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Re: VMs: "Voynich Controversy"...?



Nick Pelling wrote:

At 09:07 24/12/2004 +1000, Jacques Guy wrote:

23/12/2004 6:26:17 PM, jean-yves artero <jyartero@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>   Same for me; tried to order it used, of course no news; not seen
>   elsewhere, IIRC; could be
>   some dead project, sometimes books are displayed before they are
>   published

It sounds like the most likely explanation. [...]

It's very tempting, but I'm not so certain - why (apparently) announce the paperback release first if it was from a well-known publisher (Robson Books are part of Chrysalis Group, which isn't exactly small)? And why would it use an ISBN number in another company's range?

It might not be about our favorite manuscript, but perhaps about Wilfrid, Ethel, Count Voynich, whom I noticed in an e-novel, or who knows?


If I knew how to do a reverse ISBN search (not to the product, but just to the barcode owner's range), I could (probably) just ask the real publisher. So many databases, so little time. :-o

I'm not sure what you mean, but do a search on it, it's probably out there.


Or else, I have a conspiracty theory:
someone (Amazon, Robson Books, ...?)
has planted this entry to find out how
much interest there would be in such
a book.

There's always the "secret database signature" theory: that Amazon might add some fake books to its database in order to track which other web companies are ripping their content off. I recently read about how the Ordnance Survey was able to catch a company illegally selling their maps by adding some non-existent roads to a disused air-force base (IIRC), which amounts to much the same thing.

Interesting idea, a data sting. Almost a form of disinformation. Do they have the Necronomicon? That's been in many library catalogs, after all. ;-)


Merry chr or eees mar to all, and to all a good night!

Dennis

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