The Unabomber (remember him?) has had his book published here in the States. There’s not been a lot of hoopla about the book, not even from his publisher. According to the Penninsula Daily News, Adam Parfrey, who published Technological Slavery by the now-imprisoned Theodore J. Kaczynski, said: “"He is a murderer, and he is a sociopath." But he also added, "He is a genius and a very good writer who can add to the discussion about technology."
In case you’ve forgotten Kacynski, he “sent 16 package bombs between 1978 and 1995 which exploded, killing three people and injuring 23.”
Even though he’s prevented from receiving book royalties, I don’t think I’ll be reading Kaczynski’s book. How about you?
5 years ago
NO WAY! I don't believe in banning books
ReplyDeleteso it has a right to be there but the less said about it the better. No attention -- no sales.
He's writing a book about technology? Oh, about the slavery to it... that makes sense, he used to live in the forest. I won't buy his book under principle.
ReplyDeleteCD
Absolutely not! I make it a point not to buy any books that bring attention to people like him.
ReplyDeleteI'll skip this on too - there are too many good books out there to waste my time on that one.
ReplyDeleteGrrr. It's bad enough we have publishers paying out huge bucks for these ridiculous celebrity books...now we have them wasting a precious publishing slot on this! As a matter of principle I don't buy celebrity books, I definitely would never buy one like this.
ReplyDeleteJudy
I definitely wouldn't. Regardless of who receives the profits, he has already had his 15 minutes of fame at the expense of those he killed.
ReplyDeleteAnn
No, although I might consider reading a book written about (not by) him just to try & make sense of the senseless.
ReplyDeleteMy response is the same as Mary's. I don't think I could separate the cold-blooded murderer of innocents from the technological genious.
ReplyDeleteThese days, we are not in short supply of techno-wizards. Mass Killers? We could do with less, none actually.
Sorry if I got waaay off subj.
I don't believe in banning books either but I do believe in not buying them. Perhaps if nobody buys such books publishers will stop thinking there is a need to put the words of psychopath into print. They did it not because of an altruistic belief the world needs to hear the genius of a mad man but but because they might make a buck from it.
ReplyDeletenope. couldn't be less interested.
ReplyDeleteNo - not a chance!
ReplyDeleteI agree with y'all. Make a point by not buying this kind of book - or in my case, a celebrity book. There might be a case when I would want to read the life story of someone well-known, though. Not the unabomber, though.
ReplyDeleteTo put it bluntly - not a chance in hell!
ReplyDeleteNow there's an author that we can all feel good about banning.
ReplyDeleteNancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author
This guy got a book deal? Wow, the publishing industry is SO screwed up!
ReplyDeletenope. Not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteNot for me. I'm not that into real crime stories.
ReplyDeleteMy Darcy Mutates…
If he's a good writer, I might read the book. Time will show if it's a book that will survive or not.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about Mr Kaczynski, what he has done nor what he has written. But for comparison, the French author Jean Genet lived a major part of his life as criminal, started to write when he was in prison on a long-term sentence, and is now considered one of the greatest French authors after the 2nd world war. Is it possible to appreciate his excellent writing without approving the way he lived? I think the answer is yes >:)
Cold As Heaven
Interesting point, Cold as Heaven. I was going along with most of the comments, but yours made me stop and rethink my position. (One of the things I love about blogs and comments, BTW, is getting a new perspective on an issue.)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I would read the book as I am not interested in the subject matter. And I hate the idea that he probably got the deal because of his celebrity status. But I do agree with you that we should make this kind of decision based on the book and content and not a person's behavior. Hard to do, though. LOL
I would not purchase the book, but might read it.
ReplyDeleteI like to think I can separate myself from reality to achieve a task and that would certainly be necessary to read this guy's work.