They sure are when they come in the form of such accomplished women as Lesley Stahl and Tina Brown. Last night I ventured to the Union Square B&N to witness a “chat” between Stahl and the former New Yorker editor; the latter is, of course, promoting her incipient blockbuster, The Diana Chronicles (currently #7 on Amazon). This being Brown’s first book ever, not to mention her first book signing ever, it made for quite a heady event.
As the rain came down, in between wincing at the overamplified Pat Metheny music and pouncing on a slew of 48-cent Penguins at the Strand stall (I collect them), I had the good fortune to enjoy a solid hour of intelligent, delicious repartee about, like it or not, like her or not, one of the most fascinating figures of our time: Princess Diana.
I would not have been quick to grant Diana such a grand appellation, but Brown quite simply won me over. For her part, Stahl had clearly done her homework, found the subject matter riveting, and betrayed every sign of wanting to have a ball. “Should I keep dishing?” she kept asking the audience. “I should?” Normally I disavow the dishy, but her enthusiasm was infectious—dish on!

Stahl called Brown’s book “an autopsy of the monarchy under Queen Elizabeth,” and it’s easy to see why. Having worked at the Tatler during Diana’s formative first years as Princess, and having written one of the most important pieces of the Diana canon, “The Mouse That Roared,” for Vanity Fair in 1985, shortly after taking over the editorship there, Tina might well be the most qualified person in the world to discourse on the subject. If the book is half as engaging as last night’s chat, it’s going to be the best beach book in years.

During the Q. & A., someone asked Brown to draw out the parallels between Diana and Hillary Clinton. To her credit, Brown demurred—while acknowledging that both women contain compelling contradictions (“You know, blondes are more interesting, it seems,” she hazarded impishly), the chasm between the senator with the voracious intellect and the scarcely lettered socialite remains too gaping to ignore.

When Brown signed my copy of the book (see above), I told her what an effective advocate for the book she is. Apparently, she took my words to heart: When I got home and switched on the TV, what’s the first thing I see? Brown entertainingly explaining Diana to Anderson Cooper. [And last night, she was on Charlie Rose. —Ed.] You’re welcome!

—Martin Schneider