Publishers Balk at Laura Memoirs

Rumors of Laura Bush's forthcoming memoirs have understandably generated a lot of buzz—after all, she had a front seat to her husband's disasters while somehow avoiding their taint. The New Yorker, however, has some bad news for readers hoping for the inside scoop. "She was not forthcoming about anything that I would consider controversial," said one publisher who met with her. "I considered it the worst, or the most frustrating, meeting of its sort that I've ever had." Another publisher hoped "that she's a closet Democrat, like in the Curtis Sittenfeld novel," but after meeting with her, "you got the sense she's just like him." A third publisher chose not to meet with her at all. "I got the impression that everyone was totally underwhelmed by her. That's why there's so little buzz."