The authenticity of author James Frey’s autobiography A Million Little Pieces, which details his travails as a drug addict, has been questioned by a Web site Thesmokinggun.com, which says that many portions of the ‘autobiography’ are exaggerated and false.

The book has heart-wrenching details of Frey’s struggle with substance addiction, his experience in jail after a drunken driving episode led to the death of two youngsters and also his trauma when a friend committed suicide. The dark book, which was published in 2003, became a bestseller when popular talk show host Oprah Winfrey endorsed it on her show in September last year.

“His book has a lot of stuff in it – events and characters – that seemed implausible. We decided to focus on those events where we thought there should be a paper trail – court documents, law enforcement documents. What we discovered significantly calls into question things he has repeatedly claimed are accurate and truthful…rendition of events,�? said William Bastone, editor of Thesmokinggun.com.

The rights to A Million Little Pieces have been picked up for a film to be directed by Mark Romanek. Frey wrote a follow-up memoir, My Friend Leonard, which has also caught the fancy of readers and critics.

“Police reports, court records, interviews with law enforcement personnel, and other sources have put the lie to many key sections of Frey’s book,�? the investigative article published on the Web site said.
Meanwhile, Frey’s publishers Doubleday and Anchor have stood by the author. “We stand in support of our author, James Frey, and his book which has touched the lives of millions of readers,�? a joint statement released by the two publishers said. “Memoir is a personal history whose aim is to illuminate, by way of example, events and issues of broader social consequence. By definition, it is highly personal. In the case of Frey, we decided A Million Little Pieces was his story, told in his own way, and he represented to us that his version of events was true to his recollections,�? the statement added.

On his part, Frey defended his book on his Web site Bigjimindustries.com. “I stand by my book, and my life. Let the haters hate, let the doubters doubt. I won’t dignify this bullshit with any sort of further response,�? he wrote, accusing Thesmokinggun of trying to ‘discredit’ him.

A statement posted on Frey’s site implies that his lawyer Martin Singer threatened to bring legal action against The Smoking Gun if it made its investigations public. Bastone sent a statement to Frey, the details of which Frey published on the site.

“Since you are now threatening legal action against us (and citing possible recoverable damages in the ‘range of millions of dollars’) and questioning the accuracy, thoroughness, and fairness of our reporting, you should know that we are prepared to vigorously defend our work. You told us that ‘to a certain extent’…details were ‘embellished in the book for obvious dramatic reasons. …We consider a variety of statements you made to us during a previous interview to be fair game and now on the record,�? Bastone’s statement said.

Opinions are divided over how much difference the alleged lack of truth would make to the reader. Peter Osnos, editor of PublicAffairs Books, a nonfiction specialist, said that nonfiction is meant to be that ‘in every fundamental respect’. “It’s dismaying that a book of this visibility and stature is clearly not up to the standards that any reader would expect it to be,�? he added.

But literary agent Alice Martell felt that the term memoir itself was a personal perspective and hence, ’skewed’. “Who is to say what is the definitive account of an event? By calling it memoir, you are saying: ‘It is my take. I did not research this as a disinterested third party’,�? she said.

Frey is scheduled to appear on Larry King Live on Wednesday night, a CNN spokesperson said.