The Emperor's New Clothes

Stephen J. Carter's literary reputation thus far has been built on seven well-reviewed nonfiction titles—among them The Culture of Disbelief, Civility and Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby. His first novel, The Emperor of Ocean Park, brings him to a new and impressive place—a slot on the national charts. Excellent reviews (yes, a starred PW) have been part of the book's accomplishments. Certain big numbers associated with the book need to be corrected: Knopf did pay $4 million for publishing rights to The Emperor as well as Carter's next book of suspense, but the touted 500,000-copy first printing was exaggerated. In fact, the house went out with a 240,000 first printing and has already gone back to press for an additional 20,000. Carter's media plate has been full, including appearances on Charlie Rose and CNN's American Morning with Paula Zahn. And about that hefty $4 million—the folks at Knopf happily quote Deirdre Donahue's USA Today review (June 4): "The man was robbed. He should have received $4 million for Emperor alone. This reader hasn't inhaled a novel so rich, rewarding and compelling since Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full." With reviews like that, Carter might yet reach that originally announced 500,000 figure.

With reporting by Dick Donahue