This book will be well-ghostwritten
Jessica Lynch Biography Hits Racks In November
'I Am a Soldier, Too' To Be Written by Bragg
By Linton Weeks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 2, 2003; Page C01
"I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story" will go on sale in November at bookstores, discount warehouses, truck stops, gift shops, grocery stores, pharmacies, PXs and just about everywhere else across America.
The authorized biography will be written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Bragg and published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House. Sonny Mehta, Knopf's president, will make the official announcement today.
"Jessica Lynch has captured the hearts and minds of Americans," Mehta said in a press release obtained yesterday by The Washington Post. "Her story is one the world is eager to hear, and Rick Bragg, an established chronicler of American lives, is uniquely qualified to tell it. Through Jessica Lynch, people will gain a greater understanding of American life and lives when a nation is at war."
Through Knopf, Lynch said, "I have been heartened by the hope and faith of the American people, and by the tireless effort of the U.S. Armed Forces. Many folks have written, expressing their support for me and for the thousands of other soldiers who serve their country. I feel I owe them all this story, which will be about more than a girl going off to war and fighting alongside her fellow soldiers. It will be a story about growing up in America, and I will tell it with the help of Rick Bragg, a writer my family and I have come to admire."
Lynch, the sweet-faced private first class from Palestine, W.Va., was taken prisoner by Iraqi soldiers on March 23 when her maintenance company was attacked near the city of Nasiriyah. She was heroically rescued nine days later from her hospital bed by a covert Special Operations unit. She spent several months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center recovering from injuries, then was moved to her home in Palestine. After receiving her honorable discharge from the Army last week, Lynch signed the book deal.
There are concerns surrounding the book . . .
. . . about Lynch's memory. Even before Lynch has had a chance to speak publicly, her story has been told, retold and mistold by intelligence sources, informants and countless news organizations, including The Washington Post. In early scenarios, she was a tenacious fighter, receiving stab and bullet wounds while killing several Iraqis. In subsequent reports, she tried to shoot an enemy but her gun jammed. She was not wounded by bullets or knives but apparently when the Humvee in which she was riding collided with another vehicle. She did not kill any of her assailants.
Her story is one of mystery and misinformation. There has been concern that she doesn't even remember what happened. "The doctors are reasonably sure," an Army spokesman told this newspaper in May, "that she does not know what happened to her."
Paul Bogaards, a senior vice president and executive director of publicity at Knopf, visited Lynch and her family last week. He says, "Her memory is intact and her recall of events -- during the ambush and after -- informs the narrative. That's important. This is the book that will finally give us a first-person account of what happened."
He adds, "The book will address and answer any lingering questions about her injuries."
. . . and about Bragg's reputation. Long regarded as a poetic, evocative storyteller, Bragg, who has written a couple of top-selling memoirs and who won a Pulitzer in 1996 for his feature writing as a staff member of the New York Times, ran into knee-deep trouble this year when his newspaper discovered he had relied on an intern for reporting that he then took credit for. He was suspended; then he resigned.
Bogaards says that neither the Lynch family nor Knopf was concerned about Bragg's recent unpleasantness. "The wider world knows Rick Bragg as a best-selling author," Bogaards says. "The wider world does not pay heed to water-cooler gossip in newsrooms."
According to Knopf, Bragg has been given one-and-only access to Lynch and her family. "His book," the press release said, "will be the first and only authorized account of events that have transfixed the nation." There will probably be television newsmagazine interviews and magazine excerpts.
Bragg issued this statement: "I have always been drawn to stories that tell us something about who we are as a nation and a people and, like a majority of Americans, I have been captivated by Jessica's story."
He continued: "I feel a kinship with Jessica and her family and am thrilled at the prospect of bringing this story to the wider world. Readers will learn about the place Jessica is from and the people she is closest to, and they will discover what she saw, what she felt and what she experienced, and understand what she survived."
Bragg began working on the book even before he had a contract, Bogaards says. The writer and the Lynch family are all represented by Amanda Urban, an agent at International Creative Management. According to a source close to the project, the family got letters from "tons and tons of people about representation," but only met with representatives from two agencies: William Morris and ICM. The Lynch family signed with Urban, who has also represented Jay Leno, among others.
According to another source close to the project, Knopf is paying out $1 million to Bragg and the Lynch family. Bragg will be paid a flat fee for writing the book. The Lynch family, meanwhile, will receive part of the advance and all the royalties.
The Knopf press release explained that Lynch is undergoing physical therapy at a West Virginia hospital. "I am feeling better every day," Lynch said through Knopf, "and all the good wishes of the many who have written have certainly kept my spirits up. Right now I am walking with crutches, but my doctors tell me that as I gain strength I will be able to walk on my own again soon. I am looking forward to those first steps."
Knopf believes that this book will be a mega-seller. The first printing will be at least 500,000 copies, Bogaards says.
"This is a book our retailers will be very aggressive in ordering," he says. "It will go into every channel of distribution."
Bogaards expects that the book will be sold not only in traditional venues but in all kinds of places.
"I have never seen such interest in a book. It's a story that resonates," he adds. "Everybody for different reasons sees something remarkable in Jessica Lynch."
"This is not the Army's story or the Bush administration's story. It is Jessica's story and it is not limited to what took place at Nasiriyah," Bogaards says. "She didn't plan the war. She didn't lead the convoy. She didn't organize the rescue or manipulate any version of current events for the media. All she did was live the drama."
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