Guest guest Posted July 19, 1998 Report Share Posted July 19, 1998 In a message dated 98-07-19 08:34:56 EDT, Wally writes: << And now for something completely different.... If you tuned in late, the story was that 3 weeks ago books critical of AA suddenly vanished from the amazon.com bestseller lists. I sent them the query below and within 48 hours the lists were fixed and all the good stuff was back where it belonged. NOW I get THIS answer. What's going on here? Anybody got a clue? >> <snipped letters for brevity> Hey Wally, This was a curious response. They obvously didn't understand your question. That misunderstanding did lead to an interesting little bit of information as to just how Amazon responds to complaints about those books by steppers though. Does make you go hmmmmmmm... Bette ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 19, 1998 Report Share Posted July 19, 1998 In a message dated 98-07-19 08:34:57 EDT, you write: > And now for something completely different.... If you tuned in late, the > story was that 3 weeks ago books critical of AA suddenly vanished from the > amazon.com bestseller lists. I sent them the query below and within 48 hours > the lists were fixed and all the good stuff was back where it belonged. NOW > I get THIS answer. What's going on here? Anybody got a clue? >> Well, that was weird. It appears that she assumed that you were saying the opposite of what you were. Being a conspiracy theorist, I gotta wonder if that doesn't tell us a whole hell of a lot about what happened. Perhaps in response to Markus' critique of the BT, our friends from arna lauched an e- mail campaign against amazon.com. (similar to the ones they do to ISPs) Because of this, someone at amazon.com altered the lists to make everyone happy. Then they either got changed back because (a) e-mail against it ( someone told them they couldn't do that or © they chickened out. Now this lady thinks you are one of the steppers and is trying to pacify you. But considering the pro-AA slant to her post, either she just tries to tell everyone what she thinks they want to hear or amazon.com (or employees thereof) definitely has an agenda. Kim ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 19, 1998 Report Share Posted July 19, 1998 This seems a bit far-fetched. Would " How AA Failed Me " really be a title? Amazon speaks! >And now for something completely different.... If you tuned in late, the >story was that 3 weeks ago books critical of AA suddenly vanished from the >amazon.com bestseller lists. I sent them the query below and within 48 hours >the lists were fixed and all the good stuff was back where it belonged. NOW >I get THIS answer. What's going on here? Anybody got a clue? > >(sent 6/29) >Dear 'Health-Mind-Body' Editor, > >I was just browsing through the best-seller lists of the various >sub-categories under 'recovery' and I was amazed to find that, with only one >exception, all books critical of, or offering alternatives to, Alcoholics >Anonymous and other 12-Step organizations have mysteriously vanished from >the lists sometime during the past month. For example, Jack Trimpey's book >on Rational Recovery was (if I recall correctly) at #1 in the Substance >Abuse category quite recently and right up there near the top on another >list. Now it is nowhere to be found. Other omissions include Audrey >Kishline's 'Moderation Management', Bufe's 'AA - Cult or Cure', Ken >Ragge's 'The Real AA', and Herbert Fingarette's 'Heavy Drinking.' > >I would hate to think that Amazon.com is deliberately rigging the lists to >keep these admittedly controversial works out of sight, but other >explanations (coincidence?) don't seem sufficient. In the past year I have >been a very satisfied customer of Amazon (probably $200 in total orders) and >I have recommended your service to quite a few avid readers. That can't >continue unless my confidence in the honesty of your book-lists is restored. > >Sincerely, >Walter G. Trice >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >(received 7/18) >Dear Mr. Trice, >The recovery and other booklists that you refer to are based on >customers' actual purchases, so we're not " rigging " them to be critical >of AA. I know plenty of people who would probably be dead right now >without AA, and we're certainly not trying to exclude it or any other >12-step program from our lists. There has been a preponderance of >anti-12-step-program books out there lately, including " How AA Failed >Me, " which is due out in August. These books manage to get plenty of >publicity, they sell well, and therefore they're appearing on our lists. >These books are also popular with book clubs, support groups, etc., and >we therefore get bulk orders for them. >Thanks for writing. >Yours truly, >a nsen >Health, Mind & Body editor >ericaj@... > > > > >---- >Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ >To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... >To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... >-- >Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! > ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 19, 1998 Report Share Posted July 19, 1998 At 08:34 AM 7/19/98 -0400, Wally T. wrote: >And now for something completely different.... If you tuned in late, the >story was that 3 weeks ago books critical of AA suddenly vanished from the >amazon.com bestseller lists. I sent them the query below and within 48 hours >the lists were fixed and all the good stuff was back where it belonged. NOW >I get THIS answer. What's going on here? Anybody got a clue? Hmm... >(received 7/18) >Dear Mr. Trice, >The recovery and other booklists that you refer to are based on >customers' actual purchases, so we're not " rigging " them to be critical >of AA. I know plenty of people who would probably be dead right now >without AA, and we're certainly not trying to exclude it or any other >12-step program from our lists. Hmmm. I'm trying to imagine someone saying " I know plenty of people who would be dead right now without reading Sue Grafton's mysteries... " And I notice the " rigging " referred to here is the OPPOSITE of what you were asking about in your letter. You were implying they were being rigged to be pro-AA, NOT critical of AA. But this does seem to establish an agenda. >There has been a preponderance of >anti-12-step-program books out there lately, including " How AA Failed >Me, " which is due out in August. These books manage to get plenty of >publicity, they sell well, and therefore they're appearing on our lists. Sounds like the tone is, " I'm sorry, but these anti-AA books DO have to be put on our lists, because they actually do sell well " . I suspect she took your letter to mean the opposite of what you were saying because she may have received many other emails to the effect of " What in the hell are these anti-AA books doing on your lists? Don't you know you're killing people? " , and without carefully reading, though your letter was along those lines. >These books are also popular with book clubs, support groups, etc., and >we therefore get bulk orders for them. >Thanks for writing. >Yours truly, >a nsen >Health, Mind & Body editor >ericaj@... Perhaps you can ask someone further up Amazon management about this, documenting all correspondence. ----- http://www.mindspring.com/~benbradley ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 22, 1998 Report Share Posted July 22, 1998 Hi Dave, fine with me. Jack has helped me recently, including telling me abt Lois's book on the RR approach to food problems, so if he's interested, by all means. P. On Wed, 22 Jul 1998 00:42:11 -0600 dhester wrote: > At 05:49 PM 7/21/98 +0100, you wrote: > > > >>Hi Wally > >> > >>Apparently when the boys first went out to Nam the White > >>House was deluges with supportive mail. had a graph > <snip> > > Pete and Wally, > Could I have your permission to forward this post in it's entirety to Jack > and Lois Trimpey? I trained with him some 5 years ago and I'm sure he would > be interested in this interchange. I'm still in close contact with Jack and > Lois. > > Such as you describe has been observed countless times before (churches that > promised meeting space -- which they do for AA, NA ... reconsidering and > realizing all the rooms are real busy, and there are " insurance " problems, > so no to RR ... that sort of stuff, but I think this Amazon retailer thing > is an internet first. > > Trimpey might want to print a synopsis of the incident in the Journal of > Rational Recovery, btw. With names like " Wally, " he prints " xxxxxx " wrote: " > Guess that would make you yyyyyyyy, Pete, if he prints it. > > Regards, HDave > dhester@... > > > Pete ---------------------- Cool Briton My Vesta dents your Porsche PERSONALITY-DISORDERS LIST: http://rdz.acor.org/athenaeum/lists.phtml?personality-disorders _____________________ ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 23, 1998 Report Share Posted July 23, 1998 In message , Cool Briton writes >Hi Dave, > >fine with me. Jack has helped me recently, including >telling me abt Lois's book on the RR approach to food >problems, so if he's interested, by all means. Hi, I'd be interested in this book about food problems, have you got any details on it?? -- M Bristol England ICQ#7099782 ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 24, 1998 Report Share Posted July 24, 1998 Hi : Taming the Feast Beast (Delacorte, 1994), $12.95 + $10 shipping = $22.95 VISA/MC welcome. Cranking up the Amazon conspiracy still further, i would have bet my ass that Amazon listed the book as out of print, but the above info (from a post by Jack ) suggests its still available. if you cant get it form Amazon, you could visit the RR websitre and see if you can get it from there! P. On Thu, 23 Jul 1998 20:42:58 +0100 wrote: > Hi, I'd be interested in this book about food problems, have you got any > details on it?? > > > -- > M > Bristol > England ICQ#7099782 > Pete ---------------------- Cool Briton My Vesta dents your Porsche PERSONALITY-DISORDERS LIST: http://rdz.acor.org/athenaeum/lists.phtml?personality-disorders _____________________ ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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