Am I saying don't by trade press books? OF COURSE NOT. I'm just saying be MORE cautious.
And if Oprah says it's good, I'm truly sorry to say, be even more skeptical. This means the trade press used an agent to get it in her hands so *selling* books is likely the priority over accuracy.
What if a well know historian publishes in a trade press--like Heather Cox Richardson has for her last few books?
Yes! Be MORE skeptical of those books. But 2/3