Sadly, that’s the truth. The bottom line is that publishing is a business, and publishers are only going to do things that make business sense. Unfortunately, crap like Carhart’s book sells, and that which sells gets published even if it is poor history.

Book sales are shrinking and so seem to be markets. That means that more and more worthy titles will get short shrift.

I’ve done several books with Potomac Books, which used to be known as Brassey’s. Brassey’s had two huge best sellers–both went to number 1 on the New York Times list–by Michael Scheuer on current affairs. That was obviously a very good thing for Brassey’s, but it also means that they have made a business decision to pretty much stop doing history and focus on that which sells, which in this case, is current affairs.

I can’t really blame them–it is a business after all–but it means that an outlet for my work which I enjoyed, and which allowed me the latitude to do books pretty much the way I wanted the done, is no longer there for me. And that saddens me a great deal.

Eric

After reading posts by you and Mark Grimsley about the ordeal a writer (particularly a military historian) has to go through to get their labor of love even published, much less published in the way they intended, it’s enough to almost make an erstwhile historian start casting about for a new major. One is struck by the cowardice of publishers, who seem to have let their fear of losing money keep them from taking any risks whatsoever. So what we are left with is boring academic monographs and poorly-researched fluff by the likes of Carhart, none of it priced below $45!

An army officer recently wrote that a man like George S. Patton who took risks wouldn’t be able to get very far in today’s conservative military establishment. By the same token, I seriously doubt that if a book like Burton’s “Anatomy of Melancholy” or Sterne’s “Tristram Shandy” were offered to a publisher today, it would never see the light of day. And yet these are both classics of English literature. Modern book companies should start listening to authors.

Best from Germany

Stefan

Certainly not wrong. In fact, I agree with you. As I said, there can be too many maps in a book.

Eric

It’s all about the number of pages in a book. The more pages, the more it costs to produce the book. Bottom line.

I haven’t read Woodworth’s book. I’ve liked some of his prior books, but my guess is that he’s a victim of what I’ve described above.

Eric

Not wishing to drop a dime, But have just finished reading Wentworth’s Nothing But Victory. Any claim that it is an organizational history of the Army of the Tennessee is spurious. It is an annecdotal litany of battles.
No maps or org charts. I gather Knopf dictated some of this…