Most of the publishing proposals I see are safe, inoffensive and guaranteed to upset no vested interest or cause too much excitement or endanger academic careers. But I would prefer Free Association Books to be the publishing partner to courageous writers with something new and controversial to communicate. Years ago, I lived with an editor for a well-known publisher who [...]
Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Publish and be damned?
Posted in Books, tagged Book Publishing on November 7, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Was it all for Harry Potter?
Posted in Books, Thoughts which occur while swimming, tagged Harry Potter on September 27, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The Somme, Stalingrad, Vietnam, Korea, Norman Invasion, Stalingrad…. In 1898, between April - August, the Spanish-American War claimed a few hundred lives , and in 1805 The Battle of Trafalgar a few thousand, do you know any of the names of the dead, or care that they died? I don’t. If none of these wars and battles had occured, [...]
Is book publishing in 2009 like being in the gas mantle business in 1920?
Posted in Books, tagged Book Publishing on July 2, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Why do academic books have so many words? If it is information you need, then the conventional nonfiction book is an inefficient way of getting what you are looking for. Do you really want to plough through 250 pages when what you are reading can be condensed to a third of that? But would you [...]
