Circa mid 2000s

I just finished reading this sobering book

About families and change,

But mostly revealing of authority figures.

I can't quite figure out

The author's textual accuracy:

The history is distorted,

The conclusions perverted,

The tone outright exacting.

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I had to get the book second hand;

My edition has yet to hit the press.

And I wonder if the writer was unaware

Of the meaning one might get

From the threatening stance,

From the unbearable prose.

This book is a must-have apparently,

But what must its publication wrought?

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I'm a fervent believer in a book's sacredness,

Even if the text should be reproached.

Once the words are put down the ideas ferment

And in this case the words are quite sour.

What do I do as I await my own copy?

What changes will the author have made?

If I could throw the book into the fire,

I would easily do so and walk away.

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But there are issues surrounding its context

That must be labored over and studied.

The union made between the book and the reader

Is one that cannot be squashed by the writer,

No matter how arrogant he may seem.

All my life I've been driven to read

Even the most benign messages,

But for once I see the joy of illiteracy.