Shenanigans with book titles, plagiarism, etc.

I think there were a few "scoundrels" in the book publishing business in
days past!

I have been working on adding to my book collection recently. I will do
quite a bit of research on a particular subject, and then will discover new
(to me) titles of books in the 1800's and early 1900's.

Then I will order a book and await the arrival of the package. When the
package arrives, I open it and look at my new (old) book.

As I flip through the pages, the book seems very familiar! I go to my
bookshelf and take down a book with a different title/author, which was
published a few years prior. They are one and the same! (Except for the
different title and/or author.)

I am finding out and out plagiarism. Sometimes just portions of text from
another book, other times entire chapters from another book.

Also I am seeing the same author publish the same exact book, except under
different titles and differently designed covers, say every 15 years or so.

In one case, there was a book published in England around 1900, then a
different author published a book in the U.S. around 1902. The 1902 book
had the same exact title except for one word changed. I have not found a
copy of the 1900 book yet, but I would not be surprised to find the same
exact text as the 1902 book.

It seems to me that there would be one author every 50 years or so who
created his own entirely *new* book. Then for the next 50 years or so, most
of the books on that subject were basically the same thing, but reworded or
plagiarized.

I guess this is why copyright laws were created.

Anybody else notice these things with non-fiction books published in the
1800's and early 1900's?

It happens today, too, although less frequently. Every few years I'll be
reading a paragraph in a book and have the experience you described: The
text seems familiar, and I'll go to the shelves and pull out another book on
the same subject and -- there is the same paragraph! This has happened to me
two or three times with late 20th-century British books; only once with an
American publication. The first time it happened I wrote to the publisher of
the later book giving details and a photocopy of the older version, but
never received a response.

I went to the library a few years ago and checked out a recently published
book which was "written" by a local author. The librarian told me that most
people who read the local author's book, also liked to read a previously
published book on a similar subject.

I thought this was a curious thing for the librarian to say. Anyway, I
checked out the other book too.

Well the local "author" had copied portions of the first book word for
word! (And no mention of the other book in her book of course.)

About a year later, I happened to see this "author" working on another
book. She had someone else's book open and was busy copying down the text
into her notebook...



"Chris Charles" wrote in message
It happens today, too, although less frequently. Every few years I'll be
reading a paragraph in a book and have the experience you described: The
text seems familiar, and I'll go to the shelves and pull out another book
on
the same subject and -- there is the same paragraph! This has happened to
me
two or three times with late 20th-century British books; only once with
an
American publication. The first time it happened I wrote to the publisher
of
the later book giving details and a photocopy of the older version, but
never received a response.

"Billy Bob" wrote in message
...
I think there were a few "scoundrels" in the book publishing business in
days past!

I have been working on adding to my book collection recently. I will do
quite a bit of research on a particular subject, and then will discover
new
(to me) titles of books in the 1800's and early 1900's.

Then I will order a book and await the arrival of the package. When the
package arrives, I open it and look at my new (old) book.

As I flip through the pages, the book seems very familiar! I go to my
bookshelf and take down a book with a different title/author, which was
published a few years prior. They are one and the same! (Except for the
different title and/or author.)

I am finding out and out plagiarism. Sometimes just portions of text from
another book, other times entire chapters from another book.

Also I am seeing the same author publish the same exact book, except under
different titles and differently designed covers, say every 15 years or
so.

In one case, there was a book published in England around 1900, then a
different author published a book in the U.S. around 1902. The 1902 book
had the same exact title except for one word changed. I have not found a
copy of the 1900 book yet, but I would not be surprised to find the same
exact text as the 1902 book.

It seems to me that there would be one author every 50 years or so who
created his own entirely *new* book. Then for the next 50 years or so,
most
of the books on that subject were basically the same thing, but reworded
or
plagiarized.

I guess this is why copyright laws were created.

Anybody else notice these things with non-fiction books published in the
1800's and early 1900's?



It's not non-fiction, and it's not that early in time, but as a mystery
reader, I've been irritated more than once when I brought home what I
thought was a previously unread Agatha Christie only to find that it had
been published before under a different title. For her works, it wasn't only
a variance in titles across the Atlantic, but over time as well. I can't
name any at the moment, although I think *And Then There Were None* went
through several titles.

That aside, your experiences sound interesting. I am always intrigued by the
accumulation of rather arcane knowledge. What subject area(s) does your
collection cover?

Alice

--
Book collecting terms illustrated. Occasional books for sale.
http://www.mywingsbooks.com/

It's not non-fiction, and it's not that early in time, but as a mystery
reader, I've been irritated more than once when I brought home what I
thought was a previously unread Agatha Christie only to find that it had
been published before under a different title. For her works, it wasn't only
a variance in titles across the Atlantic, but over time as well. I can't
name any at the moment, although I think *And Then There Were None* went
through several titles.

This is a common practice of publishers. They do it when they feel
a title hasn't gotten the recognition its contents deserves. To
refresh the work, they publish it under a new title and a new
cover, hoping to find a new audience. I don't see this as
dishonest as long as the publisher notes on the cover or in the
preface that the book is a reprinting of an earlier work under a
new title. If there is no notice of the change, it is apt to cause
confusion among buyers.

Sometimes the knowledge that a publisher plans to republish a work
allows the aurhor to revise it, or add additional material, but
often the author isn't given a chance to revise the work, since
this would be an additional expense for the publisher. The
publishing contract gives the publisher power to change the name
and the cover of the work at will. Don't blame the author for this
sort of practice.

"my-wings" wrote in message
...
It's not non-fiction, and it's not that early in time, but as a mystery
reader, I've been irritated more than once when I brought home what I
thought was a previously unread Agatha Christie only to find that it had
been published before under a different title. For her works, it wasn't
only
a variance in titles across the Atlantic, but over time as well. I can't
name any at the moment, although I think *And Then There Were None* went
through several titles.

Some of the Christie titles were changed upon U.S. publication because it
was felt that the original titles were too British (i.e. THIRTEEN AT DINNER
became LORD EDGWARE DIES) or lacked a certain punch (i.e. THE HOLLOW became
MURDER AFTER HOURS and FIVE LITTLE PIGS became MURDER IN RETROSPECT). When I
was buying Christie paperbacks in the mid-1970s I soon learned to check the
American Dell editions, as they often had the U.S. title of a book I already
had in a Collins (U.K.) edition, although this was usually only specified in
small print on the copyright page, something that, as a teenager, I didn't
think to check.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE is the original American title of TEN LITTLE
******S; the book has also appeared in the States as TEN LITTLE INDIANS and
THE NURSERY RHYME MURDERS, although AND THEN THERE WERE NONE seems to be the
preferred title for all editions these days. Interestingly, the original
poem which serves as a basis for the plot is American, and was called 'Ten
Little Injuns' (1868); the British version, published in 1869, was called
'Ten Little ******s'. The American version ends happily ('He got married,
and then there were none'), whereas the British version ends unhappily ('He
went and hanged himself, and then there were none'). The book uses the
British ending, whereas Christie herself used the happier American ending
for the stage play she based on the book; this ending was subsequently used
in the great 1945 film version directed by Rene Clair, and the makers were
criticised for changing the author's original downbeat ending, unaware (I
assume) that Christie had approved this ending for her play.

Barbara

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE is the original American title of TEN LITTLE
******S

Wow, talk about a politically incorrect title for a book. I always
thought it was only called "Ten Little Indians", apart from its
other, much superior title "And Then There Were None". It's my
favorite of Christie's novels.

Al Smith wrote:
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE is the original American title of TEN LITTLE
******S


Wow, talk about a politically incorrect title for a book. I always
thought it was only called "Ten Little Indians", apart from its other,
much superior title "And Then There Were None". It's my favorite of
Christie's novels.


Just today I bought Agatha Christie, "Taken at the Flood" previously published
as "There is a Tide".


But as to politically incorrect, the title that most quickly jumps to my mind is
Carl van Vechten's novel about the Harlem Renaissance entitled "****** Heaven"
(Knopf 1926). Even though the poetry in the book was supplied by Langston
Hughes, that was not enough to save it from censure on account of the title. It
also did not much matter that the contents were not racially biased at all.


Francis A. Miniter

Speaking of political incorrectness (if you will forgive this off topic
post) is anyone else following the fire and smoke over the Mexican postage
stamps? They issued some stamps for Memin Pinguin (a Mexican comic book) and
our Black activists had a cow. With some reason, the character certainly
looks like a Jim Crow character. (I haven't read the comic) Last time I
checked the things had sold out in just a few days.


"Francis A. Miniter" wrote in message
...
Al Smith wrote:
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE is the original American title of TEN LITTLE
******S


Wow, talk about a politically incorrect title for a book. I always
thought it was only called "Ten Little Indians", apart from its other,
much superior title "And Then There Were None". It's my favorite of
Christie's novels.


Just today I bought Agatha Christie, "Taken at the Flood" previously
published as "There is a Tide".


But as to politically incorrect, the title that most quickly jumps to my
mind is Carl van Vechten's novel about the Harlem Renaissance entitled
"****** Heaven" (Knopf 1926). Even though the poetry in the book was
supplied by Langston Hughes, that was not enough to save it from censure
on account of the title. It also did not much matter that the contents
were not racially biased at all.


Francis A. Miniter

"my-wings" wrote in message

...What subject area(s) does your collection cover?


Billiards books. Following is an interesting example....

Fun on the Billiard Table - Stancliffe - 1900

Fun on the Pool Table - Herrmann - 1902

Tricks and Games on the Pool Table - Herrmann - 1967

Pool Table Tricks and Games - Herrmann - 1978