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[RRE]Amazon not selling a book for legal reasons
``` [I've heard of other examples of Amazon.com removing a book from its listbecause of political or legal pressure, but this is the first case I've seen documented. You might find the books in question obnoxious or you might be inclined to agree with them. But if you believe (as many investors apparently do) that Amazon is going to become the world's dominant bookseller, then the pattern should be cause for reflection.]
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Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 13:34:45 -0400
From: t byfield
[it seems as though Amazon.com has decided not to sell a book that's extremely critical of the Church of Scientology 'as a result of legal issues.' given the Co$'s long history of vig- orously pursuing its interests through legal proceedings--in other words, terrorizing its enemies--it'd be a shame to let them have their way so quietly with Amazon. the book in ques- tion is John Atack, A Piece of Blue Sky (Carol, 1990; ISBN 081840499X). (forwarded with permission and encouragement to circulate far and wide.) --cheers, tb]
I mentioned in an S-T discussion a few weeks ago that I was having a "philosophical disagreement" with Amazon.com, but wasn't specific at that time (although I did explain to a few individuals who mailed me privately).
I think it's time to explain further.
I learned through the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology that the book "A Piece of Blue Sky," by Jon Atack, had disappeared from the online catalog at Amazon. The book is available at Barnes&Noble, among others, so it's not a matter of being "out of print." (In fact, "oop" books at Amazon should bring up a screen indicating that you can back-order them from used bookstores. "Blue Sky" doesn't.)
This was particularly intriguing because the cult has a long history of threatening litigation over this particular book, considered one of the best sources for information about $cientology. They also have been known to steal/vandalize it on public library shelves.
I provided the ISBN information to Amazon and, after two weeks, checked back to discover that the book is still not listed.
I wrote a letter of complaint and received the following reply. (Name withheld by me).
To me, this goes beyond Amazon's playing fast-and-loose with reader reviews. It appears that "A Piece of Blue Sky" has been declared an unbook.
I am doubleplus unhappy.
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Thank you for writing to us at Amazon.com.
Amazon.com is a retailer and does not engage in censorship. Our goal is to provide as broad a selection of books, CD, and videos as possible to our customers. However, there are times when we must remove titles from our catalog for legal reasons. Typical examples of legal situations that may require us to remove items from our catalog include copyright violations and findings of libel or defamation.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns--we'll be glad to hear from you.
Best regards,
To: silent-tristero@world.std.com
From: the potsmaster
Re: Amazon Com censoring booklist?
from "mirele (D.M. Holmes)"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: "mirele (D.M. Holmes)"
Chris Leithiser wrote: > > To me, this goes beyond Amazon's playing fast-and-loose with reader > reviews. It appears that "A Piece of Blue Sky" has been declared an > unbook. > > I am doubleplus unhappy.
Well, the news is out...the book has been banned from amazon.com.
One of my online friends received the following email from amazon.com this afternoon. While I am obscuring the name of the person who received the email, I am not obscuring the name of the person who sent it to him, because I think that when people do things like this, they ought to be named. While I won't suggest a course of action to the denizens of silent-tristero, I know what I'm going to do.
Here's the letter:
Dear Mr. XXXXX,
Thanks for writing to Amazon.com.
I'm sorry to hear that you are disappointed by the removal of "A Piece of Blue Sky" by John Atack from our catalog. Our decision to drop this title from our listings was a result of legal issues.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write to us with your concerns. Feel free to contact us any time--we will always be glad to hear your questions or comments. We hope to see you again at Amazon.com!
Best regards,
Sara Jarolimek Amazon.com Earth's Biggest Selection http://www.amazon.com/
It should be noted that Jon Atack, the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, is enjoined from distributing the book in the UK, but his publisher and bookstores and libraries are not. Nevertheless, Scientology has embarked on a campaign to get libraries to destroy their copies of A Piece of Blue Sky. The Scientologists are quite proud of this; you can see archived copies of the threatening letters at http://www.parishioners.org/ReligiousExperts/atack1.htm.
(BTW, if you're in the mood, you can go and check out the three separate pages that Scientology has on me at www.parishioners.org...not only am I a religious bigot, I am also the subject of a "Public Service Announcement" and I am "intolerant.")
Deana M. Holmes mirele@xmission.com
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