The Whole World Is Watching
Human Rights Watch, an international group that monitors human
rights abuses, has begun a joint publishing program with Yale
University Press. Along with other books and reports on human rights,
Yale will publish an annual ''State of the World'' volume.
Unfair Use
New York Federal Judge Louis Stanton has barred publication of A
Piece of Blue Sky, Carol Publishing's unauthorized and highly
unflattering biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Stanton
says the book violated fair use by quoting 4,323 words of Hubbard's
writing. Publisher Stephen Schragis says Carol will appeal the
ruling — and also will publish an abridged version later this month.
Swifty's Secrets
The legendary Hollywood agent Irving P. ''Swifty'' Lazar has
signed a deal with Simon & Schuster for his memoirs. Michael
Shnayerson, a veteran of biographies (Cole Porter, Richard Nixon,
Noel Coward, Irwin Shaw), will write the book.
The Long Walk to Freedom
Harper & Row is rushing into print with Higher Than Hope, the only
authorized biography of Nelson Mandela. The author, Fatima Meer, a
professor at the University of Natal and a Mandela family friend
since the 1950s, has had exclusive access to the African leader, his
papers, his family, and his friends. The book, with a foreword by
Winnie Mandela, will arrive in stores early this week.
Fumblefingers
Spy magazine frequently refers to Donald Trump as the
''short-fingered vulgarian.'' But when The Stanford Daily erroneously
reported Spy's tag as''short-fingered Bulgarian,'' the paper had to
issue a hasty retraction the next day: ''The misquotation was not
intended as a slur against Bulgarians.''
Fawning
All of you eagerly awaiting Fawn Hall's memoir will have to cool
your heels. Originally due this year, the book has been postponed — and
Warner Books isn't saying when it will be out.
New Leftovers
This spring Citadel Press will launch Citadel Underground, an
imprint devoted to books — both new and reprints — about the American
counterculture. ''They're books for people who were there and people
who wish they had been,'' says Underground editor Dan Levy. Some of
the titles include Terry Southern's Red-Dirt Marijuana and Other
Tastes, Ed Sanders' Tales of Beatnik Glory, and Don McNeill's Moving
Through Here. The list of Citadel Underground's Board of Advisors
(CUBA) includes William S. Burroughs, Wavy Gravy, Tuli Kupferberg,
and Hunter S. Thompson.
Booked Up
Here's an option for those who like the library look but don't
have the books: wallpaper made to resemble shelves of pricey books. A
five-yard roll goes for $158.
We Won't Take This Lying Down
In its March ''Active Health'' column, Esquire magazine refers to
ailments of the ''prostrate'' gland four times.
