Friday, October 03, 2008

Update on the Mangum Opus

The p.r. firm handling Crystal Mangum's memoir can't even spell its client's name correctly: a press release announcing the book's (now) late October availability indicated that "Crystal Magnum[sic] is donating one dollar from the purchase of each book to help battered women."

The tell-all memoir has now been delayed at least twice--from 1 July to 1 October; and now from 1 October until 22 October. The reason for the latest delay? According to the book's publicist, as noted in the H-S: "the copy editor got sick" (from reading the text?).

In any case: if and when the Opus ever appears, I'll offer a review.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!(not you KC . . . always want to say thanks!) or as Grandpa would say, "Give me a brake!" Actually, I might ask you to review again some of the valid reasons for Mangum not to publish other than the fact that she is not telling the truth. Thanks.

skwilli said...

I cannot wait for that review. You can probably start writing it up now, the opus will be so predictable.

Anonymous said...

This can't surprise anyone.....the publisher (and author for that matter) are surely much more concerned and familiar with numbers than they are with words.

Anonymous said...

Is Magnum a Communist?

Anonymous said...

Her p.r. firm can't spell her name? What's a working girl gotta do to get some respect!

I know the issues in this case are important... the abuse of state power, incompetence and PC in academia, etc.... but this has got to be the best entertainment value in town.

I'll rely on your reveiw of the Opus. I suspect I'd lose a few IQ points if I read it, and frankly I don't have any IQ points to spare.

Thanks KC.

-RD

Anonymous said...

"The copy editor got sick."
I guess it's better than "The dog ate the only copy."

Far more likely, the publisher, Fire! Books, Inc., having never "published" a book before didn't realize how complicated it can be. Gotta pay for a copyright, get an LCCN (takes a few weeks), get an ISBN number, maybe consult a lawyer (no doubt they read this blog and have gotten a heads up on the legal trouble they might not have realized they were courting), installing and learning to use spell-check, setting up a web site that can process financial transactions. It's overwhelming.

One of the imponderables to me: other than sounding pseudo poetic, can anybody give any reasonable interpretation of the selection of the title? What in the world could "The Last Dance for Grace" possibly be trying to capture as a statement of the thesis of the book?

The only thing I can figure is that possibly the word 'dance' refers to her occupation on the night of the non-rape and she possibly 'gracefully' retired from that profession that night as a result.

Interestingly, her account of the events that night hold no interest for me. Cooper's rendition of her pathetic inability to consistently tell any story and his suspicion that she was emotionaly incapable of grasping the truth of the events is enough for me.

I would be enthralled to hear, however, about what I suspect was extraordinary pressure from the Durham Police (Gottlieb, Wilson?) to NOT recant. Threats to charge her with something if she did (filing a false police report, vague references to getting social services involved- something)- AND, how she spent her time and how she was supported by Durham under some victims rights aegis- another stimulus to continue the charade. I'd love to hear about her studies and how she managed to get to classes and complete her assignments. I'd also very much like to hear how she managed to stay out of the spotlight of celebrity and why. Certainly someone convinced her that it was in her long term intere$t to do so. Who, why and what was she hoping for.

I doubt if any of these topics will be covered. The only suspense, I suppose, is whether or not she will offer any form of apology.

Maybe what the world needs is not an autobiography, but an "unauthorized" biography. Being in the area geographically, I vote for Deborah to get to work on it.

Anybody taking bets on the Oct 22 date as being reliable?

I also believe that KC is being charitable (or sloppy) when he calls their outfit a "p.r. firm."

RL alum '75

Anonymous said...

Apparently it should have been the magnum opus.

C. Thomas Kunz

Anonymous said...

Your blog, more than any other single influence, got me interested in joining my state's branch of the ACLU, and along with Liestoppers, crystallized some ill-defined concerns I'd had about our legal system. For the wisdom and the change in perspective I gained by reading your posts, I thank you. You have awakened another civil libertarian.

As for this book, I doubt it ever comes out. I have little doubt the publisher knows what kind of liability exposure they would have with this kind of smear piece. If they don't understand it, I have no doubt they have lawyers who do and are offering sound advice.

Anonymous said...

It gets better. Crystal spoke at North Carolina A&T in April and claimed in a talk to a class that she was assaulted from behind with a broomstick, and that the three players used racial slurs.

Of course, her statements were believed as gospel truth. Welcome to North Carolina justice.

Anonymous said...

So at least she will sell one copy.

Will it be stocked in the fiction or non-fiction department, or better yet, the comic book aisle.

Debrah said...

Below is an email I sent to Bob Ashley yesterday about their Mangum report.

The only reason he responded with his generic, one-reply-fits-all is because I sent a CC to the publisher Rick Bean.

Such fun!

*****************************************

October 03, 2008 1:50 PM
To: Bob Ashley
Cc: Rick Bean
Subject: "Strange fruit" from the Herald-Sun

Mr. Ashley,

I was struck by this little item from a report on the upcoming "book" that is supposedly being written by the prostitute and criminal Crystal Gail Mangum.

What a sick joke.


( "The Herald-Sun named Mangum for the first time in August because of her decision to publish a book and use her name in the title." )


LOL!!!

Your paper's daily démarche against the three innocent Duke lacrosse players right after, and throughout, even when it was clear to any intelligent observer that the case was a Hoax,
makes such a statement as the one above almost nauseating.

Are you so afraid of your local readers that you have to avoid reporting what most news organizations did early on?

Are you afraid that rioting will take place and the building will be burned down?

You do remember the behavior of the "community" back in the Spring of 2006 when they wanted blood before any evidence of guilt, don't you?

YOU ASSISTED THAT DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT....without any form of objective reporting at all. I remember it like it was yesterday and I have no idea how such a coward as yourself
even sleeps at night.....given that you also have a son.

(Yes, readers are bored by your endless "diary entries" talking about yourself and your boring family details.)

What is all the fear about?

This is a woman whose self-serving life as a street-walker, birthing of multiple of fatherless babies, drug use, alcohol abuse, a criminal record which the DPD tried to hide back in 2006
so they could perpetrate the Hoax, and so many tawdry details that N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper was dumbfounded.

And you thrash about worrying over printing this criminal's name?

How about getting a reporter to find out exactly how such a person received a "degree" in criminal justice from NCCU without actually going to class.
Was this similar to that satellite campus charade in Georgia?

If you want a story, Mr. Ashley, here's one:

Here--http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/

This is the man who did the heavy lifting when media drones like you were shaking in your boots and gladly assisting daily in this internationally-publicized Hoax.

You were the hometown paper and you did nothing. Those of us who tried to write op-eds to give a balanced view of the LYNCHING of Reade, Collin, and David were muzzled.

If you want to do some decent and honorable reporting, do a story on the updated paperback version of "Until Proven Innocent", the definitive account of this HOAX and the embarrassment it was for your newspaper.

At least the N&O had Joe Neff do a brilliant series of investigation when it became clear that Crystal Mangum was just another Durham problem for society.

If you can't do your job without living in fear of what the people in Durham might do to you, then get out of the business.


*******************************************
Ashley's reply--


Dear Debrah:

As always, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. It is always good to hear from you.


Sincerely,

Bob Ashley
editor
The Herald-Sun

Gary Packwood said...

I'm thinking we are missing the point here.

There are several vanity presses that will accept an e-mailed MS Word file and turn that file into a book without ever looking at or editing the content.

If you want 2,000 copies they will print 2,000 copies and send those copies to any address you provide after you have paid the printing and shipping bill and after the check has cleared the bank.

If you don't want an ISBN number you don't have to have an ISBN number and the book can be sold on the web site owned by the vanity press.

For example, Wordclay 'Publishing'

http://www.wordclay.com/

Precious (Bless her heart) could send the MS Word file and cut the check and have the books delivered to a church basement in Durham where workers would send out copies to every church on the list provided by THE Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. and similar person of significant stature.

If Precious (BHH) plays the single Mom being persecuted by 'privileged-young-feral-beasts-white-men-with-uncontrollable-lust-for-violent-assault-on-innocent-African-American-Maidens...CARD...what can anyone do about it? Sue HER?!

The point is to get a book in the hands of African American church folk across the South...even if it needs to be in a brown paper wrapper in order to escape attention from privilege white folks who caused all the problems in the first place.

Does the USPS still have a book rate?
::
GP

Anonymous said...

We know that CGM was barely able to speak a coherent sentence throughout her "uplifting" experience. Wonder if she can write a coherent sentence in her autobiography?
Then again, if she writes it they way she told the truth during the entire disgraceful incidence, the book will be in the humor section at Barnes & Foibles.

Anonymous said...

Crystal should contact Tim Tyson.The two would make a perfect pair.With Tim's experience on promoting books filled with lies."BDSMN".Tim knows all the victims to hustle in, starting in the churches.

Anonymous said...

Maybe forthcoming Wahneema Lubiano is helping Crystal writeh the book.

Anonymous said...

I think some of you are missing the irony in this latest delay. Does it surprise anyone that the star of the Group of 88's pet hoax also has a "forthcoming" manuscript that never seems to come forth? The better question is, since Precious now has a bachelor's degree and a "forthcoming" manuscript, which Department Chair will she be in line for at Dook the next time they go on a diversity bender?

Anonymous said...

She should donate $1 from every book sold to help - insane women not battered women since they have no relationship to these events.