Whether or not the Book Review will regain its lost prominence -- and whether or not the proposed changes will help it do so -- its efforts are impeded by the existence of so many media outlets; it's hard even for the Times to be heard above the clamor. Also, books are sold differently now -- largely online or in big-box chain stores -- and a newspaper cannot reach as specific a demographic as some online resources. One small publisher recently commented that although one of his past books received a full-page rave in the Times, that didn't have as great an impact on sales as a targeted online advertising campaign.

The decision to focus on nonfiction is clearly predicated on the post-9/11 idea that politics and world events are a matter of life and death now, while literary and artistic concerns have dimmed in importance. It's also true that political nonfiction has been a leading category for the past several years -- though planning a book review section around sales figures might leave you pondering Harry Potter, the apocalyptic "Left Behind" series, and the latest twist on low-carb or low-fat dieting.

When it comes to political nonfiction, the Times already does a decent job of covering the major cerebral books on foreign policy, or the latest political work by the likes of Eric Alterman, Joe Conason and Paul Krugman. Beyond that, channeling the contemporary political conversation might lead one into the pugnacious stratum of entertainment tomes. Does anybody think Michael Moore and Al Franken's books need more press than they already get? Will the Times begin covering bestselling screeds by Ann Coulter, or the latest offering from Regnery, a leading purveyor of right-wing conspiracy-think?

One of the remaining categories in which the Times still has paramount influence is, ironically enough, the one that many people believed Keller and Erlanger were dismissing. "For different books, different media are better," says Abbott. "For certain kinds of fiction, the Times can have an impact that other media does not have. If craft and construction and aesthetic and intellectual achievement of a book is central, the Times is the vehicle to introduce that title to a wider audience."

Keller may believe that the Book Review should cut back the space given to first novelists, but Cader notes that first-time novelists aren't exactly overexposed right now. He calculates that during the last six months of 2003, debut fiction accounted for roughly 12 percent of the Sunday section's full-length fiction and poetry reviews. (And that included first novels from established figures such as Jimmy Carter.)

No one disputes that the Times has long practiced a sort of affirmative action when it comes to literary fiction. "There's no question the Times reviews more fiction than is statistically justifiable," says Leonard. "And you can't run it as a high-minded quarterly. But it has to have principles."

For him, the increasing commodification of culture and the consolidation of the publishing industry have affected book coverage, at the Times and elsewhere. The mentality of the industry focuses on blockbuster sales, which propels a few famous or infamous authors into the spotlight but leaves behind many mid-list writers and in no way assures any sort of quality.

"It's appalling to look at once-respectable book publishers and see some of the shit they're putting out now," Leonard says. "Not only that, what gets attention is what's already being talked about. Every magazine has the same damn movie on the cover and they're all relieved. The discovery is left out and it's the same crap all the way down the line."

Leonard's Times section strove to find a mix of reviewers and styles to spark debate and define a variety of provocative approaches to books and ideas. While such a system might have produced more creative or lively reviewing, it's not likely to fit into today's financial constraints. "There was a lot of over-assigning," Leonard admits. "We killed a lot of reviews. In today's more cost-conscious era, they don't want to take any chances and they don't want to make any mistakes."

Despite the latest tempest on 43rd Street, many people in the book business have great expectations of the new editor. "It's a pivotal moment because the industry is suffering," says literary agent Ira Silverberg, who has shepherded many first-time authors into publication. "I'm really, really hoping they bring in someone dynamic." He thinks the Book Babes article and the ensuing dialogue might have created helpful discussion about the section, although, he adds, "The bottom line is, there's always going to be someone who's unhappy with the coverage of books."

One positive sign is that the purported list of finalists for the editor's slot consists of writers and editors with stellar literary credentials -- it's not as though Keller were proposing handing the section to Rupert Murdoch. Keller says that a dozen or so finalists were asked to write a diagnostic essay explaining how they would change the section, and he reports a consensus of general themes consistent with his own feelings. Perhaps the envisioned changes will in fact produce a more relevant Book Review and engage more readers -- assuming that the readers he has in mind are even interested in book reviews. On every side, people agree that it's imperative for the section to improve, not least because what happens at the Times is likely to influence book coverage in other places. Whoever Keller chooses will have one of the most prestigious -- and most thankless -- jobs in literary journalism.

As for Keller, he may be more careful about talking to reporters -- or at least waxing philosophical about the Book Review. "That's a hazard every time you open your mouth," he writes in an e-mail. "I suppose I could stay behind a curtain of 'no comments,' but I'm pretty proud of what we do, and even the laziest or most ill-intentioned of the hacks who write about us generally get at least a little bit right."

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