Helen Lewis

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A worrying tale of Amazon's power

Mark Lynas's book on environmentalism appears to have been withdrawn from sale. Why?

By Helen Lewis Published 09 July 2011 14:09

Please see update below main post . . .

If the mess over the "Murdoch empire" has shown us one thing, it's that near-monopolies are problematic. Here's another one: Amazon.

The environmentalist, author and NS contributor Mark Lynas has spent the past few years writing and researching his new book, The God Species: How the Planet Can Survive the Age of Humans.

But look at the book's Amazon page -- on its opening weekend, when reviews are published, advertising is bought and a sizeable proportion of sales are made -- and the book is mysteriously listed as being "under review".

This product is not currently offered by Amazon.co.uk because a customer recently told us that the item he or she received was not as described.We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. In the meantime, you may still find this product available from other sellers on this page.

It's hard to see how a book can be "not as described", unless Fourth Estate mistakenly had it printed on loo roll or in hieroglyphics. (Martin Robbins at the Guardian has a copy of the book and says he can see no technical problems with it.)

Peter Forbes, who was due to review the book for the Guardian, believes that the message is the result of someone invoking Amazon's complaints procedure because they disagree with its message.

If so, it's a worrying development, particularly given Amazon's incredible dominance of the book trade. There are several other subjects -- the Middle East, evolution, abortion -- which attract similarly strong feelings as climate change and it's uncomfortable to think that partisan players can, in effect, sabotage the release of books with which they disagree.

Lynas has written a blog on the subject, which lists alternative (and much smaller) outlets that are still carrying The God Species. He writes: "That the book should be withdrawn completely from sale just a day after its launch is a disaster for me . . . That this could be the work of interested parties who find the message of the God Species too threatening is even more troubling. In a free society, surely open debate about all issues is paramount and one of our most deeply held values."

He quotes an email received by a customer trying to buy the book. In it, Amazon states: "Please be informed that an item will be under review or investigation if series of reports from customers show that the item purchased was not as describe or has incorrect product details/description." As he notes, an automatic response with several typos doesn't fill you with confidence that Amazon is taking this seriously.

Update, Sunday 10 July: Mark Lynas has just posted on his blog that a "high-level source" at Amazon tells him that the book was withdrawn because it was a trade paperback and was advertised as a hardback. This hasn't been confirmed but he says he no longer suspects activists were involved.

He adds:

However, it is clearly the case that had I not been able to draw attention to the situation with the help of so many other people on Twitter and elsewhere, the matter would not have received much attention from Amazon -- possibly for several days -- and the book's chances would have been quite effectively scotched during the most vital launch period.

This does perhaps illustrate the dangers of market concentration when a single online bookseller now controls 70% of the UK market, and soon to be more if Amazon's takeover of the Book Depository is waved through by the British competition authorities. It certainly seems unfair that a book can be sunk through so easily and with so little justification because Amazon.co.uk is so dominant in the market and so slow to respond to complaints. I would hope that it could learn from this saga and tighten up its processes so other books do not suffer a similar fate immediately after they are launched. It seems very clear that if the Twitter campaign had not snowballed so quickly, the situation would still be unresolved now.

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30 comments

Sun, 2011-07-10 20:49 — jkjkjkjj

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Sat, 2011-07-09 15:01 — early bird (not verified)

Bluty hell! I'm glad I put in a pre-order. I'm reading it right now and so far, it's just as described... only better;)

Mon, 2011-07-11 07:48 — medical-x-ray (not verified)

It is fantastic and this is a good article that I saw,thanks for sharing!
http://www.medical-x-ray.com

Sat, 2011-07-09 15:10 — Gavin P (not verified)

You can buy the book at amazon.com (US) kindle version now, hardcopy states: Available for Pre-order. This item will be released on November 1, 2011.
And Canada Amazon states: Available for Pre-order. This item will be released on August 9 2011.

Very scetchy indeed.

Sat, 2011-07-09 16:29 — Christine Burns (not verified)

I like the good things about online retailers like Amazon. I like Facebook and Twitter and Skype ... and in fact most of the online services on which we increasingly rely to communicate and trade.

However, I see in ALL their operating models a problem...

Take Facebook. You or I may wake tomorrow and find that our accounts have been suspended without warning simply because a stranger has pointed a finger. Their process takes no account of the collateral damage which that might have on whatever we are doing at the time. And it is frighteningly hard to appeal.

As these services become ubiquitous and central to our lives then the fact that they don't offer the same protections we have in the bricks and mortar world really begins to matter.

If someone makes an accusation against me in the real world then I am presumed innocent until found guilty. I may be questioned and some of my freedom may be temporarily constrained by custody and bail conditions, but at least there are controls to this and I have a right to know what the accusation against me is, and legal representation to ensure the Police obey the law.

As we see in this case, however, online global services offer none of those protections.

Of course, it's LIKELY that the explanation in this case is more 'cock-up' than 'stitch up' but it doesn't alter the fact that there are real consequences for this author, whose rights seem to be an afterthought in Amazon's processes.

There is no doubt these huge organisations will continue to grow because we like them and, mostly, they are a good thing. However, as I said, we must have concerns about the way in which they carelessly wield their power, with very little apparent concern or restraint.

Mon, 2011-07-11 12:19 — demonax3

"Why is it that young females with three names and large hairdos are always haters of large, successful, popular producers"

Some problem with your mother?

Sat, 2011-07-09 17:27 — English Electric (not verified)

This article and the comments on Amazon are verging on the hysterical. Maybe they are simply trying to exercise quality control because there was a complaint about the product (printing quality or somesuch?) I'll be surprised if it's not on sale again within a week.

Sat, 2011-07-09 17:29 — Jason Sands (not verified)

A ridiculous article, that you uncritically repeat Mark Lynas claim that the book has been "withdrawn completely from sale" when it's still available for purchase through Amazon's website through other suppliers is laughable.

Sat, 2011-07-09 18:15 — John Howard (not verified)

Amazon is not a monopoly. Microsoft was not a monopoly. Why is it that young females with three names and large hairdos are always haters of large, successful, popular producers, and always buy into every anti-capitalist myth produced by the government subsidized educational establishments? Are they (three-named females with large hair) really the most naive among us, or the most envious of success?

Sat, 2011-07-09 18:25 — fdfdfd

@ John Howard

There's a link in the text to the Booksellers' Association calling Amazon a "de facto monopoly".

I don't have a problem with Amazon's existence but the point is that if the (by far) largest online book retailer won't stock your product, that causes more trouble than if people were in the habit of using a wide range of outlets.

And yes, the book is available from other sellers but I would contend that the fact that Amazon itself isn't stocking it could very well make people suspicious there was something wrong with it.

And I'm not sure what my gender, name and hairstyle have to do with my opinions, or my right to hold them. Perhaps you could elaborate on which one bothers you most?

Sat, 2011-07-09 18:30 — Jeremy Bowman (not verified)

The fact that Amazon is monopolizing the book market is worrying, but a bit of extraneous noise here. The main culprits in this act of censorship are activists using fascist methods.

Sat, 2011-07-09 18:36 — paul haine (not verified)

"Why is it that young females with three names and large hairdos are always haters of large, successful, popular producers"

It's probably a conspiracy.

Sat, 2011-07-09 18:55 — Cempreepsyfet

You don't need to buy the book to know what it says: Just another ecofascist yawnaroo for sure.

Sat, 2011-07-09 19:28 — robjam (not verified)

@Helen L-H -
"the fact that Amazon itself isn't stocking it"

erm - it is; admittedly, you'd have to but it in its Kindle version, but, be that as it may, Amazon is stocking & selling the book.

Sat, 2011-07-09 19:34 — NikFromNYC (not verified)

The LA Times featured cold fusion in '89 before its debunking. Greens were aghast!
“It’s like giving a machine gun to an idiot child.” – Paul Ehrlich (mentor of John Cook of the SkepticalScience blog, author of "Climate Change Denial")
“Clean-burning, non-polluting, hydrogen-using bulldozers still could knock down trees or build housing developments on farmland.” – Paul Ciotti (LA Times)
“It gives some people the false hope that there are no limits to growth and no environmental price to be paid by having unlimited sources of energy.” – Jeremy Rifkin (NY Times)
“Many people assume that cheaper, more abundant energy will mean that mankind is better off, but there is no evidence for that.” – Laura Nader (sister of Ralph)

CLIMATEGATE 101: "For your eyes only...Don't leave stuff lying around on ftp sites - you never know who is trawling them. The two MMs have been after the CRU station data for years. If they ever hear there is a Freedom of Information Act now in the UK, I think I'll delete the file rather than send to anyone....Tom Wigley has sent me a worried email when he heard about it - thought people could ask him for his model code. He has retired officially from UEA so he can hide behind that." - Phil "Hide The Decline" Jones to Michael "Hockey Stick" Mann

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Earth: http://k.min.us/ibtB8G.gif
Ice: http://k.min.us/ibBgw2.jpg
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Prophecy: http://i.min.us/idEHdo.jpg
Psychopathy: http://i.min.us/ibubmk.jpg
Icon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPzLzj-3XY
Thinker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n92YenWfz0Y

-=NikFromNYC=- Ph.D. in Carbon Chemistry (Columbia/Harvard)

Sat, 2011-07-09 20:12 — fdfdfd

Update: the paperback is now showing up as back in stock. I'll post an update if Amazon give a comment on what happened.

Sat, 2011-07-09 22:05 — sally (not verified)

"There are several other subjects - the Middle East, evolution, abortion - which attract similarly strong feelings as climate change,"

Ah yes, and on all those subjects the right wing nuts have very stong, almost hysterical opinions. The right wing brownshirts do love their book burnings.

Tue, 2011-07-12 19:18 — Mark (not verified)

Amazon isn't a monopoly, its just a successful company and large part of that success is due to Amazon Market an excellent feature that allows other booksellers use their site. There are also plenty of other places to buy books in shops and online.

Fri, 2012-01-27 08:26 — Madison

Sun, 2011-07-10 07:05 — Bud Whyzer (not verified)

Seems like this "censorship" urban myth was cooked up by Lynas himself to try to attract attention to yet another unspectacular book by a nuclear industry crony.

Wed, 2011-07-13 00:30 — ecks why (not verified)

> ...the book was withdrawn because it was a trade paperback, and was advertised as a hardback.

A hysterical conspiracy theory was constructed out of nothing and vanished immediately on inspection. Pathetic.

> [Lynas] says he no longer suspects activists were involved.

Don't worry. We won't have to wait too long before Lynas imagines black helicopters hovering over him again. A few weeks ago it was Greenpeace and the IPCC in collusion - who will next join the sinister plot against Lynas and his nuclear / GMO missionary crusade?!

Sun, 2011-07-10 08:15 — A nony mouse (not verified)

I got a "403 Forbidden" notice when I clicked on Helen's link "He writes" above. It reads "

You don't have permission to access /2011/07/the-god-species-withdrawn-from-amazon-censorship/ on this server. Apache/1.3.41 Ben-SSL/1.60 Server at www.marklynas.org Port 80"

Maybe Amazon's censorship reaches further than we thought.....

Sun, 2011-07-10 09:17 — English Electric (not verified)

So it's actually on sale again within the next day! Perhaps Ms Lewis Hasteley should write a retraction.

Mr Lynas' site appears to be down. I expect that's a conspiracy too.

Sun, 2011-07-10 10:15 — odellbuchana614

If you type 'Mark Lynas' into the search space on Amazon.com you are directed first of all to the hardcover copy of the book in question, which, it is announced, will not be released until 1 November. Had I not read on the NS site, via H L-H, that the paperback was in fact available I would not have assumed that there was a paperback edition currently in print. It takes a little bit of fiddling around to access the paperback. Anyone with my restricted knowledge of the Internet would be put off buying The God Species. Amazon is a very smart e-commerce company and I would opt for the conspiracy theory over the 'clerical error' alternative. Any book with 'God' in the title in the US faces some stiff hurdles unless it toes the line drawn by the Christian right. (Apologies for the mixed metaphor.)

Sun, 2011-07-10 11:25 — Gerry Tierney (not verified)

@Philip

How about typing "The God Species" into the search bar? The paperback edition is the first search result and doesn't take any fiddling.

Sun, 2011-07-10 11:42 — fdfdfd

Mark Lynas's site crashed last night because he was linked to by Neil Gaiman, who has 1m+ Twitter followers.

It's now back up, and there he says he now believes a technical problem WAS reponsible - so the above blog post has been updated accordingly.

Sun, 2011-07-10 13:27 — Indu Pendent (not verified)

Amazon has has led to the collapse of the high-street books shop chains worlwide e.g. waterstones, bordons etc

Good or bad? Does your opinion matter?

Sun, 2011-07-10 13:57 — odellbuchana614

@Gerry Tierney

Thank you, Gerry. That is one less conspiracy to worry about.

Sun, 2011-07-10 14:52 — Perry de Havilland (not verified)

Paranoid a bit are we? But still, good to see that you have embraced the idea of competition and I look forward to you evangelising about the benefits of reducing as many tariff and non-tariff barriers to new market entrants as possible.

Mon, 2011-07-11 21:23 — withdrawal-guilt (not verified)

I was pointed to this because this may be my fault. I received a copy of the book which was badly damaged (including missing and torn pages) - I informed amazon and they withdrew the item until their stock could be checked. I was not the only one to report and return the book.

Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill

Perhaps Helen should stick to phone tapping rather than these stupid and pathetic conspiracy theories