When the subject of his memoirs came up, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan wryly remarked: ‘I hear it’s a terrific book. One of these days I am going to read it myself.’

Of course, the statesman hadn’t written his memoirs but he was hardly alone in employing a ghost-writer whose name never appears on a book’s cover.

Interviewed by Vanity Fair about her autobiography, Ivana Trump warbled: ‘To my surprise, I find I have a great imagination. I don’t say I am Shakespeare, but it’s not just about the beautiful people and the gorgeous yachts and the fabulous homes and lots of sex. I tried to put in more the feelings.’

It was a great sales pitch but she reportedly paid Camille Marchetta $350,000 to write For Love Alone. 

Whatever the ethics involved in book editing and ghostwriting, Michael Walsh, who co-writes for those who lack his writing flair, is matter-of-fact and asks: ‘Does anyone really believe that barely literate celebrities have the time or the skills needed to set down their life story?’

A ghost is a professional writer who collects first-hand information about the subject and writes the book. There have been embarrassing mishaps when the ‘author’ during an interview reveals they haven’t even read it.

Big Brother personality, Pete Bennett, was pulled up sharp when during an interview he expressed surprise at the contents of ‘his own book.’ His publicist tartly commented: ‘You really should have read it, Pete.’

John Blake, of Blake Publishing estimates that as many as 80 percent of celebrity books are ghosted. Walter Winchell was America’s top newspaper columnist but it was Herman Klurfield who for twenty-nine years served as his ghostwriter. For many in government and show business having one’s co-writer is regarded as a status symbol.

Lucie Cave who penned Jade Goody’s My Autobiography says; ‘It is a must-have accessory for anyone who has reached a certain level of fame. These people cannot write their books themselves, so they need someone else to do it for them.’

The list of names adorning the spines of books is often impressive but their true authors are rarely known. Earl Conrad ghosted Errol Flynn’s My Wicked, Wicked Ways.

It would seem that Dorothy J. Mills penned much of the output of sports historian Harald Seymour. W. G. Grace the cricketer legend was ghosted by the hapless Arthur Porrit who lamented: ‘Getting material from Grace was heart-breaking.’

One would need to wade through 529 pages of Hilary Clinton’s autobiography to discover that her speechwriter was responsible for most of it.

In 1957 John F. Kennedy was accused of using a ghost for his Profiles of Courage and Why England Slept. Henry Ford’s My Philosophy of Industry (New York Coward McCann 1929) was written by Fay Faurote. 

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