Factual errors, ham-fisted analysis, and contradictory assertions—compounded by a penchant for mixed metaphors and name-dropping—distinguish the work of Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman. The Imperial Messenger reveals the true value of this media darling, a risible writer whose success tells us much about the failures of contemporary journalism. . . .The Imperial Messenger is polemic at its best, relentless in its attack on this apologist for American empire and passionate in its commitment to justice.
Published by
VERSO, available from
Amazon.com.
A Truthout “Progessive Pick of the Week” and “Gawker Book Club” selection
Reviews of "The Imperial Messenger"
DAVID WEARING, New Left Project: “. . . the sheer volume of butt-clenchingly awful prose and heart-tearingly twisted logic that [Fernández] has endured in her research . . . means at least that she will never have to prove herself to the global left in any other way. She brings to the task a delicious, dry wit, and a gift for perceptively and efficiently dismantling a bad argument. Her voice is a cool and authoritative one, and – from Friedman’s point of view - is all the more devastating for that. . . . reading this book feels like a small but significant experience in intellectual liberation, for which we have its author to thank.”
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ROBERT JENSEN, Truthout: “The Imperial Messenger . . . is as much about the cultural and political crises in the United States as it is about Friedman's flaws. This larger focus transforms what could have been a sarcastic hit piece that took easy shots at Friedman's most mangled prose into a thoughtful meditation from a young journalist willing to state the obvious: the emperor's messenger has no clothes.” READ MORE
PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS, Institute for Political Economy: “Fernandez subjects Friedman to careful scrutiny and assigns him failing grades for logic, consistency, and integrity. After reading Fernandez dissect Friedman column by column, the unavoidable question is: How did Friedman ever pass himself off as a journalist? Why isn’t Belen Fernandez the New York Times’ lead columnist? The answer is clear. Fernandez won’t lie for the establishment.”
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DAVID CRONIN, The Electronic Intifada: “Fernández skewers empire’s messenger Tom Friedman. . . . Few books on current affairs merit being called page-turners; because of Fernández’s witty and punchy style, this one does.”
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MAX AJL, Jadaliyya: “In a world in which ideas are relentlessly invoked as explanations for the whirring of the empire, there is something compellingly honest about Fernández’s attention to the material context within which Friedman’s ideas find succor. . . . carefully argued, relentlessly well-written polemic.”
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JOHN ROBERTSON, War in Context: “. . . a systematic, detailed take-down of the neo-liberal bias, myopic US-Israeli chauvinism, and general intellectual shallowness that almost scream to be noticed in Friedman’s writing. . . . Fernandez’s book deserves to be read widely and discussed in depth.”
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STEVE MARLOWE, Chapati Mystery: “Fernandez’s spit-roasting of Friedman’s career is . . . proof that America’s reading public should have itself a come-to-Jesus meeting about whom it reads, and on what subjects. . . . Point by point, column after column, Fernandez compiles a litany of misstatements, historical reductionism, cultural ignorance, journalistic sloth, bald errors, obfuscations, ethnocentrism, banality, nonsensical business jargon, multitudinous contradiction and rank assholery.
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SANDRA SIAGIAN, IPS: “Whatever the reader's political bent,
The Imperial Messenger raises thought-provoking questions about the objectivity of mainstream media when it comes to U.S. economic and foreign policy interests.”
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CYRIL MYCHALEJKO, Toward Freedom: “a meticulously researched book, written with wry wit and an unrelenting critical eye, that should be read by both Friedman's fans and critics alike; not just for what it reveals about his journalism or the
New York Times, but for what it says about the state of American journalism as a whole. In short, if New York's 'paper of record' wanted to start rectifying its own journalistic deficiencies, it would do well to start by replacing Friedman with Fernandez.”
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JIM MILES, Palestine Chronicle: “
Imperial Messenger should be the companion volume to any and all reading of Friedman.”
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ANATOLE ASHRAF, Columbia Spectator: a "sustained criticism that highlights not only many of the shortcomings of the three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the state of American journalism in which a figure like Friedman can rise to prominence. . . .
The Imperial Messenger is required reading."
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