan dish for her after the former first lady told him that she was trying to lose weight.”

There is, however, a problem with this centrepiece of Blood Feud’s prologue. Le Jardin du Roi was not named after the backyard of a man called Roi. It means “The Garden of the King”, or “The King’s Garden” in French. “It’s just the name of the restaurant,” a puzzled staff member told the Guardian when reached by telephone. The name of the man who owns the restaurant is Joe.

This is not the first glaring factual error to have made its way into Klein’s reporting. It is not even the first time a mistake has been made in the very first anecdote of one of his books. Such clangers, along with excruciating claims about his subjects' personal lives, have contributed to the establishment of a diverse anti-Klein caucus, ranging from Media Matters on the left to the conservative columnists John Podhoretz and Peggy Noonan.

more
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jul/14/edward-klein-blood-feud-difference-between-truth-and-lie

[m-lekktor]

1. Ed Klein is a loon.

i have read his crap, including parts of this book mentioned, for giggles. not even remotely to be taken seriously.