Modern Memoirs

Might it be a warning sign about the decline of our civilization that a major magazine publishes, and millions will read, an autobiographical memoir by a 19-year old high school dropout whose one claim to fame is that he fathered an illegitimate child by an equally uneducated, aimless girl whose singular contribution to the world is that unfortunate child? Gail Collins:

It’s hard to totally resist an article that has sentences that start with: “In early August, before I went hunting and Sarah was picked, Bristol and I were at a tattoo parlor in Wasilla. ...” Or information like the fact that baby Tripp’s middle name is Easton in honor of “my favorite hockey-equipment company.”