Booking Through Thursday - Playing Editor

How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:
__________ would have been a much better book if ______________________.

Oh, my, this one is very difficult and I am not in much of a mood for it tonight. It has been a decidedly stressful evening. Maybe I'll blog about it if I dare tomorrow. First off, let's address today.

The Enigma of Arrival would have been a much better book if something had every bloody happened. Okay, okay, so it is a serious book about serious, pondering things. The Publishers Weekly review referenced by Barnes & Noble called it "Discursive and ruminative." That about sums it up. I couldn't finish this one. I just couldn't.

American Dynasty:Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush would have been a much better book if Kevin Phillips had allowed an editor to trim about half of his words. I don't mind an author restating something to make a point, but three or four times is too much. This book was also not suitable for nighttime reading as it gave me nightmares. No, I couldn't finish this one either.

There are more, many more. Mostly I wish that authors would not become untouchable after some success. Everyone needs a good editor.