From the Guardian
Historian Orlando Figes agrees to pay damages for fake reviews
Orlando Figes posted reviews on Amazon praising his own work and rubbishing that of his rivals
guardian.co.uk, Friday 16 July 2010 19.21 BST
Orlando Figes: 'I have made some foolish errors.' Photograph: Eamonn McCabe
One of Britain's leading historians, Orlando Figes, is to pay damages and costs to two rivals who launched a libel case after a row erupted over fake reviews posted on the Amazon website.
The award-winning Figes, professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London, admitted in April to posting critical reviews of books by a number of authors, including fellow historians Rachel Polonsky and Robert Service, praising his own work and rubbishing that of his rivals.
Initially, Figes denied the allegations, threatening legal action against colleagues, journals and newspapers that suggested he had written the reviews.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/16/orlando-figes-fake-amazon-reviews
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8 comments:
I have always suspected there are fake reviews on amazon--either too good or too bad. The names always seem fraudulent.
Gotta watch those academics.
I always use the quote I got from my Mom's Amazon review of my fourth book: "This isn't nearly as bad as his last novel."
Ed, that made me chuckle. Gotta love Mom's take.
This is very strange. Orlando Figes is a great writer. I read "Natasha's Dance" and "The Whisperers." They are both at the head of the field of Russian cultural histories. Why would Figes be such a sore winner? That's very odd behavior at this point in his career. It's like Stephen King trashing other thriiler writers.
Dan Luft
"I've made some foolish errors." That's what he has to say for himself? No--a foolish error is when you add instead of subtract the amount of your electric bill in your checkbook. What this guy did was a lot worse--in addition to being petty and mean-spirited.
Vanity, vanity. Thy name is vanity.
That is my take as to the question of "Why?"
Tom Roberts
Sheesh. I have never done anything like that. I have never published a fake review on Amazon or anywhere else.
I do reviews for Amazon and in my blog, but this was crazy. Not surprised it happens, though, bc I've seen other "reviews" for SF and fantasy stories that you just know were phoned in by the author himself....
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