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A review by atomic_tourist
Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History by Katy Tur
Unbelievable is the most disappointing book I've read for the Miami Book Fair this year. Katy Tur's memoir about reporting on the Trump campaign for NBC is more about self-praise and failed attempts at humor than it is about politics or journalism.
There's a certain brand of reader that eats this shit up- people who think it's important to understand "both sides", hardcore Obama or Hillary stans, white feminists, et cetera. Since I don't fall into these categories, I saw this book for what it is: boring and self-congratulating. Tur's arguments are insanely simplistic: Trump bad. Journalism hard.
Just because you're an NBC reporter does not mean you can write a memoir! Narrative writing is not the same thing as journalism! And, in hindsight, this book did really well in part because everyone felt desperate in the early days of Trump's presidency and people hoped Tur's memoir would help them understand him... In 2023, Unbelievable feels like such an unnecessary work.
There's a certain brand of reader that eats this shit up- people who think it's important to understand "both sides", hardcore Obama or Hillary stans, white feminists, et cetera. Since I don't fall into these categories, I saw this book for what it is: boring and self-congratulating. Tur's arguments are insanely simplistic: Trump bad. Journalism hard.
Just because you're an NBC reporter does not mean you can write a memoir! Narrative writing is not the same thing as journalism! And, in hindsight, this book did really well in part because everyone felt desperate in the early days of Trump's presidency and people hoped Tur's memoir would help them understand him... In 2023, Unbelievable feels like such an unnecessary work.