Oprah's mistakes?

Word has come out (via the Associated Press) that Oprah is once again speaking out against a book that she previously endorsed.

If you remember, not so long ago Oprah confronted James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces. Frey originally marketed Pieces as a memoir about his battle with drug addictions and the book was later determined to be largely fabricated. Oprah confronted Frey quite aggressively on her show(via Oprah's website):

Oprah: Why did you lie? Why did you have to lie about the time you spent in jail? Why did you do that?

James: I think one of the coping mechanisms I developed was sort of this image of myself that was greater, probably, than—not probably—that was greater than what I actually was. In order to get through the experience of the addiction, I thought of myself as being tougher than I was and badder than I was—and it helped me cope. When I was writing the book … instead of being as introspective as I should have been, I clung to that image.

Oprah: And did you cling to that image because that's how you wanted to see yourself? Or did you cling to that image because that would make a better book?

James: Probably both.

Now Oprah has pulled Forrest Carter's book, The Education of Little Tree, which was originally touted as "the real-life story of an orphaned boy raised by his Cherokee grandparents (Italie)." Long after the Carter's death, his real identity as Asa Earl Carter, KKK member and speechwriter for former AL governor George Wallace (he wrote Wallace's "Segregation today! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!" quote), came to light. The book has since been described as "the racial hypocrisy of a white supremacist" with "a simplistic plot that used a lot of stereotypical imagery (Italie)."

Oprah has since pulled The Education of Little Tree from her Book Club website, but James Frey's A Million Little Pieces remains.

Happy Reading!

htw