Fifteen years ago, the once powerful book publisher Judith Regan, ruler of her own imprint at Rupert Murdoch's HarperCollins, embarked on a project of dubious distinction. Somehow she convinced O.J. Simpson to get on board with a mea culpa manqué about the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. It would be called If I Did It, and it had the makings of a blockbuster.
Regan had made a name for herself with other explosive confessionals, including works by Howard Stern, Jose Canseco, and Jenna Jameson, but this was of another order. An anointed star in Murdoch's gallery of rogues, Regan knew this was one editorial coup that ticked all the mogul's boxes: scandal, controversy, sales, and corporate synergy (the book would be published in conjunction with a television special on Fox). She was right: Her get became a sensation, but not in the way she expected.
