Mitchell, Michele 1961(?)-

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Mitchell, Michele 1961(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1961.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC. Agent—Sarah Burnes, The Gernert Company, 136 E. 57th St., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER:

Journalist and novelist. New York Times, New York, NY, contributor to editorial page; Washington Post, Washington, DC, staff journalist; National Public Radio, correspondent for All Things Considered; CNN, political anchor and senior political correspondent for CNN Headline News, and host, In the Loop. Public Forum Institute, fellow.

WRITINGS:

A New Kind of Party Animal: How the Young Are Tearing Up the American Political Landscape, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1998.

The Latest Bombshell: A Novel, H. Holt (New York, NY), 2003.

Righteous Propagation: African Americans and the Politics of Racial Destiny after Reconstruction, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 2003.

Our Girl in Washington: A Kate Boothe Novel, Penguin (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Journalist Michele Mitchell was the youngest communications director on Capitol Hill when she was hired in 1993, and she continued to impress when hired as the youngest person to write for the New York Times editorial page. Since Mitchell began her career in the early nineties, her success has continued to mount, and has included stints as commentator for National Public Radio's All Things Considered, as political anchor and senior political correspondent for CNN Headline News. Mitchell is also the author of several books, including A New Kind of Party Animal: How the Young Are Tearing Up the American Political Landscape, her first novel, The Latest Bombshell, and her follow-up story, Our Girl in Washington: A Kate Boothe Novel.

In A New Kind of Party Animal, Mitchell argues that so-called "Gen-Xers"—those Americans who were between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five during the 1990s—are redefining politics. Mitchell strongly believes that the younger generation has enough power through sheer numbers alone to outweigh the aging baby boomers. Although she makes the case that younger adults are more sophisticated when it comes to being manipulated by media "spin," Mitchell was criticized by a Kirkus Reviews contributor for not clearly specifying how Gen-X will in fact "redefine politics"; "in her numerous case studies of young people who have volunteered to clean up cities, help the homeless, and save the earth, she doesn't quite distinguish her players from activists of the past," the critic contended. Mitchell's assertion was also questioned by a Publishers Weekly reviewer due to factual errors. "Unfortunately she has Ted Kennedy running for president in 1976, four years before he actually ran…. These kinds of errors from a political pro make it hard to take this book seriously," the reviewer noted. Mary Carroll, writing in Booklist, agreed that "Mitchell's analysis seems sound, but her work is weakened by sloppy editing and an often sneering tone."

Mitchell's fictional debut was welcomed much more enthusiastically by critics. In The Latest Bombshell, she introduces protagonist Kate Boothe, a young and successful political consultant who, while taking a much needed break in Rome with a romantic interest, is visited by business partner Jack Vanzetti. Jack informs Kate that her former boyfriend, muckraking reporter Lyle Gold, stands accused of selling U.S. military secrets to the Chinese. Deciding to take Lyle's side, Kate quickly finds herself alongside Lyle as the target of an angry federal government, in addition to being hounded by the media.

"Two things keep this material fresh," contended a Kirkus Reviews contributor writing about The Latest Bombshell, "first, the pointedly post-9/11 setting, where near-McCarthyism flag-waving seems not so far away, and, second, Kate's affecting resourcefulness." Barbara Conaty, in Library Journal, complimented Mitchell's debut as both "smart and entertaining," and an effective "exposé [that] traces the intricacies of getting important people to tell the truth at the right time." Learning that Mitchell was busy penning the next installment in Kate Booth's life, USA Today contributor Tom Squitieri quipped: "The first date with Kate was pretty good, so expectations will be high."

In Our Girl in Washington, Mitchell continues her Kate Boothe series with Kate and business partner Jack Vanzetti investigating one of their high-profile clients, the Essex Group, from the inside, after a journalist friend of Kate's is murdered while looking into the supposedly corrupt organization. Once again, Mitchell mines her own experiences as a political writer and commentator to lend atmosphere to her fiction. A contributor for Kirkus Reviews remarked: "Mitchell would do well to provide her commendably resourceful heroine with a better plot to navigate." However, Jenny McLarin, in a review for Booklist, called Michell's effort a "boozy, breezy, international adventure," and credited the book with possessing "enough depth to be compelling."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, February, 2006, Julie Saville, review of Righteous Propagation: African Americans and the Politics of Racial Destiny after Reconstruction, p. 210.

Booklist, June 1, 1998, Mary Carroll, review of A New Kind of Party Animal: How the Young are Tearing Up the American Political Landscape, p. 1684; May 15, 2003, Vanessa Bush, review of The Latest Bombshell: A Novel, p. 1645; February 15, 2006, Jenny McLarin, review of Our Girl in Washington: A Kate Boothe Novel, p. 50.

CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, September, 2005, T.F. Armstrong, review of Righteous Propagation, p. 172.

Historian, spring, 2006, David Fort Godshalk, review of Righteous Propagation, p. 154.

Insight on the News, August 10, 1998, Lindsey V. Corey, review of A New Kind of Party Animal, p. 36.

International Journal of African Historical Studies, winter, 2006, Mark Epprecht, "Dialogues of Dispersal: Gender, Sexuality, and African Diasporas" review of Righteous Propagation, p. 144.

Journal of American History, March, 2006, Victoria W. Wolcott, review of Righteous Propagation, p. 1453.

Journal of Southern History, August, 2006, Mary Niall Mitchell, review of Righteous Propagation, p. 688.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 1998, review of A New Kind of Party Animal, p. 798; April 1, 2003, review of The Latest Bombshell, p. 499; February 1, 2006, review of Our Girl in Washington, p. 105.

Library Journal, April 15, 1998, Jill Ortner, review of A New Kind of Party Animal, p. 101; April 1, 2003, Barbara Conaty, review of The Latest Bombshell, p. 130.

Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2003, review of The Latest Bombshell, p. R1.

National Catholic Reporter, January 29, 1999, Matt Kantz, review of A New Kind of Party Animal, p. 9.

Publishers Weekly, May 18, 1998, review of A New Kind of Party Animal, p. 59; May 26, 2003, review of The Latest Bombshell, p. 46.

Reviews in American History, June, 2005, Kathleen Clark, "Future Generations" review of Righteous Propagation, pp. 203-10.

USA Today, August 4, 2003, Tom Squitieri, review of The Latest Bombshell.

Virginia Quarterly Review, summer, 2005, Andrew Witmer, review of Righteous Propagation, p. 255.