[NYTr] Bart Jones Responds to NY Times Review of Chavez Biography; a Silly Times Correction

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

excerpted from VIO Venezuelan New Roundup - Oct 22, 2007

The New York Times - Oct 21, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/books/review/Letters-t-2.html

The President's Biographer

I appreciate Daniel Kurtz-Phelan's praise of my book, "¡Hugo!" (Oct.
7), for capturing many aspects of Hugo Chávez and his political career,
but I would like to clarify some points.

Kurtz-Phelan fails to mention that I worked vigorously for two years to
land an interview with Chávez, and succeeded. Late on the night of
April 30, 2007, I sat alone with him in Miraflores palace in Caracas
for nearly two and a half hours -- my second exclusive interview with
him in two days -- as he oversaw the historic midnight takeover of
billion-dollar oil fields until then run by international companies.
Our talks helped shape my biography, and allowed me to ask him point
blank about some of the more controversial rumors that have circulated
about him. One of my focuses in pursuing a book about Chávez, after so
much had already been written about him, was to determine which widely
circulated "facts" could be verified. My aim was not to defend Chávez
but rather to document his life, and to try to get to know and
understand my subject.

Early in his review, Kurtz-Phelan asserts that Chávez has been
extremely effective consolidating and wielding power: "Everything
Chávez said he would do, he has eventually done." But at the end he
tries to have it both ways, dismissing Chávez's actions as falling far
short of his rhetoric. Clearly, Kurtz-Phelan does not like President
Chávez and believes his policies and practices to be untenable. I, on
the other hand, remain agnostic, preferring in my book to cite facts
and to report the informed opinions of pro- and anti-Chávez players in
the dynamic events taking place in Venezuela. I will admit, however, to
one personal bias: I find Chávez's personal story fascinating, which is
why I spent a few years of my life researching and writing a book about
the man.

Bart Jones
Blue Point, N.Y.

                           ***

The New York Times - Oct 21, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/books/review/Letters-t-6.html

Correction: Review of Hugo Chávez Biographies

A review on Oct. 7 about two books focusing on Hugo Chávez, the
president of Venezuela, misstated the year when Chávez proposed to bet
whether he or President Bush would last longer in office. It was 2005,
not 2002.