Publisher Stops History Book Publication (Michael Bellesiles' "Arming America)

Washington Post ^ | Tuesday, January 7, 2003 | Hillel Italie

[Fzob]

NEW YORK –– Publication has been halted on a disputed book about the history of guns in the United States.

Questions about Michael Bellesiles' "Arming America" had already led Columbia University to rescind the prestigious Bancroft Prize for history.

When Columbia made the announcement last month, publisher Alfred A. Knopf said the book would remain in print. But Jane Garrett, Bellesiles' editor, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the publisher would no longer sell it.

"We are in the process of ending our contractual arrangement with Michael for 'Arming America,'" Garrett said.

According to Garrett, Bellesiles (pronounced Bell-eel) had proposed some revisions, but the publisher found them inadequate. Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards said the decision to stop printing "Arming America" was made weeks ago, although without a formal announcement.

Efforts to reach Bellesiles for comment were not immediately successful; he recently resigned as a professor at Emory University, after an independent panel of scholars commissioned by the school strongly criticized his research.

[Fzob]

Poor baby :)

[Drango]

~SNORT

[coloradan]

Puuling the fraud off the shelves is at least a decent thing to do.

[thulldud]

Garrett said Tuesday that she still had "great respect" for the author. "I still do not believe in any shape or form he fabricated anything," she said. "He's just a sloppy researcher."

Translation: "He said what all we elitists believe about those gun-toting yahoos, but he stumbled with our flag. We're just gonna hafta find somebody else to carry it."

[rellimpank]

--how about a recall with purchase price refunded, just like a dangerous or defective product? (snicker, snicker, giggle, giggle)

[ArrogantBustard]

According to Garrett, Bellesiles (pronounced Bell-eel) had proposed some revisions, but the publisher found them inadequate.

You can't polish a turd..

[Fzob]

I wish I bought one. It could be a hot item on Ebay for a week or so.

On the other hand if you had one, it could be a good keepsake for the future. You could tell your kids about how this was one of the very few times the truth about the left was exposed and the self-anointed were forced to do something about it .

[A.J.Armitage]

Questions about Michael Bellesiles' "Arming America" had already led Columbia University to rescind the prestigious Bancroft Prize for history.

Actually, it was the answers that led to Columbia rescinding the Bancroft Prize.

[rellimpank]

--maybe your public library will give you their copy, as it should be removed from circulation--

[El Gato]

Let's have everyone cry a big ol' crocodile tear for Mr. Bellesiles' bank account, and the publisher's too. Heegh, heegh, heegh, HAR, HAR, HAR, ROTFLMAO!

[El Gato]

"I have never fabricated evidence of any kind nor knowingly evaded my responsibilities as a scholar," he said after announcing his resignation in October.

Riiiiight! When the errors of "scholarship" are all in the same direction, and historical documents are misquoted and taken out of context to imply the opposite of what they really meant, it's fabrication. See: Cramer paper and FR thread

[Fzob]

Excellent point

Bump

[Shooter 2.5]

I'll be able to tell my grandkids that I was one of the first five to write a review of the book on Amazon.com. Too bad the lowest ranking is one star.

[SteveH]

Full article from Yahoo

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030107/ap_on_en_ot/history_book_canceled_1

Publisher Stops History Book Publication
Tue Jan 7, 5:34 PM ET

By HILLEL ITALIE, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - Publication has been halted on a disputed book about the history of guns in the United States.



Questions about Michael Bellesiles' "Arming America" had already led Columbia University to rescind the prestigious Bancroft Prize for history.


When Columbia made the announcement last month, publisher Alfred A. Knopf said the book would remain in print. But Jane Garrett, Bellesiles' editor, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the publisher would no longer sell it.


"We are in the process of ending our contractual arrangement with Michael for `Arming America,'" Garrett said.


According to Garrett, Bellesiles (pronounced Bell-eel) had proposed some revisions, but the publisher found them inadequate. Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards said the decision to stop printing "Arming America" was made weeks ago, although without a formal announcement.


Efforts to reach Bellesiles for comment were not immediately successful; he recently resigned as a professor at Emory University, after an independent panel of scholars commissioned by the school strongly criticized his research.


According to Garrett, the book has sold about 8,000 copies in hardcover and about 16,000 in paperback.


Bellesiles spent 10 years working on "Arming America," published by Knopf in 2000. The book challenges the idea that the United States has always been a gun-oriented culture and that well-armed militias were essential to the Revolutionary War.


"Arming America" was praised in both The New York Times and The New York Review of Books and won the Bancroft Prize, presented to works of "exceptional merit and distinction in the fields of American history and biography."


Many cited it as a devastating statement against America's alleged historical love affair with firearms. But gun advocates quickly attacked the book, and scholars and critics also became skeptical.


The Emory report, written by scholars from Harvard and Princeton universities and the University of Chicago, said Bellesiles' failure to cite sources for crucial data "does move into the realm of 'falsification.'" It also suggested he omitted other researchers' data that contradicted his arguments.


Garrett said Tuesday that she still had "great respect" for the author. "I still do not believe in any shape or form he fabricated anything," she said. "He's just a sloppy researcher."


Bellesiles has acknowledged some errors, but defends his book as fundamentally sound.


"I have never fabricated evidence of any kind nor knowingly evaded my responsibilities as a scholar," he said after announcing his resignation in October.

[RollingThunder]

So they are going to pull it off the shelves. It won't matter, since the gun-grabbing thugs and idiot judges (like those in the 9th Circuit Court), will continue to try and use this book for there own ends.

We must insure that every time they try this, we refute their lies with the truth about this book.

[MississippiMan]

You can buy plenty of 'em on Amazon right now. Going out of print simply means the publisher isn't going to print any more of them. There are tons of them still out there for sale.

MM

[KC Burke]

As Cramer has done endless research on the fabrications, alterations and twisted conclusions, it would be wonderful if a page by page critique of the work was published. I even acquired, as a gift due to my interest, a hard back version for later day debunking. What we need here is a "Cliffs Notes" version line-by-line showing the falsehoods.

As the book will continue to be cited, such a work would be a ready resource for all who know it for what it is.

[LexBaird]

...Bellesiles (pronounced Bell-eel)...

Shouldn't that read "pronounced Be-Lial"?

[beckett]

Wow..the final nail in Bellesiles's coffin.

Now let's get Garry Wills, Mary Beth Norton, Eric Foner, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, The Nation, the editor at Tom Paine.com (Bill Moyers's son), Jon Weiner, prof at the University of California at Irvine and author of the especially dishonest Nation article, and scores of other Bellesiles defenders, on the public record for their reaction.