Mike Downing
Subject: WSJ Report & various items
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 10:43:01 -0400
Don't know if you're aware of it, but there's a weekly TV show called
the Wall St. Journal Report.usually on at an obscure time. Here in
Columbus, OH it's 6:00 am Sunday. I happened at wake up early this
morning and catch it.
They were doing a little segment at the end of the show on Father's Day
gifts, including a section on books. PNM was the first book they
mentioned (and held up prominently for the camera). I don't remember
the comment exactly, but it was something along the lines of "a
fascinating new way of looking at the world".
Based on the viewing time, it's probably going to generate sales of at
least 5 or 6 additional copies of PNM nationwide!
Congratulations on your book. I heard about it via the WSJ article and
ordered it on amazon. I'm about 2/3 through it (Ch 4) and feel like
it's a much more positive vision for the future than the current GWOT
talk. Also agree totally that W is doing the right thing (basically)
except for placing the current activities in a broader context of
Core-Gap, etc. Enjoying your weblog as well on a daily basis.
btw, write the book on your daughter next,
your instincts are totally right on that.
There's plenty of remaining PNM "absorption" time and it needs to enter
the national dialogue/debate much more extensively (not minimizing all
the great work that's already been done btw). It will be great to have
PNM available in the Iraq post 6/30 era and when the 9/11 report is
published. Your publisher needs to work on getting you into the
mainstream (Larry King, Russert's show, Nightline, Charlie Rose, etc) as
part of the discussion
panel when those topics are being discussed.
I think the "staying power" of PNM will be much longer than Clark and
Woodward's books because it does offer a specific context and long term
vision. They both are basically a microeconomic "who shot John" view of
events. PNM is basically the bigger view that Condi Rice says she was
looking for from Clarke (and never received). PNM is the macroeconomic
view. Clarke and Woodward are focused on events. PNM is focused more
strategically at patterns and systemic structure, and thus will prove
much more valuable over the long term as it becomes part of
security/foreign policy/globalization debate.
Keep up the good work.
Mike Downing
My Response
I am going to blog that--it was such a
nice email! Every possible stroke and good piece of advice I was
looking for after many hours of angst at my agent's seeming go/no go
push (why is it that everyone around me all of a sudden is thrusting
go/no go decisions in my face?).
Thanks a lot. Interactions such as this push me to keep doing the blog.
So your time and effort in writing this very nice email had real impact
with me.
Tom Barnett |
Email Thomas P.M. Barnett
Biography
Putnam, 2004
The Pentagon's New Map
Esquire, March 2003
The
Pentagon's New Map
Global Transaction Strategy
|
