A call to arms – something I usually avoid – but Google Books has put the biography of George R. Stewart on the web without a by-your-leave or any compensation.
I suppose it could be argued that this act of piracy and theft of years of hard work is justified as a kind of payment for g-mail and Google search. However, with no permission requested or given it seems to me to be a violation of copyright.
I’ll be pursuing this with the publisher and my agent, and will keep the readers of this weblog posted.
Now, back to the regular posts, celebrating George R. Stewart and his work.
PS, 3 days later: After doing some research, I’ve discovered that such posting of a work online is legal – in the pro-corporate USA (not in Europe). But they have only posted the first 19 pages or so, so in way it is simply an appetizer. Who knows? Maybe it’ll sell a few books. Still, Google should be required to have the author’s permission to post a work still in print.
the EARTH ABIDES project 