Both conservative and liberal Jewish critics have panned Peter Beinart’s book about the so-called Crisis of Zionism, giving the onetime neo-liberal scribbler a series of spankings that would daunt a less conceited author. But because the disillusioned lover of Zion didn’t let his own abysmal ignorance about both Israel and the Palestinians stop him from writing a book about the topic, there’s no reason to assume he won’t go on annoying audiences with his agonized but all too predictable misgivings about the real life state of Israel (as opposed to the imaginary ideal liberal version of the Jewish state he prefers to the one where the voters reject his ideas) as he continues on a book tour far and wide. All this chatter and buzz may be giving even Beinart’s detractors the idea that he is making some headway with the public, but apparently the book-buying public, like the critics, aren’t buying it.
According to BookScan, the respected service that tabulates point-of-sales purchases of books at stores around the nation, Beinart’s much-hyped effort is a flop. Reliable sources tell us that BookScan, which is believed to capture the figures that represent about 60 percent of the book buying in the nation, has tabulated that as of this week Beinart had only sold 2,845 copies of The Crisis of Zionism. Because books that sell thousands more than that number are considered by publishers to be busts, Beinart’s ballyhooed cri-de-coeur must be considered a colossal flop. And considering that Beinart is believed to have received an advance of several hundred thousand dollars for it, one imagines that the brass at Times Books — the partnership between Henry Holt and the New York Times that published Crisis — are kicking themselves for being duped into believing the market for post-Zionist carping extended beyond the tiny group of people who will buy anything that takes a dim view of Israel.
Crisis’s current Amazon rating is 2,530. That might not be considered embarrassing for a run-of-the-mill non-fiction book. But it’s a terrible ranking for a book whose author has been feted on broadcast and cable networks in the kind of public relations blitz orchestrated by his publisher normally reserved for a blockbuster.
In making this observation, we’re not looking to rain on Beinart’s parade. He’s already got his money for the book and can, as they say, cry all the way to the bank while continuing to portray himself as a courageous and embattled dissident no matter what anyone says. The point is that the failure of this book undercuts the claim that Beinart represents mainstream American Jewish views. He doesn’t. The apathetic response of a book-buying community like the Jewish one illustrates that the public has as little interest in his misguided views as the critics.
Though Beinart’s attack on Israel may conform to the views of the editors and publishers of the Times, perhaps the next time an ambitious scribbler and his book agent tries to sell a publisher on a project with a similar theme, they will remember Beinart and take a pass.
"Though Beinart’s attack on Israel may conform to the views of the editors and publishers of the Times…" n nI think you can safely drop the word "may" from the sentence. n nBy the way, even though the book reviewer for the Times panned the book, isn't there some sort of conflict of interest in the Times promoting the book ( it did give Beinart space to write an op-ed recently and Krugman praised the book as an act of courage!) and the fact that NYT has a major financial interest in the book? Shouldn't Krugman have disclosed this fact in his embarrassing plug for Beinart? nWould someone care to ask Andrew Rosenthal to explain this?
It's #3,053 on Amazon. I have no idea how good that is.
"How I Taught my Cat to Shed" is at #1,735.
I hold no brief for Beinart's "Israel sucks, and I'm a better Zionist than you" straddle, but if the guy's so inconsequential, why are you lot spending so much bandwidth bad-mouthing him?
Wow. Twice in a year, you actually makes sense, Grumpy! n nBeinart should know by now that Israel is not an extension of socialist Jewish summer camps he went to as a kid. It's an actual democracy, and not only do they not have to do what he says, they don't for the most part even know that he exists. n nA whiny American Jewish brat, living off the fat of the land on a far away continent, making money and attending parties as he trashes Israeli attempts not to get murdered or pushed into the sea. Can't see why they don't listen to him , , ,
because he's such a jerk! we're all having so much fun seeing this epic fail…really, it couldn't have happened to a nicer self-hating Jew. n nand also because schadenfreude rocks.
There you are, Grumps, just where I thought you'd be. I count only five paragraphs in Jon's article, two of them very short ones. Don't worry about bandwidth, unless you're huffing along on slow DSL. The more bandwidth, though, the more exposure to the topic and no trees or owls have been harmed for this. It's not really about Beinart, it's a reminder than the end of the "post-Zionist" era in publishing is nigh. Me, though, I'm into cheap schadenfreude and delight in cackling theatrically at Beinart's spiralling journey into profound loser-hood. Bwa-ha-ha-hah!
You probably don't like him any more than you do Beinart, but Max Blumenthal memorably said, "I hate myself, but not because I'm Jewish."
Readers stayed away in droves.
I am tempted to say that Peter Beinart's book flopped because Walt and Mearsheimer got there first. There is something terribly arrogant about a man who has spent his entire life in Cambridge, Ma. and on the upper west side of Manhattan having the gall to tell Israelis what concessions Israel must make and what "risks for peace" Israelis (but not Peter) must take. Like his mentor Tom Friedman, Mr. Beinart is obsessed that Israel must never, never be allowed to be even one meter larger than it was when the 1948 armistice was agreed to. For Beinart the 1948 lines are some sort of magical line to which Israel, to assuage his feelings of guilt, must retreat behind. Abba Eban, hardly a right wing follower of Jabotinsky, called the Beinart-Friedman border "the Aushwitz borders" . One thing is certain. Peter Beinart will never be among those taking "risks for peace".
Please, enough with the inside baseball Beinart bashing. As indicated by his book sales, NO ONE CARES. We get it. Stop treating him like a serious actor and move on!
Jewish readers who get upset over the Friedmans and the Beinarts and the Sullivans don't get it. Jew baiting is profitable. The outraged response from the Jews is taken for proof that the writer has impact. The response demonstrates that the writer has hit a nerve. The crafty Hebrews thought they could conceal their selfishness and malevolence but the writer has exposed them for the Zionist land-grabbers they are. Israel, for all its whining, has once again missed an opportunity to make peace.
“A whiny American Jewish brat, living off the fat of the land on a far away continent, making money and attending parties”….this paragraph could be the beginning of a 1000 novels!
Which all explains your being here and commenting on this.
I love that he wrote this on computer with an Intel processor developed in Israel. Reminds me of the folks who scream "The government needs to keep their hands off my Medicare!"