The Michigan it represents is one where, indeed, our heroine is truly alone, fighting for truth, justice, and the American way.

True, the state had a secretary of state and an attorney general when she was in office, but they are never mentioned. Nor, by the way, is the current governor, nor the mayor of Detroit.

Former Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. is mentioned once, though she spells his name wrong. No, it is just Jennifer against the world.

Or make that, Jennifer and Dan. Well, maybe. Perhaps unconsciously (or maybe not) it puts the odd dynamics of what seems to have been a clearly strained marriage on display.

Supposedly, they wrote this book jointly, though it is all in Jennifer's voice. Dan, she reveals, really wanted to be governor himself. He told the priest that was preparing them for marriage that if Jennifer was to run instead "I'd think I'd probably feel jealous."

"I'd have some adjusting to do. But ... I'd support her a hundred and ten percent." Atta boy. For her part, she admits that "it took years of honest tussle to see I'd never become like him: Introspective, intuitive, and eager to find the deeper emotional and spiritual truths in life's challenges. Those weren't my strengths or my way."

Well, okeydokey. At the end, she does become intuitive enough to tell a group of business leaders, "I regret my powerlessness over the global economy." One wishes she had asked Dan to help her channel her inner Chinese businessman, but it wasn't in the cards.

What's oddest about A Governor's Story, is not that Granholm totally ignores her most flamboyant failings, including her role in botching the 2008 presidential primary, or the time she appeared, beaming, with a con man her administration had approved for millions in tax credits. What's bizarre is that she seems to believe she fixed Michigan by using "DIY leadership — do it yourself."

The book ends with her telling us that "Michigan's jobs recovery is under way, and a chart touting "eleven months of hope," and adding, "Now that's the way it's supposed to be."

Unfortunately, unemployment is going up again. Oh, well ... hey, we could elect Dan Mulhern next time and bring them back!

Just imagine reading volume two.

> Email Jack Lessenberry