The Road to Publication

By Paul Findley

On a visit last March to his son in Flagstaff, Arizona, a merchant from Jacksonville, Illinois, following his usual custom, stopped to chat with the manager of the community's largest book store. Although he knew the book would not be available until May, he asked, "Do you have Paul Findley's new book on Israel's lobby?"

"No," came the answer. "When will you have it on sale?" The merchant didn't even glance at a catalog before he said, "We won't have it." Then he added, somewhat lamely, "I've heard about the book and it's not of general interest. I'm sure it won't get this far west."

This gloomy forecast echoed discouraging reactions I had heard repeatedly during the two-year period in which I assembled material and put together the text of my book, They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby. The road to publication was strewn with hurdles, and I know marketing will not be easy.

A man who served for many years as confidant to Lyndon B. Johnson once told me to drop the project: "You don't have a prayer of having the book marketed. You probably won't even be able to get a publisher, large or small. Besides, there is no way that you can do a thorough investigative job. The lobby won't let you get the facts. I am well-known by the lobby and, I think, trusted. But frankly, I know that I couldn't get the facts either."

To demonstrate the power of the lobby, he told me that in 1975 a prominent leader of the Jewish community in Texas told him he was heading for the Senate to solicit the help of a senator on a pro-Israel issue. My friend warned the Jewish leader that the senator in question was known to be unsympathetic to Israel.

The Texan insisted: "I'll prove you wrong." The two walked into a law firm on M Street in Washington where the Jewish leader asked about the senator. "Give me a minute," the lawyer said. He went to his phone, tapped out a number, waited, then tapped another series of numbers and listened. He never said a word but made notes. In a few minutes he came back with a detailed report of how the senator had voted and the positions he had taken on issues important to Israel. He was pro-Israel.

My friend said, "I was astonished. Somewhere was a computer full of details on nobody knows how many people. It was just a matter of tapping the right numbers and up came the information."

When I told him I was determined to write the book, he added, "In that case, just write your own experience, have it typed and the pages bound. Put it in a university library. Don't waste your time trying to get it printed."

The Sad State of Affairs

Andrew Wylie, a respected literary agent, read a sample of my manuscript but declined to represent me: "It's a sad state of affairs, but no major publishing house will touch it. I would be wasting your time and mine."

For more than a year, I despaired of even finding an agent to represent me. Finally, Jay Garon of Garon-Brooks Agency agreed to try. But after eight months he found no takers.

On my own, I spent two months trying to get Dodd-Mead to publish my book. I was hopeful because after owner Sam Moore, a Lebanese American, had read three chapters he told me with great emotion: "Every word you write is true. This book must be published." However, his enthusiasm faded, and I heard nothing further.

I spent two more months trying to win the approval of Random House. After three members of the editorial staff read the manuscript, Vice President Bob Loomis recommended a green light. But when he sought approval at the top he was told: "There is no way we can publish that book." Next, Bruce Lee of William Morrow and Company, who had handled. publication of Stephen Green's book, Taking Sides, was favorably impressed but, again, the top management said no. Lee told me: "It's an outstanding book, and I did all I could." He said the management had decided it would cause too much "trouble in house, as well as outside the house."

Meanwhile, a small but experienced publisher, Lawrence Hill and Company of Westport, Connecticut, agreed to publish it. The quest was over.

Throughout the experience I had pressed on to complete the manuscript. Most books, I believe, are written over a period of years. My book on Lincoln the Congressman (A. Lincoln: The Crucible of Congress) required six years of work. But this one, I felt, had to be completed with dispatch. The story of lobby activity needed to be told. To meet my self-imposed two-year deadline, I rented an office in downtown Washington and, thanks to the recommendation of Professor Seth Tillman of Georgetown University, I secured the part-time services of two able young scholars.

With the book finally coming out this May, the remaining challenge is getting stores to display it. After gathering the material and learning of the dismal experience of other authors whose books deal critically with Israeli activities, I respect the resourcefulness of the lobby and its skill at community-level intimidation. Long before publication, the bookstore manager in Flagstaff already had received the message to boycott. Will my book get that far west, as well as north, south and east? Stay tuned.

Paul Findley, a former newspaper editor and publisher, served as Congressman from Illinois for 22 years. He is now writing and lecturing.