Gay Talese Now Standing By His Book After Saying He Disavowed It
In a new statement, the nonfiction writer and journalist said neither he nor his publisher are disavowing his forthcoming book The Voyeur’s Motel over its questionable credibility.
Nonfiction writer and journalist Gay Talese told The Washington Post on Thursday he is disavowing his forthcoming book, The Voyeur's Motel, over credibility issues.
Joe Corrigan / Getty Images
“I should not have believed a word he said,” the 84-year-old author said after The Washington Post informed him of property records that showed Foos did not own the motel from 1980 to 1988.
... “The source of my book, Gerald Foos, is certifiably unreliable,” Talese said. “He’s a dishonorable man, totally dishonorable. . . . I know that. . . . I did the best I could on this book, but maybe it wasn’t good enough.”
Robin Marchant / Getty Images
“I’m not going to promote this book,” the writer said. “How dare I promote it when its credibility is down the toilet?”
... Morgan Entrekin, chief executive of Talese’s publisher, Grove/Atlantic books, said the majority of events described in “The Voyeur’s Motel” occurred before Foos sold the motel in 1980. But he said the company would consider appending an author’s note or footnotes in subsequent printings to account for errors or missing information.