http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/08/19/swiftbook/index_np.html
Unfit for bookstores
John Kerry's campaign called on a publisher to remove book after Washington Post attacked the truthfulness of a Swift boat veteran.
By Eric Boehlert Aug. 19, 2004
Kerry's campaign told Salon that Regnery (Unfit for Command publisher) is selling a hoax and should consider withdrawing it from bookstores. "No publisher should want to be selling books with proven falsehoods in them, especially falsehoods that are meant to smear the military service of an American veteran," said Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton. "If I were them, I'd be ducking under my desk wondering what to do." Clanton cited this as a serious problem.
My Borders in Rockaway, NJ says the waiting list is 45, but they're getting 40 copies on Monday. We'll see--I'm waiting for their phone call to pick mine up. Will keep you posted.
I called the Borders store in Brea, Calif. this morning. A spokesman there explained that there were no copies available because "the publisher is releasing only a few copies at a time so as to stimulate a huge demand."
I just wanted you guys to know that North County B&N book stores are just as bad as SD city ones.
Like Michael Savage said on Friday... I now know which party is telling people which books to read, and trying to stop us from reading others. That's scary...and that's definitely NOT the party I'm voting for. That's very scary.
HEY...WHERE'S MARK LEVIN WHEN YOU NEED HIM FOR A GOOD OL FASHION LEGAL SUIT???
* Mark, take the case, and come to San Diego -- you'll love it here -- we'll even offer you a fine cigar to go with your choice...BBQ'd steaks, or a prime rib roast done in the Ron Popeil Roaster....what do yah say, buddy???
Yesterday my son and I went into Borders at Redmond Town Center in Redmond, WA. My son asked one of the clerks if they had "Unfit for Command." The clerk bent over laughing (it was weird). Once she stood back up she said they were sold out, but had it on order and would receive it in a few days. She asked us if we'd like to be on the wait-list. We declined and thanked her for her help.
http://www.regnery.com/regnery/040809_unfit.html
Yes, I went to a Hastings store last night to buy it and I just happen to see it as I walked in the door to my left on a side shelf, not back where all the NEW RELEASES are. There were only 3 copies of "Unfit for Command" along with several of Dr. Laura Slesingers(?) new book. Back at the New Release table they still had Clinton's book and some others I had never heard of.
I asked the guy at the check-out counter why the book was not on the New Release table since it was #1 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. He said it was on a "list" back there under "Hot Topics".
I bought "Unfit for Command", Rep. Denny Hastert's new book "Speaker", A book on how politics and govt works and Ronald Kessler's new book "A Matter of Character" Inside the White House of George W. Book. This new book was on a new release shelf of non-fiction, not on main table.
Kessler is a former editor of the NY Times Magazine who voted for Gore. It's a postive book about the president and his White House. He interviewed Condi Rice, Andy Card, Karl Rove, Secret Service agents, permanent WH staff, etc. Great read.
yes I went to Media Play and to Barnes & Noble. Both told me they have no idea when the book will come in.
You know, I thought my local Borders was not putting the book out as I couldn't find it and I was told more were coming, they were selling all they got. I figured it was some typical delaying tactic going on in the People's Republic of NY.
But sure enough, I went in there on Friday and there were 2 copies, granted in the political section, but they were there. So I bought one and put the other on the non-fiction best sellers table covering a Hitlery book.
When I got on-line to purchase the book, I had a copy and the four people in front of me each had a copy. So I really think it is flying off the shelves. The funny thing was the lady in front of me was embarassed to let anyone see that she had the book in her hands. I told her she was doing ht right thing in educating herself about the traitor. The guy in front of her turned around, laughed and said that he couldn't wait to read the book and use it as ammunition against people he works with.
I finished the book in a day and sent it to my father yesterday morning.
You know, I am feeling a little like the patriots in the mid-1700s spreading the word of truth despite the protestations of the MSM. Is John O'Neill trying to get the truth out in the MSM the Patrick Henry of our age?
I am the left-wing, yellow dog, bleeding heart liberal Democrat y'all seem to hate. I am also a bookseller employed by one of the big chains. Frankly, the conspiracy theories on here have hit tin foil hat levels. I'm a bookSELLER, you wingnuts! I don't plan to read this piece of trash, but I'm sure as hell willing to sell it to you. I wish I had a couple hundred more copies, because I could have sold them over the past couple of days. I'm not hiding them in the back, I'm not hiding them under a desk, I'm not refusing to order it. I can't get it! My store is out of it, all the other stores in the area are out of it, our distributors are out of it, the publishers are out of it. If you are running into idiot booksellers who are honestly refusing to sell it when they have it, rest assured that's not going to last long when their managers find out. We're in this to make money, and refusing to sell a popular book doesn't promote that goal.
I've had coworkers harrassed in person and over the phone by people who are convinced we're in some conspiracy to not sell this book. My 8 months pregnant coworker, in her last day before maternity leave, took a call where the person at the other end said (after being told politely that we were out of the book, but taking names to reserve a copy) that we should all be shot, and to take the book out of the back. When I offered to reserve the book for another customer, they told me they were going to wait for an "honest bookstore." Another of my coworkers, after explaining about the book, was called a "dirty ni**er" by the customer. We don't deserve this treatment.
Let me address a couple of points:
"How is it they were out earlier, but have one now? Hmmm?" It's retail. Customers return stuff. Customers stick stuff in the wrong place. Customers ask us to hold a copy and then don't come pick it up. We had a copy turn up in our store tonight behind some books in the kids section. We tried to sell it to a guy who had just reserved a copy, but he said he didn't have any money on him. Now that's weird.
"Why is [X] on display when Unfit For Command isn't" Probably because we have 50 copies of X and none of Unfit For Command. As an example, My Life by Clinton is not moving as fast as it did when it came out, so we still have a ton of copies. They have to go somewhere, so we have a stack of them up front. If we only have a few copies left of a popular title, chances are they will be on display at the information desk, because that's where people come to ask about it. Also, we know when we're completely out of the book that way. We're not "hiding" the book in the political science section, that's where it would live if it weren't popular and new. It's good shelving practice to have a few copies in the section that is the permanent "home" of the book.
"Why do you have all these anti-Bush books on display and no pro-Bush books?" Well, we display what's selling, what's new, and what we have a lot of copies of. If there's a lot of anti-Bush titles that meet those criteria in a given week, it's gonna look anti-Bush heavy. If Hannity and O'Reilly and Savage and Coulter and their other right-wing idiot friends release books within the same couple of weeks, it's gonna look pro-Bush up front. When I change out our new hardcover display table, I look for a few things - how a book is selling, how many copies we have, and maybe, maybe, the topic. Pro-Bush, anti-Bush, they're both political science to me. Different regions of the country have people interested in different things. If you walk into a small bookstore in a pretty liberal area, it's gonna look anti-Bush up front, probably - not because the booksellers are liberals, but because the locals (the *customers*) are liberals, and that's what they're looking to buy.
"I've asked all my friends to call Borders/Barnes & Noble/the local bookstore every day about this book." How nice for you. Until the book gets reprinted, though, it's just harassment we don't need. Just leave your name and number, and we'll call as soon as we have one for you. Not willing to leave a name? That's not our problem. If you're that paranoid, ask the publisher when they're shipping more copies, and call us back a few days after that. It generally goes from publisher to distributor to bookseller, though many of the large stores will be attempting to get what's called a "drop shipment", which is more expensive for us, but faster.
In conclusion, let me just say that in many cases, the booksellers who sigh and groan and fidget when you ask for Unfit For Command aren't hiding anything. We're just really sick and tired of hearing the same question we've been getting for days, especially when we don't know if the customer asking is going to turn nasty on us. If it helps, it's not the book. We get sick of Harry Potter questions, too. :)