James Howard Hatfield (January 7, 1958 – July 18, 2001) was an American author.
''Fortunate Son'' and controversy
Hatfield was the author of
''Fortunate Son'', a book published in 1999 during the
George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000
The 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, then governor of Texas, was formally launched on June 14, 1999 as Governor George W. Bush, Bush, the eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush, announced his intention to seek the Republ ...
that made serious allegations about
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. Published by the highly regarded
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
, the book was revealed as allegedly fraudulent and recalled by the publisher within days of publication.
Soon after the book's release, ''
The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
'' reported that Hatfield was a paroled
felon
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
who had been convicted in 1988 of paying a hit man $5,000 to murder his former boss with a car bomb. It was also revealed that Hatfield pleaded guilty to
embezzlement
Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
in 1992. Hatfield at first denied the allegations when his publisher confronted him, but he eventually owned up to his criminal history.
This was the second time that a book of Hatfield's had been challenged. In 1985 he had written an unofficial
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
novel, ''
The Killing Zone
''The Killing Zone'' is an unauthorised James Bond novel by James Hatfield, Jim Hatfield. It was privately published in paperback in 1985 under the guise that it was officially sanctioned by Ian Fleming Publications, Glidrose Publications (later ...
'',
which – although purporting to be officially sanctioned by Glidrose, Bond's literary copyright holder – was in fact a
vanity novel.
Due to the revelations of Hatfield's criminal past and the damage to his credibility, in October 1999, Hatfield's publisher,
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
, recalled 70,000 copies of ''Fortunate Son'' and left an additional 20,000 books in storage. Even so, the book had already reached the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' bestseller list. Hatfield responded that, before the Bush campaign brought pressure to bear,
St. Martin's had publicly stated that the book had been "carefully fact-checked and scrutinized by lawyers."
The book was later republished by
Soft Skull Press
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent So ...
. The relationship between Hicks, founder of Soft Skull Press, and Hatfield was explored in the movie ''
Horns and Halos'', an award-winning documentary film directed by Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky. In one scene from the DVD extra disc, Hatfield says to the camera, "If anything happens to me, get it out to the press."
Death
According to Detective John Hubbard of the
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, tenth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adja ...
Police Department, on July 17, 2001, the Police went to Hatfield's house to arrest him on charges of
credit card fraud
Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The P ...
but they were unable to locate him.
On July 18, 2001, Hatfield's body was found by a hotel housekeeper in room 312 at a
Days Inn
Days Inn is a hotel chain headquartered in the United States. It was founded in 1970 by Cecil B. Day, who opened the first location in Tybee Island, Georgia. The brand is now a part of the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, headquartered in Parsippan ...
in
Springdale, Arkansas
Springdale is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, fourth-largest city in Arkansas, United States. It is located in both Washington County, Arkansas, Washington and Benton County, Arkansas, Benton counties in Northwest Arkansas. Located on th ...
, an apparent suicide by prescription drug overdose. According to the police, notes were left listing alcohol, financial problems and ''Fortunate Son'' as reasons for killing himself.
[Bush Accuser Dies Of Drug Overdose; Discredited Author Faced Financial Woes: INAL Edition Noguchi, Irene. The Washington Post, 21 July 2001: p. C.3.]
Bibliography
*
''Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President''. (1999). Soft Skull Press. (third edition, 2002)
References
External links
Why would Osama bin Laden want to kill Dubya, his former business partner?by James Hatfield
by David Cogswell
Interview with James Hatfield ''
Democracy Now!
''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
''
''Horns and Halos''
Official site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatfield, James
1958 births
2001 suicides
20th-century American novelists
American male biographers
American male novelists
American political writers
Drug-related suicides in Arkansas
Place of birth missing
20th-century American biographers
20th-century American male writers
2001 deaths