Primary Colors (novel) - Unmasking of "Anonymous"

Unmasking of "Anonymous"

An early reviewer opined that the author wished to remain unknown because "Anonymity makes truthfulness much easier". Later commentators called the publishing of the book under an anonymous identity an effective marketing strategy that produced more publicity for the book, and thus more sales, without calling into question the author's actual inside knowledge.

Several people, including former Clinton speechwriter David Kusnet and, later, Vassar professor Donald Foster, correctly identified Klein as the novel's author, based on a literary analysis of the book and Klein's previous writing. Klein denied writing the book and publicly condemned Foster. Klein denied authorship again in Newsweek, speculating that another writer wrote it. Washington Post Style editor David von Drehle, in an interview, asked Klein if he was willing to stake his journalistic credibility on his denial, to which Klein agreed.

On July 17, 1996, after The Washington Post published the results of a handwriting analysis of notes made on an early manuscript of the book, Klein finally admitted that he was "Anonymous".