Coulter, Ann 1961–

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Coulter, Ann 1961–

(Ann Hart Coulter)

PERSONAL: Born December 8, 1961, in New York, NY; daughter of John V. (a lawyer and constable) and Nell M. Coulter. Education: Cornell University School of Arts & Sciences, degree (cum laude); University of Michigan Law School, J.D.

ADDRESSES: Home—CT. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Crown Publishing, 299 Park Ave., New York, NY 10171. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Journalist, lawyer, and author. Honorable Pasco Bowman II, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, former clerk; Department of Justice Honors Program for outstanding law school graduates, former attorney; formerly in private practice in New York, NY; Senate Judiciary Committee, Washington, DC, former legal advisor to Michigan Senator Spencer Abraham; Center for Individual Rights, Washington, DC, former litigator; National Review Online, former contributing editor and syndicated columnist; MSNBC, legal correspondent and political pundit, 1996–97; Human Events magazine, legal correspondent; Universal Press Syndicate, syndicated columnist. Former editor, Michigan Law Review.

AWARDS, HONORS: Conservative Journalist of the Year Award, Media Research Center, 2000; Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute annual conservative leadership award, for "unfailing dedication to truth, freedom and conservative values and for being an exemplar, in word and deed, of what a true leader is."

WRITINGS:

High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case against Bill Clinton, Regnery (Washington, DC), 1998.

Slander: Liberal Lies about the American Right, Crown (New York, NY), 2002.

Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, Crown Forum (New York, NY), 2003.

(Author of foreword) Phyllis Schlafly, Feminist Fantasies, Spence Publishing, 2003.

How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter, Crown Forum (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including National Review.

ADAPTATIONS: Treason has been made into an audio-book by Books on Tape, 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Ann Coulter is a politically conservative columnist who has become widely known for her sometimes outlandish statements concerning government, politics, and world affairs. For example, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Coulter stated that "we should invade their (Muslim) countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity," as reported by Peter J. Cooper in the America's Intelligence Wire. She is also the author of several bestselling books attacking liberal trends in America. Coulter's first book, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case against Bill Clinton, was published during Clinton's presidency and takes aim at the various legal and ethical problems Clinton faced, including his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. Noting that Coulter sometimes places too much credence in documents and evidence that have little weight in a court of law for proving illegal activities, Constitutional Commentary contributor Vikram David Amar also commented that the author's "depiction of these affairs is interesting reading nonetheless, and helps paint a picture of President Clinton's personality that may help to explain—better than any legal niceties ever could—why so many persons, both within and without Congress, simply cannot abide Mr. Clinton."

Coulter shifts her caustic wit from presidential politics to liberals, and attempts to set the record straight about conservatives as she sees them in her book Slander: Liberal Lies about the American Right. Here, Coulter lays out her case that many of the public's views about conservatism have been warped by the liberal media. For example, she states her belief that a politically powerful "religious right" does not really exist, but has been used as a type of scapegoat by the liberal press. She also addresses her belief that liberals have misguided the public into believing that conservatives are more responsible for censorship than liberals. "Coulter is at her best in exposing the Left's double standards, which often shade over into outright hypocrisy," wrote Mike Potemra in National Review. "Coulter is, in a sense, a victim of her own rhetorical brilliance," continued Potemra: "Her gift for phrasemaking occasionally distracts attention from some accomplishments of genuine intellectual substance. Don't be misled by the fact that so much of this book is fun to read." In a review in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Beth Gillin added that "her attack on the American media, by turns caustic, witty and maddening (but never for a moment dull) goes for the jugular."

Coulter continues her attack on the left in Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism. Going back to the days of President Franklin Roosevelt, Coulter attacks numerous Democrats whom she considers to have been too liberal, including presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson. She also scolds Hollywood stars who speak out about politics and builds a case in support of the notorious 1950s communist witch hunts led by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. Charles Francis, writing in the National Observer—Australia and World Affairs, noted that "Treason is not always easy reading, but, for anyone who wants to understand the last sixty years of United States history and the present divisions which became so apparent in the recent Presidential election, it is essential reading."

How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World according to Ann Coulter is a collection of the author's newspaper and magazine articles, many of them reworked by Coulter to reverse earlier editorial changes. In addition to outlining her ten rules for arguing with a liberal, the author berates numerous Democratic politicians whom she sees as being leftist and bad for the country. Writing on the Enter Stage Right Web site, Bernard Chapin commented: "Coulter's is a Manichean world: us vs. them, real men vs. Metrosexuals, good vs. evil, God vs. Satan, Couric vs. Schlafly, and Rush vs. the Clintons." As Chapin added, "Yet if, like the reviewer you happen to be of the rightist persuasion, you may greatly enjoy the author's wit and creativity."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

America's Intelligence Wire, March 10, 2004, Peter J. Cooper, "Ann Coulter Says Muslims 'Smell Bad'; CAIR: Media Should Reject Commentator's Bigotry"; November 22, 2004, Chris Bone, "Boston College: Coulter Unleashes Attack on Liberals at Boston College"; December 21, 2004, Mike Gallagher, Alan Colmes, and Ellis Henican, "Interview with Ann Coulter, Ellis Henican"; August 19, 2005, Bill O'Reilly and Tony Snow, "'Great Debate' with Ann Coulter"; September 8, 2005, Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, "Interview with Ann Coulter"; October 1, 2005, David Asman and Dagen McDowell, "Interviews with Thad Allen, Ann Coulter"; October 5, 2005, Bill O'Reilly, "Ann Coulter on Harriet Miers, Bill Bennett."

Booklist, May 15, 2002, Ilene Cooper, review of Slander: Liberal Lies about the American Right, p. 1554.

Constitutional Commentary, summer, 1999, Vikram David Amar, review of High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case against Bill Clinton, p. 403.

Editor & Publisher, October 8, 2001, Dave Astor, "Mag Cans Columnist for Controversial Comments," p. 20.

International Wire, October 5, 2005, "Interview with Ann Coulter."

National Observer—Australia and World Affairs, winter, 2005, I.C.F. Spry, review of Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, p. 24; autumn, 2005, Charles Francis, review of Treason, p. 67.

National Review, October 12, 1998, Matthew Scully, review of High Crimes and Misdemeanors, p. 56; July 29, 2002, Mike Potemra, review of Slander, p. 51.

People, July 29, 2002, Lynda Wright, "Ms. Right: Feisty, Flag-waving Ann Coulter Looses a Bestselling Blast at Liberals," p. 107.

Philadelphia Inquirer, July 10, 2002, Beth Gillin, review of Slander.

Publishers Weekly, September 21, 1998, review of High Crimes and Misdemeanors, p. 21; July 15, 2002, Daisy Maryles and Dick Donahue, "Slander Makes a Hit," p. 18.

Reason, October, 2002, Sara Rimensnyder, "Bitch Goddess: Ann Coulter's Perverse Appeal," p. 61.

UPI NewsTrack, October 22, 2004, "Columnist Coulter Pelted with Pies."

Washington Monthly, October, 2001, "The Wisdom of Ann Coulter."

ONLINE

Ann Coulter Home Page, http://www.anncoulter.org (November 10, 2005).

Enter Stage Right, http://www.enterstageright.com/ (October 25, 2004), Bernard Chaplin, review of How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World according to Ann Coulter.