“No Easy Day puts readers alongside Owen and the other handpicked members of the twenty-four-man team as they train for the biggest mission of their lives. The blow-by-blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen’s life straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death, is an essential piece of modern history.”
On September 11th, Penguin’s Dutton Adult is publishing a first hand account of the killing of Osama Bin Laden. The title, No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden, was written by a member of the elite squad who killed the terrorist leader known as SEAL Team Six.
The title has been published under the pseudonym Mark Owen, but apparently he has been outed by Fox News.
The title is already shooting up the charts from presales. As you can see from the screen shot, it is currently the No. 1 bestseller on Amazon, ahead of all of the Fifty Shades of Grey titles and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Well, one can see that the action-packed true adventure would be a great sell for Father's Day, and not nearly as embarrassing a gift as 50 Shades. But the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association?
That really has me puzzled. Are there that many psychologists in America? Is it replete with racy case histories? Or is it a spoof?
PS. On investigation, I found it is a style guide for grad students who are desperate to turn in an acceptable thesis. Apparently it is also replete with so many errors that the publisher is sending out typewritten lists of corrections!
1 comment:
The APA Publication Manual has a wider readership than grad students (though perhaps they're responsible for its popularity on Amazon). Oxford's Dictionary of Psychology, for instance, lists it among its principal sources. The APA manual might be the social sciences' equivalent of the Chicago Manual of Style or the Oxford Guide to Style. It does look as if the latest edition has an embarrassment of errors - proof, I guess, that anyone can make mistakes! Rigorous rounds of correction and checking are one way publishers normally minimise these.
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