Books written by the wives of famous people are a phenomenon in themselves. Rather than obtaining candid comments from the likes of Brett Favre or George W. Bush, the easy route – meaning through the wife – is annoyingly popular. For the wives, it’s as easy as writing a 500-page journal entry while slapping he-said/she-saids after every piece of dialogue and calling it a novel.

Books such as Curtis Sittenfeld’s “American Wife,” however, seem shamelessly interesting. Slated for a September 2 release, the novel is reported to be a thinly veiled portrait of a scandal-ready Laura Bush. Again, while America has taken countless cheap shots at ‘Dubya,’ it seems the dirty laundry of the First Lady is just as interesting.

Why do the wives of famous men warrant so much attention? Katie Holmes was just “that girl” from Dawson’s Creek before she became one-half of TomKat. Michelle Obama would still be working as a Chicago lawyer if not for Barack’s run for the presidency.

What gives?