1st Critical Assessment of Sarah Palin is Top Political Campaign Book in Kindle Store; Begins Shipping in Paperback; Newsweek Issues Kindle Exclusives

Boston, MA, October 13, 2008 -- The first book-length critical assessment of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin -- Thanks But No Thanks: The Voter's Guide to Sarah Palin by Sue Katz -- has soared into position as the top political campaign book in Amazon's Kindle store, where it will soon be joined by four "Kindle Exclusives" from Newsweek on the four major national-ticket nominees.

Unlike the Newsweek publications, Thanks But No Thanks is also now shipping in a paperback edition and is available through most bookstores nationally as well as Amazon.com.

"It was especially cool to have Thanks But No Thanks come out on this new Kindle technology, even before the paperbacks were ready to be shipped," Katz said. "Kindle has allowed tech savvy readers to be the first to get into my brain and my book, but we also want to reach readers who get their information from the printed page."

Katz began blogging about Palin and her selection as vice-presidential nominee just hours after John McCain announced his choice in late August. Within a few days, a book deal with independent publisher Harvard Perspectives Press had landed in her lap.

Now, the newest book on the 2008 presidential campaign – and the first to take a critical look at Sarah Palin – has caught fire following its launch Wednesday on the eve of last night's vice-presidential debate.

Launched as a Kindle exclusive prior to its paperback edition launch on October 10, Thanks But No Thanks is the product of a month of intensive work by Katz and was published by independent publisher Harvard Perspectives Press. The book has already received rave reviews from several major authors, including Harriet Lerner, author of bestseller The Dance of Anger: "Sue Katz's meticulously researched book cuts through the media fog and political doublespeak, bringing the facts about Sarah Palin into sharp resolve."

"The response to my blog entries immediately after Palin's selection made me realize that people were hungry for help in distilling all the information that started pouring in," said Katz this week. "Now that my publisher has announced the book, I'm astonished to see how the mesh of networks kicks into gear when it finds something of interest. The circles I've been involved in all my life have been telling all their various networks and the resulting buzz over just 48 hours is stunning."

The Newsweek publication on Sarah Palin will collect the magazine's coverage of Palin since her selection August 29 and will be available for Kindle readers on October 15.

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Links:
Detail Page in Amazon Kindle Store: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H0G6M8
Blog Page for Book, with cover art: http://palinvoterguide.blogspot.com/
Sue Katz: Consenting Adult blog: http://suekatz.typepad.com

'Thanks But No Thanks: The Voter's Guide to Sarah Palin' Tops Kindle Bestseller List

The first book-length critical assessment of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Thanks But No Thanks: The Voter's Guide to Sarah Palin by Sue Katz, is now the #1 bestseller in the Amazon Kindle store, just days after its launch.

Signed copies of the paperback edition of Thanks But No Thanks: The Voter's Guide to Sarah Palin are being offered at a 20% discount on Amazon, and the book is also available in other electronic reading formats including the iPhone and the Blackberry through Mobipocket. Just days after its launch the new Palin book is one of the topselling current affairs titles at Amazon, and will be available in better bookstores nationally next week.

Already emerging as one of the important political books of the general election season, Sue Katz' book has received praise from several distinguished authors, including bestsellers Harriet Lerner and Susie Bright:

'Sue Katz's meticulously researched book cuts through the media fog and political doublespeak, bringing the facts about Sarah Palin into sharp resolve.' --Harriet Lerner, author of The Dance of Anger

'Sue Katz is just the she-bear to wrestle Sarah Palin's image back down to earth. Forget the myth about the GOP's latest superstar--Katz will show the real motivations behind Palin and where she comes from.' --Susie Bright

Who is Sarah Palin and what does she believe in? People around the country -- and indeed the world -- had more questions than answers when John McCain announced her selection as his running mate on August 29, 2008. Has any national political candidate ever emerged on the American political scene with less scrutiny than Alaska Governor Sarah Palin received prior to her selection?

Whether you believe Palin was nominated because of years of hard work in Alaska, as a result of a reckless decision by her "maverick" running mate, or because of the influence of the religious right, you probably want to know more about this remarkable political phenom.

Hours after John McCain shocked the nation by selecting Palin as his surprise Republican running mate, journalists, activists, and ordinary concerned citizens began to research and write about Palin's biography, public statements, and political background. The flood of information and commentary has been torrential.

For those who would like some help sorting through all the hype about Sarah Palin, Sue Katz's Thanks But No Thanks: The Voter's Guide to Sarah Palin is the perfect solution. Katz distills the overwhelming glut of information about Palin into a highly readable and fast-paced voter's guide about the woman who may be elected vice-president in 2008 and who could well serve as president one day. From Palin's days in Wasilla to her leap into Republican super-stardom, Katz helps you to better understand this intriguing candidate.

While remaining true to her own strong point of view, Sue Katz looks beyond the lipstick and the sound bites. Thanks But No Thanks synthesizes information and commentary from a wide range of sources so that readers of any political persuasion will find help in educating themselves about just who Sarah Palin is and what her election might mean for the country and the world.

This book is for voters who want to go beyond the usual campaign "puff piece" biographies and learn about Palin's known views on everything from community organizers to women's issues to the relationship of faith and politics. Thanks But No Thanks provides the reader with access to interesting voices from around America and the world, and they all have something insightful to say about Sarah Palin.

In addition, the publisher has included several valuable appendices that will serve as handy references for voters and debate-watchers: a year-by-year chronology of key events in Palin's life, a detailed history of Palin's performance in past elections, and the full text of her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.

About the Author

Author and teacher Sue Katz has published journalism and political commentary for many years and is the creator of the popular blog, Sue Katz: Consenting Adult. Her passport shows more wear than Palin’s--she has lived and worked on three continents, teaching martial arts in her institutes in Israel, promoting global volunteerism while living in Europe, and writing, editing and teaching (from salsa to senior fitness) in the United States. A rebel with a newfound interest in electoral politics, Sue continues her lifelong commitment to social justice activism from her home outside Boston. She attended Boston University as an undergraduate and earned her master's degree from Tel Aviv University. Her second book, an edgy and unabashed look at the private behavior of boomers, is due in 2009.



About the Cover

The unique collage portrait of Sarah Palin was created expressly for the Thanks But No Thanks cover by artist Sandy Oppenheimer. Her well-deserved international reputation reflects this distinctive style, and her creations are as affordable as they are exceptional. Contact Sandy at sandyoppenheimer@hotmail.com or view her work at http://sandyoppenheimerportraits.blogspot.com.

Governor Palin's increasingly evident ambition illuminates the importance of Sue Katz's new book....

Frank Rich's Sunday op-ed piece in the The New York Times never fails to deliver fascinating new perspectives on the week's events. This week he shares evidence that Sarah Palin is already looking beyond the November 4 election to a bigger prize in 2012, at the latest. Rich focuses on still unanswered questions about the health of the man at the top of the Republican ticket and raises the possibility that Palin "wouldn't even blink" if events of any kind placed her in the top spot.



Nor does Thanks But No Thanks: The Voter's Guide to Sarah Palin limit its purview to what Palin brings to the table in a single election. If she is going to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come, Sue Katz's new book will be right there with her, helping readers to see what Palin stands for, how she got there, and what it could mean in terms of the future public policy preoccupations of the Republican party. Sue's book will be available in paperback in about a week and the Kindle edition is already one of the top political titles in the Kindle Store.

Here is a bit of what Frank Rich had to say in this morning's New York Times:

It’s against this backdrop that Palin’s public pronouncements, culminating with her debate performance, have been so striking. The standard take has it that she’s either speaking utter ignorant gibberish (as to Couric) or reciting highly polished, campaign-written sound bites that she’s memorized (as at the convention and the debate). But there’s a steady unnerving undertone to Palin’s utterances, a consistent message of hubristic self-confidence and hyper-ambition. She wants to be president, she thinks she can be president, she thinks she will be president. And perhaps soon. She often sounds like someone who sees herself as half-a-heartbeat away from the presidency. Or who is seen that way by her own camp, the hard-right G.O.P. base that never liked McCain anyway and views him as, at best, a White House place holder.

--Frank Rich, "Pitbull Palin Mauls McCain," October 5, 2008 New York Times

Local Author Sue Katz Experiences Debut Breakthrough With Thanks But No Thanks: The Voter's Guide To Sarah Palin

Arlington author Sue Katz has been building a following for years with her articles, journalism, and the blog entries on her popular blog Sue Katz: Consenting Adult.

But the events of the past month may have transformed her career as an author, and that following of readers and fans has played a pivotal role in making her first book -- Thanks But Not Thanks: The Voter’s Guide to Sarah Palin -- an instant success.

Katz began blogging about Palin and her selection as vice-presidential nominee just hours after John McCain announced his choice. Within a few days, a book deal with independent publisher Harvard Perspectives Press had landed in her lap.

Now, the newest book in the 2008 presidential campaign – and the first to take a critical look at Sarah Palin – has caught fire following its launch Wednesday on the eve of last night’s vice-presidential debate.

Launched as a Kindle exclusive for 10 days prior to its paperback edition launch on October 13, Thanks But Not Thanks is the product of a month of intensive work by Katz and is being published by independent publisher Harvard Perspectives Press. The book has already received rave reviews from several major authors, including Harriet Lerner, author of bestseller The Dance of Anger: "Sue Katz's meticulously researched book cuts through the media fog and political doublespeak, bringing the facts about Sarah Palin into sharp resolve."

Readers at Amazon.com apparently agreed. Within two days of its launch, Thanks But Not Thanks rose into the top 250 titles among 183,000 books in Amazon's Kindle store and earned a 5-star customer rating among early Amazon reviewers.

“The response to my blog entries immediately after Palin's selection made me realize that people were hungry for help in distilling all the information that started pouring in,” said Katz this week. “Now that my publisher has announced the book, I'm astonished to see how the mesh of networks kicks into gear when it finds something of interest. The circles I've been involved in all my life have been telling all their various networks and the resulting buzz over just 48 hours is stunning.”

“It's especially cool to have it come out on this new Kindle technology, even before the paperbacks are ready to be shipped,” she said. “Kindle has allowed tech savvy readers to be the first to get into my brain and my book.”

"When her selection was announced, I was trying like everyone else to learn about Sarah Palin," Katz recalls in explaining to readers how she began the project just a month before publication.
"I began blogging about her as I sifted through the information. I am a woman with strong views and definite opinions, but I try to do due diligence when I’m taking a public stand. "I hope this book will help you with your voting decision," Katz tells readers in an introductory chapter.


Thanks But Not Thanks is the 11th book published by tiny Harvard Perspectives Press, including Stephen Windwalker's bestselling guides to the Kindle (2008) and to the online bookselling business (2002).

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For Immediate Release
October 3, 2008
http://palinvoterguide.blogspot.com/


Links:
Detail Page in Amazon Kindle Store: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H0G6M8
Blog Page for Book, with cover art: http://palinvoterguide.blogspot.com/
Sue Katz: Consenting Adult blog: http://suekatz.typepad.com