tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4417324348478737892024-03-08T08:42:01.517-08:00LiteratEyeLiterateye@gmail.comW.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-20987168340688726952010-06-18T03:21:00.000-07:002010-06-18T03:23:41.221-07:00Gone FishingHaven't posted much lately, partly due to a lack of news and partly due to other interests. I'll leave the blog up as a courtesy to researchers but am moving on to other projects.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-23359526295810258072010-05-03T04:50:00.000-07:002010-05-03T05:04:22.828-07:00Making the Morning RoundsVia the very observant Philobiblos<a href="http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2010/05/links-reviews.html"></a><a href="http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2010/05/links-reviews.html"></a> blog we learned of another, <a href="http://literarydetective.blogspot.com/">The Literary Detective</a>. Good job of spotlighting some suspicious activity in the bookselling realm. I was also drawn to "What were they reading on the Titanic?" but couldn't pull up a copy of the item. I'll go back for another look, care to join me?<br />(The real mystery is why some of these links don't show up. If the Philobiblos link isn't active you can find it here: http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2010/05/links-reviews.html)W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-57908623039481805952010-04-29T02:51:00.000-07:002010-04-29T03:11:21.984-07:00Ambrose: Pants On Fire, AgainAn <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2010/04/26/100426ta_talk_rayner">article in the New Yorker</a> revealing further deceptions on the part of the late and popular historian Stephen Ambrose is making the rounds. Quite a number of comments question the importance of Ambrose' lies and plagiarism, seeing the greater good in his popularizing of history. Perhaps they are on the defensive because it is so difficult to make an honest living or speak the truth these days. Though, really, there's nothing new about fabrication and theft as tools of the history trade. Not to say that all who write history avail themselves of those tools of course.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-18631390502317622132010-04-27T02:23:00.000-07:002010-04-27T02:32:46.844-07:00The Diary of a Public ManAnother scholar has attempted to solve the mysteries surrounding The Diary of a Public Man, a high level window on Washington life during the Civil War era. The controversy regarding efforts to identify the Public Man is fascinating. I look forward to <a href="http://www.tcnj.edu/~science/news_archive/HolmesCrofts2010.htm">seeing this new book.</a>W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-65511469620249143142010-04-26T06:23:00.000-07:002010-04-26T06:30:13.066-07:00Mark Twain, Literary CriticA list of two hundred books from Mark Twain's library<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/19/nyregion/twains-bookshelf.html?ref=nyregion"></a>. And a story on Twain's marginalia -- his written comments in various of the books<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/nyregion/19twain.html"></a>.<br /><br />At the moment the links don't seem to be coming up in the post, here they are:<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/19/nyregion/twains-bookshelf.html?ref=nyregion<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/nyregion/19twain.htmlW.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-53788310631164821152010-04-21T06:18:00.000-07:002010-04-21T06:20:25.685-07:00"Kidnapped" Tale Based on True StoryRobert Louis Stevenson's exciting tale had a basis <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Why-Isnt-History-More/23153/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en">in fact</a>.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-41051568319687004022010-04-09T14:13:00.000-07:002010-04-09T14:18:16.846-07:00Strangers on a TrainThis isn't literary mischief, just plain old murder, but it hooked me so I'll pass it along. ABE Books sends around theme-based ideas for collectors and this time it was mysteries involving trains. Somehow a train traveling across an exotic landscape in the middle of the night just seems the perfect setting for mystery. <a href="http://www.abebooks.com/books/railways-stations-orient-express/train-thrillers.shtml?cm_mmc=nl-_-nl-_-h00-trainsA-_-01cta">Here's the link.</a>W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-75186499944252005722010-04-01T14:54:00.000-07:002010-04-01T14:56:56.405-07:00The Master ThiefHe stole thousands of books and manuscripts. They are still turning up, 150 years later. He was also a forger, and <a href="http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/201004/guglielmo_libri-1.phtml">a respected scholar</a>.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-3821751582816929972010-04-01T03:47:00.000-07:002010-04-01T03:49:07.186-07:00Jane Austen's Head is MissingA bit of statuary really, <a href="www.bridportnews.co.uk/news/localnews/6012397.Lyme_Regis__Have_you_seen_Jane_Austen_s_head_/">missing from the Jane Austen Garden</a>.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-17585937632234140722010-03-08T03:43:00.000-08:002010-03-08T04:05:03.469-08:00The Diary of Miss IdiliaThat's the title of a memoir of dubious authenticity described <a href="http://lampandbook.blogspot.com/2010/03/diary-of-miss-idilia.html">here</a>. I found reviews elsewhere but no one as yet seems to have dug for the story behind the book. Let me know if you run across any investigative work on it and I'll keep looking as well. This is one of the times I wish I still had the resources of a big newspaper or magazine to call upon. By the way the link is to a blog I'd call first-rate. Usually the chatty, personal, thoughtful blogs put my innards in a spin. I could go on about exactly why I like this one but then I'd be getting chatty, personal and thoughtful. I will say Lulu's profile presented a great list of "favorite books."W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-77271014922168750632010-03-06T03:47:00.000-08:002010-03-06T03:52:10.660-08:00Lobsang Rampa CorrespondenceOne of the more controversial modern hoaxes concerns "The Third Eye" and other mystical works by Lobsang Rampa. Some of his defenders are fairly ferocious even though it has been shown that he never set foot in Tibet or anywhere near. I am posting <a href="http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7157936">the auction link</a> on Mar. 6, 2010 -- as it is an auction it may not remain available.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-41164727088195650032010-02-28T14:00:00.000-08:002010-02-28T14:08:44.851-08:00Sued Over a Book ReviewHere's a rather chilling case, <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/NYU-Professor-Faces-Libel/64370/">a libel suit</a> resulting from an unfavorable book review. Regardless of the outcome it may well discourage serious criticism in the future. At a time when most book reviews appearing on the Internet are untrustworthy garbage, it's a shame to see the work of professionals jeopardized in this way.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-86185160614979680942010-02-25T05:08:00.000-08:002010-02-25T05:12:28.817-08:00Book Marketing Q&AIf you're in the book business on the Internet there's a newsletter I would recommend to your attention, available by signing up at Steve Weber's site. it's called <a href="http://weberbooks.com/selling/2010/02/q-is-it-illegal-to-sell-textbook.html">"Selling Books"</a> and looks as though it's done the way newsletters used to be done -- firsthand research and reporting.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-64847752790176780752010-02-18T06:00:00.000-08:002010-02-18T06:04:42.062-08:00Potter Plagiarism?Here we go again with Harry Potter and plagiarism. Those behind the lawsuit figure it's good for a billion dollars, or was that pounds. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/18/harry-potter-jk-rowling-willy-wizard">Check it out here</a>.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-63430889881878661462010-02-15T12:46:00.000-08:002010-02-16T05:41:26.900-08:00Internet PiratesShe may not have realized she was pillaging the work of others to create her best-seller, as a child of the Internet era she may have thought she was simply "remixing." Right. Well, an interesting discussion follows <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/feb/15/plagiarism-germany-helene-hegemann">the report in the Guardian.</a>W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-4975130281260067042010-02-10T04:46:00.000-08:002010-02-10T04:50:48.729-08:00The Great Tate HoaxMany of those who were close to the great Nat Tate hoax claim they knew all along the artist never existed but that may have been face-saving. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/10/bernard-henri-levy-hoaxes">Here's an excellent look back</a> on what may have been "The Greatest."W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-364629706783462122010-02-07T14:18:00.000-08:002010-02-07T14:20:55.363-08:00"It's a sham, a scam."That's the nutshell of T<a href="http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/carded?page=0,0">he New Republic's review</a> of the "new" Nabokov novel just released at $35 by Knopf. As far as anything actually new, the price works out to just over a dollar per page of Nabokov.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-90287215908070126852010-01-28T13:36:00.000-08:002010-01-28T13:44:19.354-08:00Shakespeare ThrillerWe don't routinely report on works of fiction but this one may spark discussion as to its factual basis. Said to rely on serious research, the book proposes that Shakespeare could "barely write his own name" and <a href="http://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/4877168.Son_completes_his_father___s_book/">provided cover for the actual author</a> of "his" plays. Various clues have been discovered providing a coded message regarding the name of the true author.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-14741925303644414102010-01-09T18:50:00.000-08:002010-01-09T18:51:58.855-08:00Too Cold? Burn Some BooksPensioners in Britain are said to be <a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/news/807821-pensioners-burn-books-for-warmth">buying up cheap books</a> to burn in lieu of higher priced coal.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-1274788604756650042010-01-09T08:16:00.000-08:002010-01-09T18:52:52.602-08:00Literary Autopsy of the Opium-EaterAnother author has put poor Thomas de Quincy through the slicer-dicer. From t<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/09/english-opium-eater-de-quincey">he review</a>, it does appear to be a commendable and very readable effort.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-91633691136603589352009-12-19T01:46:00.000-08:002009-12-19T02:16:00.505-08:00Only $499: Clifford Irving's "Hughes"The first edition of Clifford Irving's Howard Hughes autobiography, one of the grandest literary frauds of all time, is now available for $499, only $150 more than the original price. The book that cost Irving jail time, hung the "con man" label on him, and forced repayment of a big, fat advance is being sold on the Internet by the author's firm, <a href="http://www.terrificbooks.com/">TerrificBooks</a>. The site doesn't offer an explanation of the price jump.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-53241040545946874942009-12-18T18:21:00.000-08:002009-12-18T18:23:52.765-08:00What Did Famous Folks Read?There's a fascinating project going on at LibraryThing, collecting titles included in <a href="http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Completed_libraries">the libraries of famous people </a>of the past. Among many you'll find the libraries of Ernest Hemingway, Marilyn Monroe and Tupac Shakur.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-73356711477062177672009-12-12T04:53:00.000-08:002009-12-12T04:55:43.279-08:00Fingerprinting the authorit's too early in the morning for me to quite grasp the meta-book concept but <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091209194437.htm">here it is</a>.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-27824265995589604482009-12-09T06:18:00.000-08:002009-12-09T06:21:01.550-08:00Most Wanted Secret DocumentsThis isn't literary but you might find it intriguing. <a href="http://inbred.org/wiki/Draft:The_Most_Wanted_Leaks_of_2009">A country by country list of documents</a> held by government and sought by persons or groups outside government, compiled by Wikileaks.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-441732434847873789.post-22749859278043653162009-12-07T16:01:00.000-08:002009-12-07T16:05:12.034-08:00'Free' Author Helped Himself to WikipediaBest-selling author, Wired top editor, hot number on the lucrative speaker circuit, and start-up entrepreneur -- and <a href="http://www.badidea.co.uk/2009/12/chris-anderson-and-the-radical-future-of-fre/">plagiarist</a> explains himself. We live in an age of the "remix" so it's okay to, um, recycle the works of others.W.J. Elvin III, Editor & Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03386988552397162360noreply@blogger.com0