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2004-08-21 Home Front: Politix
Is the book "Unfit For Command" unavailable in your area?
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Posted by OldSpook 2004-08-21 11:16:46 AM|| || Front Page|| [11128 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 My queston is:

Is it that hot of a book? If so, then why isnt it being bandied about with as much fanfare as was the Michael Moore movie?

(yet another brick in the "Slanted Press" wall)
Posted by OldSpook 2004-08-21 11:18:03 AM||   2004-08-21 11:18:03 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 By the way, if you cannot get "Unfit", then grab a copy of this one:

"Reckless Disregard: How Liberal Democrats Undercut Our Military, Endanger Our Soldiers, and Jeopardize Our Security" By Col Buzz Patterson

He specifically calls out Kerry on a number of things the SwiftVets address.

here are a few from a review:

* how John Kerry "staged" a combat scene in Vietnam (for which he was decorated)

* why Kerry received an early discharge for his Purple Hearts while Navy SEALs, U.S. Marines, Green Berets, and combat infantrymen did not

* how Kerry's lies before Congress about the Vietnam war (his infamous testimony is reproduced here in its entirety) were used to justify North Vietnamese torture of American POWs

So, as any good trooper knows, you can never have enough ammo in a firefight - so add to your intellectual armory.
Posted by OldSpook 2004-08-21 11:24:10 AM||   2004-08-21 11:24:10 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Drudge has headline "FLASH: PUBLISHER CLAIMS 550,000 COPIES OF ANTI-KERRY VETS 'UNFIT FOR COMMAND' BOOK NOW IN PRINT..." but no link to where the information is coming from.

I can easily see how they have "sold" that many copies.
Posted by Sherry 2004-08-21 11:25:48 AM||   2004-08-21 11:25:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 I just tried Amazon and got an estimated ship of August 25 with a 1-3 week window. They say they have 21 copies available.
Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-08-21 11:32:43 AM||   2004-08-21 11:32:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Here are some excerpts from the book:
Kerry's fellow 'Swiftees' dispute his Purple Hearts
'Sampan incident' belies heroic image
An angry dispute over a rescue in the river

Also STATEMENT BY SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH MEMBER LARRY THURLOW
I am convinced that the language used in my citation for a Bronze Star was language taken directly from John Kerry’s report which falsely described the action on the Bay Hap River as action that saw small arms fire and automatic weapons fire from both banks of the river.
...
Posted by Punny the Lesser 2004-08-21 11:36:52 AM||   2004-08-21 11:36:52 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 I just tried Amazon and got an estimated ship of August 25 with a 1-3 week window. They say they have 21 copies available.

And yet they claimed it would be 3-4 weeks before they could ship my order, with "Unfit for Command" being the cause for the delay.

I think Amazon's playing games with the book.
Posted by Robert Crawford  2004-08-21 11:41:58 AM|| [http://www.kloognome.com/]  2004-08-21 11:41:58 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 I received a repsonse from Borders regarding a call in to Hannity on 8/19 when a lady was told that they would not carry the book, will not order it again because it is full of lies. I hope that was isloated but I am certain that there are groups out there torpedoing this book. In any case here is the Borders offcicial policy,8/20/2004


Dear William Nelson,

Thank you for contacting us with your concerns about the book "Unfit For Command".

Borders does indeed carry John O'Neill's book "Unfit For Command". In fact, it's Borders #1 non-fiction bestseller. Available stock is limited right now and we are doing everything we can to get additional copies of the book for our stores. The publisher is reprinting and more books should be available in the coming week. All Borders stores are taking reservations for customers.

As is the case with most major national or international events, we expect that our customers will turn to Borders to educate themselves on the candidates and national topics of the 2004 election year.

Borders believes in the basic right of our customers to choose what they want to read and buy, and we feel that it is important for us not to take any political stance-but instead to remain a neutral store where customers can gather information about any topic and any opinion. We do not practice preferential treatment to authors based upon the author’s political views; we simply carry and market all titles we feel our customers will buy.

In fact, our inventory is based primarily on what Borders shoppers have shown they are interested in purchasing-only 50% of the titles in our stores are common to every store and the other 50% is driven entirely by the shopping habits of our customers. As a result inventory varies greatly from store to store. All of the hot sellers, which a majority of the election and candidate-focused titles are, are stocked in every Borders store.

We firmly believe that our customers are intelligent, curious people who enjoy exploring all types of books and periodicals. They come to Borders because they know we carry a variety of titles that vary in political views, tastes and interests and our selection of titles is as diverse as the customers that we are proud to serve.

Thanks once again for sharing your comments with us. If you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us at ccare@bordersstores.com.

Sincerely,

Malcolm Bondon
Customer Care Rep
Posted by Bill Nelson 2004-08-21 11:50:32 AM||   2004-08-21 11:50:32 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Good businessmen. Sell 'em what they want regardless of political stripe.
Posted by OldSpook 2004-08-21 11:55:15 AM||   2004-08-21 11:55:15 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 'University Bookstore' in Seattle does not even carry it. Yet the Hate Bush books are shown promenently in the store window and on tables inside.

I buy a lot of technical books for my job. Looks like I wont be shopping there anymore.
Posted by CrazyFool  2004-08-21 11:55:56 AM||   2004-08-21 11:55:56 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 You can also order it from Regnery Publishing for $18.95. http://www.regnery.com
Posted by ed 2004-08-21 11:58:42 AM||   2004-08-21 11:58:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Oh I forgot I ordered Unfit for Command on 8/14 from Amazon and recieved it 8/17. Must have got in on the 1st lot based on all the lead times I am seeing now.
Posted by Bill Nelson 2004-08-21 11:59:49 AM||   2004-08-21 11:59:49 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 Bill, thats odd because I ordered on 7/30 and, on 8/15, when I cancelled it, they had a delivery date of 9/27-30. (That is why I cancelled -- I had just bought one of the few which Borders had on the shelf).
Posted by CrazyFool  2004-08-21 12:07:58 PM||   2004-08-21 12:07:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Crazy, That is damn odd. Ordered on 8/14 shipped on 8/16. Maybe it's a preferred customer thing since I buy from them regularly. Also bought the other book along with it Reckless Disregard. I guess they don't use FIFO.
Posted by Bill Nelson 2004-08-21 12:24:19 PM||   2004-08-21 12:24:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 I placed an order for it on amazon.com a few minutes ago, and it said "usually ships in 1-3 weeks."

We'll see.
Posted by Dave D. 2004-08-21 12:28:25 PM||   2004-08-21 12:28:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 Don't discount computer screw ups or the customer doing something they didn't intend to do. But it appears the book is available for quick ship from Amazon.

I suspect the Sunday talk show will be all over the book and the ads tomorrow and that will make it a story the MSM can cover. I also would not be surprised to see the blog vs. MSM issue discussed.
Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-08-21 12:29:11 PM||   2004-08-21 12:29:11 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 I doubt it's a conspiracy. Publishers of a book like that don't run a first printing of a million copies. The authors probably went with a small-time publisher that just can't keep up with the demand.
Posted by B 2004-08-21 12:29:39 PM||   2004-08-21 12:29:39 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 that doesn't prevent a little email hyper-ventilation aimed at Amazon, saying that B&N has it in days, not weeks... :-)
Posted by Frank G  2004-08-21 12:38:46 PM||   2004-08-21 12:38:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 But it appears the book is available for quick ship from Amazon.

If it were, I'd have my copy already. Instead, they were saying it wouldn't be in my hands until the END OF SEPTEMBER. I certainly didn't screw anything up; I've been ordering from Amazon since '97, and have a pretty good handle on when things ship and what can hold up an order.

The reason I'm suspicious of Amazon is that their staff has already been caught editing the information for "Unfit for Command" -- TWICE. Once wouldn't have bothered me. Heck, I would have left twice alone as troubling, but twice PLUS them appearing to be slow to ship the book compared to other sellers is unacceptable.
Posted by Robert Crawford  2004-08-21 2:22:49 PM|| [http://www.kloognome.com/]  2004-08-21 2:22:49 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 Walmart is one of the adressees of the letter from the sKerry campaign asking them to pull the book from their shelves. I just checked Walmart's on line catalog. The book is listed "out of stock". Which may be the true reason for it's non availability since they were selling it at 39% off.
Posted by GK 2004-08-21 6:03:28 PM||   2004-08-21 6:03:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 Got mine from Amazon 3 days ago, just four days after ordering (used standard shipping, nothing fancy). Guess I was in before the real wave hit or something.
Posted by Laurence of the Rats  2004-08-21 7:01:53 PM|| [http://www.punictreachery.com]  2004-08-21 7:01:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 Checked B&N in Santee, CA - out of stock - apparently first printing was inadequate for demand - heh heh
Posted by Frank G  2004-08-21 7:36:45 PM||   2004-08-21 7:36:45 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 R.C. I inquired of Amazon concerning the delivery date of Sept 27-30th when the release date on DRUDGE was 8/15. Here is what I got...

Note, this was on August 4th, 2004:

I have researched your order (--removed--) and our latest
information indicates that "Unfit for Command : Swift Boat Veterans
Speak Out Against John Kerry" has not yet been released and the
expected release date is not known. As soon as a release date has
been determined for this item, we will add that information to our
web site.
Posted by CrazyFool  2004-08-21 7:45:37 PM||   2004-08-21 7:45:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#23 It’s scary to think that people believe Kerry can run this country. He can’t even take criticism of his service record. How is he going to act when he see a demonstration by some idiot organization? Will he do a 180 based on people calling him names and burning him in effigy? Truth or fiction Kerry needs to get thicker skin if he wants to be President or he won’t be an effective. Sometimes a President has to do thing in spite of opposition. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have civil rights (or ended slavery), a free Europe, a space program, free trade, and the list goes on.
Posted by Cyber Sarge  2004-08-21 8:11:39 PM||   2004-08-21 8:11:39 PM|| Front Page Top

#24 Yeah, Sarge, the debates are going to be fun.
Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-08-21 8:15:25 PM||   2004-08-21 8:15:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#25 I picked the book up today at Barnes Noble in Glastonbury, CT, probably another 4-5 copies left in the stack. It was located on a table with the rest of the Kerry is evil & Bush is evil books.
Posted by Lurks Often 2004-08-22 12:08:45 AM||   2004-08-22 12:08:45 AM|| Front Page Top

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