- On Monday, New York Times nonfiction book reviewer Jennifer Szalai tore up Ron DeSantis’ book.
- Szalai wrote that DeSantis’ new book “reads like a politician’s memoir written by ChatGPT.”
- She also wrote that the Florida governor’s book has no charisma.
A New York Times literary critic has written a scathing review of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ new memoir.
“While his first book was weird and esoteric enough to have been written by a human, this one reads like a politician’s memoir written by ChatGPT,” wrote nonfiction book reviewer Jennifer Szalai. review Monday.
She was referring to OpenAI’s generative AI tool, ChatGPT, which is known for producing content ranging from college essays For complete books.
Szalai also wrote that DeSantis’ memoir, “The Courage to Be Free”, seemed to be “bravely free of anything resembling charisma or a discernible sense of humor”.
“His new book will leave some supporters, who encouraged DeSantis to ‘humanize’ for a national audience, deeply disappointed,” Szalai added.
“In his acknowledgments he credits ‘a diligent team of literary professionals who have played a vital role in telling the story of Florida’, but presumably there was little that these professionals could do with the material that had been provided to them,” she wrote.
Szalai too full-time literary critic and writes weekly book reviews for The Times.
It is unclear if ChatGPT was used in any part of the writing of the book. Representatives for DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
DeSantis wrote another book in 2011“Dreams of Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama“It was meant to be a takedown of then-President Barack Obama and a direct rebuke to Obama’s early memoir,”My Father’s Dreams: A Story of Race and Heritage.“
DeSantis’ new book gives readers a closer look at his life
“The Courage to Be Free,” a deeper look into DeSantis’ life, was released Feb. 28. The book contains new information about his political career.
On the one hand, DeSantis wrote about how he felt his Ivy League upbringing at Yale and Harvard Law School put him at a disadvantage when campaigning against other Republicans.
“I considered having degrees from Yale Law School and Harvard as political scarlet letters when it came to a GOP primary,” DeSantis said. written in the book.
“Voters valued the education and probably assumed I was a smart guy, but these ‘elite’ universities had become so synonymous with leftist ideology and a ruling class mentality that most grassroots conservatives were understandably skeptical of these institutions,” he added.
DeSantis also included a passage about his marriage to Casey DeSantiswriting that he agreed to get married at Disney World on condition that “No Disney character could be part of our marriage.”
“I wanted our special day to feel like a traditional wedding. I didn’t want Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck in our wedding photos,” DeSantis wrote.
Insider’s Kimberly Leonard reported Tuesday that DeSantis omitted some major details from his book, including the sparse details about his parents, siblings and friends. DeSantis also avoided posting juicy gossip about his strained relationship with former President Donald Trump.
The book’s release is a key indicator that DeSantis is eyeing a run for the White House in 2024, Leonardo has already written. He has not yet announced his candidacy but is already deeply implied in a feud with his former ally, Trump.