Doug Feith reviews Allison Hantschel; Allison responds

At the bottom of Allison Hantschel's review of Doug Feith's new book with a really serious title, War and Decision (which Allison read so we don't have to), she tells us that without mentioning Allison's book by name, Doug does seem to acknowledge its existence:

He does refer sarcastically to people who "view reading the New Yorker as research"

So there's your one-sentence dismissal of Allison's book. Here is Allison's 19-sentence review of Doug's book:

The book proceeds as a list, which I'll paraphrase here:

I was born.

I grew up.

Kind of.

I work at the Pentagon!

Old school liberals aren't pussies! They're hawks! Richard Perle is awesome!

Being a lawyer sucks.

9/11.

I shook the president's hand! I was in a meeting! I wrote a policy paper! Rumsfeld listens to me! The president listens to me! Everybody listens to me!

The president didn't want to go to war, except that he did, and we didn't make him, except that we have enormous influence, which is impossible to resist.

I hate Seymour Hersh.

Colin Powell is an asshole.

The CIA sucks.

WAR!!!!

Acronyms. Operational details. Tom Clancy.

WAR!!!!

Whoa, war sucks.

Here's what Bush screwed up to make the war suck.

Let me teach you my ways, so that you might replicate my phenomenal successes.

I think I can safely say that this is what Sarah Boxer might call "bloggy writing" (Sarah's definition: "It is conversational and reckless, composed on the fly for anonymous intimates"). I can also say I GET IT, and thank you, Allison, for both your book on Feith and for your review of Feith's own book.

Feith's new book is selling briskly, though I don't know why. The good news is that that is new attention being focused on Allison's book this week. Here are some of the places you may read up on the continuing saga of Allison and Doug:

Long-time champion of this book, Spocko
Firedoglake
Daily Kos
Hecate
Lichbabe
Various Posts At First Draft