The book’s mentioned in two news stories today, this one from the Boston Herald and this one from the Baltimore Sun.

The Herald reports on the ongoing lawsuit of Desiree Goodwin, a former Harvard librarian who is suing the university, claiming that a supervisor told her she was “too sexy” to be taken seriously. Goodwin, who is black, also claims that she was repeatedly passed over for promotion while less qualified whites were advanced. She and her lawyer were hoping to call Larry Summers to testify. The judge ruled against Goodwin on the grounds that Summers had no direct knowledge of her situation and that his appearance “would only be for the purpose of harassment and publicity.”

The Herald also reports that Goodwin’s lawyer wants to introduce Harvard Rules as evidence.

Key quote: <<Goodwin’s attorney Richard D. Clarey wants to show jurors a new book, “Harvard Rules—The Struggle for the Soul of the World’s Most Powerful University,” whose author claims Summers oppossed Condoleeza Rice as a graduation speaker by saying he would not let “affirmative action” dictate his choice.>>

More on this momentarily.

The Baltimore Sun piece is called “Tell-All Books are a Dose of Poison in Harvard’s Ivy,” which is the kind of title that gets you irritated at newspapers. The article is about the campus reaction to Harvard Rules and Ross Douthat’s book, Privilege, and neither work really falls into the tell-all category. But never mind. Here’s the key quote in Ellen Gamerman’s story.

<With a faculty fight over Harvard’s leadership resulting in the largest faculty group’s no-confidence vote against President Lawurence H. Summers last week, as well as two new tell-all books offering an unflattering glimpse behind Harvard’s red-brick walls, the university with a seemingly unassailable brand name is finding itself on the defensive.>

Gamerman has a point: Whatever side you take in the Summers controversy, there’s no doubt that it has tarnished Harvard’s reputation. The left sees Summers as a tyrannical, sexist caricature; the right sees the faculty as a politically correct mob. What impact will this have when students receive their acceptance letters in a couple of weeks? Or will the youth of America simply base their decisions on the great soul-killing force of our era— celebrity?