Added to my e-bookshelf … <em>The History of British and American Author-Publishers </em>

Added to my e-bookshelf … The History of British and American Author-Publishers

Posted on March 26th, 2018 by Jeff McDonald

Through my tenure as an Early Reviewer for LibraryThing, there is only one book that I have failed to read through to the end … but, there have been a few where I came close, where I persevered and completed my read, cover to cover, even though there were moments I considered calling it quits.

To this small – really, very small group – I am adding Ana Faktorovich’s “The History of British-American Author-Publishers,” published by Anaphora Literary Press.

book I read the book through to the end, and I’m glad I did. Faktorovich’s biographical research into the selected author-publishers was exhaustive, and from it I gleaned more that few added glimpses into their lives that were unknown to me before opening the book.

Also ‘exhaustive,’ I’m afraid, is Faktorovich’s pursuit of her thesis about the challenges facing author-publishers over the past 250-or-so years … corrupt business practices, royal and political censorship, market control and cultivated contempt by what she labels ‘the Big Four’ publishing conglomerates, even the stuff of intrigue – the exhaustive part for me – suggesting the possibility of attempts to corrupt an individual’s mind/body/spirit through various practices, up-to-and-including assassination.

Profile after profile, life story after life story, theory after theory. More than once, I reached a point where I’d think, “sheesh …. okay, I get it … enough already!”

Some points are totally believable, as they continue to this day … corrupt business practices, royal/government censorship, market manipulation by conglomerates. But the rest? I’m not so sure.

If there was something to gain from all of this, it was the increased respect I have for individuals who struggled against a variety of challenges to bring their work to the public’s recognition and acclaim … though in some cases, that all came too late for the individual.

Story by story, chapter by chapter, Faktorovich is consistent in sharing these stories of struggle in a way that earns my added appreciation and respect for these author-publishers … which is why the last chapter (“Chapter 14: A Quest for Inter-Racial Equality: Alice Walker’s Wild Trees Press”) before her ‘Conclusions’ left me scratching my head. This was one individual whose career – as related by Faktorovich – did NOT gain my respect.

Was it offered as an example of that saying, about “the exception that proves the rule?” I don’t know … and I have never had much use for that saying, anyway.

To conclude, I recommend this read, and I recommend reading it all the way through. But I also recommend patience, and maybe planning to take a little longer to finish than you might expect … give yourself time to take a break and catch your breath, maybe enjoy a cup/glass of your favorite beverage, before diving back in.

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NOTE: I received a free e-copy of this work through LibraryThing in exchange for a review.

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Jeff McDonald

There's a saying around here, something like, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!" That's me. I'm a 'dang Yankee from back-east' who settled in the Lone Star State after some extended stays in the eastern U.S., and New Mexico. I worked as an archaeologist for a few years before dusting off my second major in English, and embarking on a 25-year career in journalism. Since then, I've embraced the dark side of the force, and now work in PR for a community college in Midland, Texas.