Publishers Weekly January 24, 2005 The news last week that Doubleday has acquired a book based on the writings of the al-Qaeda braintrust has reverberated through the industry, as nearly everyone has something to say about the house's daring move. A publishing attorney called it dangerous, a retailer was anticipating a big sale and a competing house said the material may be … [Read more...]

by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online Raymond Ibrahim was a former student of mine in Classics and Middle Eastern history, now living and working in Washington. He contacted me for some advice, as his former MA thesis advisor, months ago, saying that as part of his job as an archivist he had accidentally come across texts purportedly written years ago by bin Laden and … [Read more...]

by Edward Wyatt New York Times Doubleday will publish a collection of the translated writings of Al Qaeda leaders next year and will donate profits from the book to charities that are aiding American victims of terrorism. The book, tentatively titled "The Al Qaeda Reader," will consist of writings by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's second in command, plus material attributed to … [Read more...]

The Telegraph When news of the deal first broke in the American publishing press last week, the company said that it had not decided how to use the expected profits from the book. After angry protests that it stood to cash in on the 9/11 attacks, however, Doubleday announced that all the proceeds from the book, which has the working title Al Qaeda Reader, would be given to … [Read more...]

CNN NEW YORK (CNN) -- It's to be titled the "Al Qaeda Reader." Publisher Doubleday says it will include writings by Osama bin Laden and his second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, from the 1990s. News of the book prompted at least one publisher to raise a red flag about profits. "How do you deal with something like this, that is the issue I suppose most people wonder about. … [Read more...]