Burning Down My Master's House chronicles the story of former journalist Jayson Blair who committed numerous acts of plagiarism during his career as a writer for the Times. Blair is a former cocaine addict who also suffers from manic-depression, also known as bipolar disorder, who struggled with his disorder during his career. Blair resigned after he was caught fabricating and plagiarizing articles, which led to the resignation of two of his senior editors at the New York Times.
While this book had the potential to be an insightful exploration of the deception Blair committed, it reads more as a pity party for Blair, where he paints himself as a victim of alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual abuse as a child, mental illness and racism. Blair makes it out that he has always been the victim. He even goes so far as to say that the number of articles he put out makes up for his plagiarism because he was working so much. Even though he discredits his appropriation of others' work, and claims responsibility for his actions, he is quick to claim that it was not entirely his fault, but his environment rewarding the behavior. However not to discredit the book entirely, Blair's descriptions on the inner workings of daily life at the New York Times were at times eye opening and informative.
Overall this book is interesting, yet disappointing at the same time. Blair never truly apologizes for his actions while blaming others for his deceptions. I cannot recommend that you buy this book because the money will go to a man who plagiarized and stole others' work. Perhaps borrow it from the local library instead.