Great catch, Rich! This guy should be lambasted. Another Harvardardian kid caught with pants down.
 

Yeah, on the question of character and the extended Summers family the apple falls close to the tree.
 

How'd you figure this one out, Rich? Facebook or good old-fashioned dining hall spying? Just a heads up, at this point the line between caring about the alma mater and being a creepy old man is getting awfully close.
 

Re the last poster: I happen to tire, on occasion, of all the Harvard stuff, but this one was a perfectly legit item and the gratuitous crankiness of your reply almost suggests that you might be (or be related to?) one of the principals involved. Care to identify yourself (even generically)?
 

The Observer reviewer, with his questionable ethics, seems to prove the main point of Lewis' book himself.
 

I'd also be interested in knowing how the NY Observer came to publish a not very interesting, well-written, or informative "review" produced by a college undergraduate. The last sentence clearly amused the reviewer but struck me as sophomoric (actually, Rich, he's a junior, senior next year I think).
 

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Maybe he's trying to get back with her
 

Yeah, I know he just finished his junior year—doesn't that basically make him a senior? "An entering senior," is what they call it?

I know that LN also reviewed "How Opal Mehta..." for the Observer, a piece that (I thought) was considerably smarter and more judicious than his review of Harry Lewis' book.
 

Rising senior, I think they call it.
 

Regarding the Harvard Book Store: last year they rescinded an invitation to Norman Finkelstein to discuss his book "Beyond Chutzpah". Frank Kramer, the owner of Harvard Book Store sent this reply to people who contacted him about this decision (this is pasted from Finkelstein's website - specifically the 2005 letters section). Perhaps it gives some insight into how the book store thinks about (or feels squeezed by) controversial, 'Harvard-sensitive' issues.


"Dear____
Thank you for your note relating to Professor Norman Finkelstein and his book Beyond Chutzpah. Our intention here is to clarify the situation to which Professor Finkelstein refers on his website and clear up what we believe are mistaken assumptions stemming from that posting.

Harvard Book Store was contacted by University of California Press in late April and asked to host an event with Professor Finkelstein. We corresponded with the Press regarding the book, and discussed holding an event on September 29th. However, by late May, the controversy between Professor Finkelstein and Professor Alan Dershowitz had taken on a distinctly personal cast. After seeing via the press that both men's books had become inseparable from the charges each was making about the other, and reluctant to put Harvard Book Store in the middle of a personal feud, we informed University of California Press that we had decided not to sponsor an event. We then worked with them to find another Boston-area venue, without success.

Harvard Book Store supports Professor Finkelstein's right to free speech. Over the years, we have carried seven of his books. Our order for Beyond Chutzpah was placed in January 2005, when the University of California Press announced its publication. That order stands and we will continue to carry Professor Finkelstein's books.

The decision not to host Professor Finkelstein was made solely by the staff at Harvard Book Store. We have not been contacted by Professor Dershowitz, by anyone acting on his behalf, or by Harvard University, in any way relating to Professor Finkelstein. Harvard Book Store is an independent bookseller, unaffiliated with Harvard University.

Harvard Book Store's devotion to an exchange of ideas is undiluted. We choose not to hold an event with either of these two scholars at this time, because we feel that the personal nature of their feud has overshadowed the real intellectual and political debate at the heart of their books. This fall, we will feature a display of books on the breadth of dialogue about the relationship between Israel and Palestine-both Beyond Chutzpah and The Case for Peace will be included in this display.

If you are from an organization that is interested in sponsoring an event with Professor Finkelstein, please contact Alexandra Dahne, Publicity Director of the University of California Press at alex.dahne[at]ucpress.edu.

Thank you again for contacting us. We hope we've answered some of your concernsand questions about this difficult decision. We regret that we are not able to respond individually to each of you.
Frank Kramer, Owner
Harvard Book Store "
 

Interesting—and unimpressive on HBS' part. Not sure that a personal feud is reason enough to cancel a reading. Half the authors in the world have a personal feud with some other author....