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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Books Norman Mailer Hated America

Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 12:57 PM

_{Etch-a-sketch from Flickr user etchasketchist.}

Apparently, the Washington Post has just discovered that the FBI followed Norman Mailer around for 15 years, in part because he said that Jackie Kennedy was "too soft-spoken."

Agents questioned his friends, scoured his passport file, thumbed through his best-selling books and circulated his photo among informants. They kept records on his appearances at writers conferences, talk shows and peace rallies. They noted the volume of envelopes in his mailbox and jotted down who received his Christmas cards. They posed as his friend, chatted with his father and more than once knocked on his door disguised as deliverymen.

It's sad that Norman Mailer is dead, because he really would've loved to know he was the center of all that attention.

Comments (4) RSS

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He would have been so happy it would be insufferable

Posted by vooodooo84 on November 13, 2008 at 1:40 PM

Um, Jackie Kennedy was too soft spoken. In archival footage, she tends to whisper. It wasn't as "sexy" as Marilyn Monroe's take on the style (I'm thinking specifically of "Happy Birthday, Mr. President"), but it was strikingly similar in its breathiness.

Posted by K.C. Fennessy on November 13, 2008 at 1:42 PM

watch out, k.c., now the fbi is going to be shadowing you.

jesus christ on a stick! can that be true?! did the taxpayers really pay for mailer to be treated like a national threat because he said that jackie was too soft-spoken? she was. so what? what utter lunacy.

Posted by ellarosa on November 13, 2008 at 2:03 PM

When I interviewed Norman Mailer, he was very nearly as soft-spoken as Jackie. You'd never have known he stabbed his wife, missing her aorta by less than an inch.

Posted by Tim Appelo on November 13, 2008 at 2:16 PM