Atlas Shrugged paperbacks corrupted by publisher.
Patrick Fitzpatrick
A friend of mine asked me to post this message so everyone has a chance
to see it.
If anyone has access to the Objectivist mail lists, please forward.
Please send any questions or concerns to Dennis Wilson, his address is
at the end of this post.
Fitz
=======================================================================
---WARNING---
ATLAS SHRUGGED PAPERBACKS CORRUPTED BY PUBLISHER!!
Some 35th Anniversary Atlas Shrugged paperbacks have serious
typographical errors, some of which actually change the meaning
of the sentence.
It is unknown at this time if this is a deliberate attempt to
corrupt Ayn Rand's masterpiece, but the paperbacks in question
should certainly be avoided.
Those in your possession should be returned to the publisher as
being grossly defective. You may include a copy of this
article.
A demand for refund or replacement with a good version should
be
made. If the publisher receives enough demands, perhaps the
printing will be stopped and corrected. The copy you return
should be mutilated in some manner (yet acceptable for refund)
such that the book cannot be resold. Removing the cover is not
enough. At a minimum, highlight the errors listed below. I
would
prefer to cut the entire book in half with a saw.
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHICH VERSION IS DEFECTIVE?
On the copyright page, the CORRUPTED version that I have seen
contained the following lines which distinquished it from a
non-corrupt version:
Published by Signet, an imprint of Dutton Signet,
a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.
57 56 55 54
The GOOD version reads:
Published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.
57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50
The Dutton Signet (CORRUPTED) version contains a slightly
different typeface than the New American Library version. An
additional consequence of this change is that the page numbers
eventually get out of sync with the New American Library
version.
The New American Library (GOOD) version appears to be identical
with my first paperback printing, which is a Signet book
published by The New American Library of World Literature, Inc.
in July 1959 by arrangement with Random House, Inc.
WHAT ERRORS SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR?
On page 743 of the North American Library (GOOD) version, just
below mid page is the following one line paragraph:
``Is . . . is anyone expected?'' she asked ...
``Expected'' is misspelled as ``excepted'' in the Dutton Signet
(CORRUPTED) version just below mid page on page 737.
In Galt's speech on page 976 of the North American Library
(GOOD) version, second full paragraph begins:
``Just as man can't exist''
the third line (still first sentence) of that paragraph ends
with:
``the right of property.''
This becomes ``the right of poverty.'' in the Dutton Signet
(CORRUPTED) version, page 977, first full paragraph.
I have checked my hardcover editions and have found none of the
errors listed above. The 35th Anniversary hardcover 1st
printing
contains the notice that it is a facsimile of the original. The
page numbers are quite different from either paperback version
and are usually the page numbers used when passages are quoted
in essays and articles.
There are more errors. I do not know how many or how gross the
other corruptions in the Dutton Signet paperback version are.
The ones I have seen would surely have outraged Ayn Rand.
I would like to thank Anthony Shelley for discovering these
errors and calling them to my attention.
Dennis Wilson
2631 E. Pinchot Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85016
1996-April-24