Memories of me

The revelation that a searing tell-all memoir about gang life in LA was made up by a suburban white chick has inspired Dan Drezner to sponsor a contest for best fake memoir title. And, of course, a good name to go with it:

I hereby declare the formula to determine your Fake Memoir Name to be......drumroll..... the first name of your gender-appropriate paternal grandparent + the last name of your first-grade teacher. In which case, my Fake Memoir name is.... Lou Hayes.

I have composed several candidates for the title:

1) Red Herring: Five years inside the CIA's secret war in Denmark 2) Lost innocents: a memoir of dying in the World Trade Center Attacks 3) Kidnapped!: How I survived being abducted by Indians

The problem is, I never went to first grade, so my memoir name is Catherine . . .

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/03/memories-of-me/2880/