January 08, 2003
Knopf says "Stop the presses" on Bellesiles book
Publisher Stops History Book Publication
NEW YORK - Publication has been halted on a disputed book about the history of guns in the United States.
Questions about Michael Bellesiles' "Arming America" had already led Columbia University to rescind the prestigious Bancroft Prize for history.
When Columbia made the announcement last month, publisher Alfred A. Knopf said the book would remain in print. But Jane Garrett, Bellesiles' editor, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the publisher would no longer sell it.
"We are in the process of ending our contractual arrangement with Michael for `Arming America,'" Garrett said.
[...]
Bellesiles spent 10 years [Sure he did!--Jen] working on "Arming America," published by Knopf in 2000. The book challenges the idea that the United States has always been a gun-oriented culture and that well-armed militias were essential to the Revolutionary War.
[...]Many cited it as a devastating statement against America's alleged historical love affair with firearms. But gun advocates quickly attacked the book, and scholars and critics also became skeptical.
The Emory report, written by scholars from Harvard and Princeton universities and the University of Chicago, said Bellesiles' failure to cite sources for crucial data "does move into the realm of 'falsification.'" It also suggested he omitted other researchers' data that contradicted his arguments.
[...]
Bellesiles has acknowledged some errors, but defends his book as fundamentally sound.
What's probably not too sound is Bellesiles' mind (as well as his book!)...
Isn't this great?
As someone whose stock in trade is scholarly research, I find it extremely gratifying to see a Liberal fraud like Bellesiles get busted!
Let's keep our fingers crossed and pray it is a trend in academia--there are a lot more "learned theses" that prop up pathetic arguments for Liberal causuae belli (?--I never studied Latin!) that need to be debunked and deflated after this one.
This is very likely another coup for the blogosphere where so many good bloggers "fact-checked" Bellesiles's *ss and found him wanting.
Although my blog hasn't focused on the gun control issue much in general or this dreadful book in particular,
I fully support every American citizen's 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.
