Andy, re Roger Kimball’s note on your forthcoming book and my forthcoming show trial, the most depressing part is the pre-emptive surrender. As Roger writes:
Just last week I received a message from one of the entities that helps distribute our books in Canada and Britain:
Can you please let us know if there are any references to Saudis and terrorist[s] in the book. We are just concerned that this book, could potentially create libel lawsuits as it could offend Saudis living in England and this has happened with many other US publications and we do not want to be jeopardized in selling this book.
Hello? So books offensive to Saudis are verboten?
Not technically. But, if you’re a publisher, who needs the hassle? Easier to do The Lindsay Lohan Guide To Celebrity Carjacking. To reprise Sir Edward Grey, “The lamps are going out all over Europe” – one distributor, one publisher, one novelist, one cartoonist, one TV host at a time.