The Appeal, apparently inspired by West Virginia's 2004 state Supreme Court race, takes the top spot on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction list.
It also elicits a Janet Maslin review ("Mr. Grisham delivers his savviest book in years.")
National Public Radio, meanwhile, explores Grisham's recent comments invoking the '04 race and Don Blankenship's role therein.
Blankenship is also taking it on the chin in the nonfiction world. Reviewers of Coal River continue to comment on the Massey Energy chief's portrayal in this book targeting mountaintop removal mining.
The Oregonian refers to Blankenship as Massey's "heavy-handed chairman," and also mentions both the recent DEP settlement and the unearthed photos showing him lounging in Monte Carlo with Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard.
The Washington Post review goes much farther:
The story's villain, meanwhile, seems to have arrived straight from Central Casting, Black Hat Division. Don Blankenship, Massey's CEO, comes off as the coal industry's answer to Attila the Hun, ruthlessly breaking unions, abusing employees and pursuing profitability with no regard for fair play or the safety of small children. Blankenship, according to Shnayerson, has a "soft, doughy face with watery eyes, a meager mustache, and a weak chin." Oh, and don't overlook his lizardlike tongue that darts in and out as he speaks, "as if he were on a quite unconscious surveillance for tasty gnats."(In her review, Maslin writes that Carl Trudeau, the corporate CEO who seeks to buy a state Supreme Court seat, is described by Grisham as "a hothead with a massive ego who hated to lose.")
Amid such unflattering press, "Blankenship has netted about $7.79 million exercising stock options and stock appreciation rights," The Associated Press reports.
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