Has anyone read the new James Patterson memoir "Stories of My Life" ?

[anobserver2]

28. Deception #2 in Memoir: Vietnam-era Law re draft

Last edited Tue Jun 14, 2022, 04:39 PM - Edit history (2)

I recall the Vietnam War. I was young, but I remember it. And one thing I remember about it is how upset people were that
wealthy young men could easily avoid the draft by: entering college, and staying in college. Meanwhile, those young men
less well-off who were not able to afford college or not eligible for admission to college for whatever reason,
would be sent off to fight in Vietnam, in a war never actually authorized by Congress.

That is my recollection. In recent years, I confirmed my recollection was correct by doing some research. So I believe my above paragraph is factually accurate.

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In James Patterson's memoir he deliberately misrepresents this Vietnam-era draft law. Instead of saying you could avoid the draft by staying in college, he says the opposite: you would be drafted if you stayed in college.

I believe he makes this "error" deliberately, as I will explain in Deception #3 to come.


In many reviews I read, it appears to me the reviewer is too young to know or remember anything whatsoever about the Vietnam era, and does not know anything about the draft law in effect at that time.


So, I saw review after review online praising Patterson's memoir to the hilt - and repeating his false characterization of the Vietnam-era draft law.


Here is one such review excerpt below, from Kirkus. And if you've never heard of Kirkus, here is what I found online about them:

People also ask

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https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-patterson/james-patterson-by-james-patterson/

Book Review: James Patterson by James Patterson


JAMES PATTERSON BY JAMES PATTERSON
THE STORIES OF MY LIFE

BY JAMES PATTERSON ‧ RELEASE DATE: JUNE 6, 2022

One of the bestselling authors of all time celebrates his life and career.

...After graduating from Manhattan College, Patterson got a full fellowship to a doctoral program at Vanderbilt but left after a year for two reasons: Staying would have thrown him back into the Vietnam draft lottery, and he didn’t see his future in academia. ...

A brisk, entertaining read.

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As I already mentioned: I saw many reviewers quote this portion of the James Patterson memoir. And when I read it in the book, I thought: there is no way any editor or publisher read this memoir before publication.

Because if your author is mentioning LAWS, you have a real duty to get it right.

But no one corrected it.

The pain and suffering of all those young men, both those who went because of the draft, and those who agonized over what to do and often fled to Canada, is all wiped away with a best selling memoir that says basically - Eh, I didn't feel like being drafted - SO I LEFT SCHOOL.

Yet, that is NOT how one avoided the draft back then: STAYING IN SCHOOL is how you avoided the draft. And I am sure James Patterson knows that.