Osama bin Laden

In 1987, the Federal Bureau of Investigation approached Columbia University librarian Paula Kaufman with a request: keep an eye out for commies.

She refused to cooperate with the bureau's "library awareness" program and her defiance helped spark a nationwide backlash against government snooping into Americans' reading habits. Even knowing the government might be watching, people realized, could change what you choose to read—and in turn alter what you think

In the wake of the scandal around David Petraeus and his "All In" biographer, Paula Broadwell, The Atlantic reports that Penguin moving up its publishing schedule for  Gen. Stanley McChrystal's memoir, "My Share of the Task," and Simon & Schuster has moved up the release date of "The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War."

It will be interesting to see if either publisher decides to make ebook versions available earlier, and when/if "All In" will be updated to reflect the scandal it's become synonymous with.

—Brian Howard

 Anonymity was short-lived for the former Navy SEAL member who has written a first-person account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Less than 24 hours after the book’s existence was first reported, Fox News revealed the author as Matt Bissonnette. Defense Department and military officials later confirmed his identity.

Penguin, the book’s publisher, said it would forge ahead with its publication plans despite the reports that named the author. The book will be released on Sept. 11.

With his newest book, “Killing Geronimo: The Hunt for Osama bin Laden,” comics writer Jerome Maida may well have his most demanding assignment yet.

“A book like this — that we know will also gain interest from people in the military — we want it to be 100 percent accurate down to the details of which types of guns they use,” the Pennsylvania-based Maida says. “The little details can turn someone off on the book” if incorrect.

 

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