Fickle Fact and Fickler Fiction

Holocaust Controversies Persist

The Purpose of the Communication . . .
HEN I began to think about it, I realized that I had been doing what every writer, unconsciously, is always doing: a writer is never listening to what is being said, he is never listening to what he is being told. He is listening to what is not being said, he is listening to what he is not being told, which means that he is trying to discover the purpose of the communication."
-- James Baldwin, The Evidence of Things Not Seen, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1985, p. 95

IN THE spring of 1994, before and after the Spielberg movie Schindler's List won the Academy Award for best picture of the year, essayist and playwright Bradley Smith bought the first, second and third edition of Thomas Keneally's novel.
He soon noticed the strange disappearing act with regard to the word "fiction" among the usual publication data on the back side of the title page.
Whereas the words "fiction" and "fictitiously" appeared five times in the first edition, and the word "fiction" appeared three times in the second edition, both words had been excluded from the publication data in the third edition.
Smith noted these omissions in his Summer 1994 issue of his Campus Update for Editors (p. 7).
During this same period, the literary supplement ("Focus") in weekend editions of the Toronto Globe and Mail began listing the Keneally novel in the nonfiction section of bestsellers.

The Strange Transition of Schindler's List:

First Edition, purchased March 1994:

[LOGO] TOUCHSTONE Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York. New York 10020

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in pan In any form. This Touchstone Edition © 1993
TOUCHSTONE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc. Designed by Eve Metz Manufactured in the United States of America

5 7 9 10 8 6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Keneally, Thomas. Schindler's List. 1. Schindler, Oskar,. 1908-1974--fiction. 2. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--fiction. 3. World war, 1939-1945--fiction.

I. Title. PR96l9.3.K46S3 1982 823 82-10489 ISBN: 0-671-44977-X 0-671-77972-9 0-671-88031-4

The author extends his grateful appreciation for photographs supplied through the courtesy of Yad Vashem Photographic Service and Leopold Page (Leopold Pfefferberg)

Second Edition, purchased April 1994:

[LOGO] TOUCHSTONE Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020

All rights reserved including the right or reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This Touchstone Edition © 1993 TOUCHSTONE and colophon arc registered trademarks or Simon & Schuster Inc. Designed by Eve Metz Manufactured in the United States of America

13 15 17 19 20 18 16 14 12

Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data is available.

Keneally, Thomas. Schindler's List. 1. Schindler. Oskar. 1908-1974-fiction. 2. Holocaust.Jewish (1939-1945)-fiction. 3. World war, 1939-1945-fiction.

I. Title. PR9619.3.K46S3 1982 823 82-10489 ISBN: 0-671-44977-X 0-671-777972-9 0-67l-88O31-4

The author extends his grateful appreciation for photographs supplied through the courtesy of Yad Vashem Photographic Service and Leopold Page (Leopold Pfefferberg).

Third Edition, purchased May 1994:

[LOGO] TOUCHSTONE Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This Touchstone Edition © 1993 TOUCHSTONE and colophon am registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc. Designed by Eve Metz Manufactured in the United States of America

15 17 19 20 18 16

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available.

82-10499 ISBN: 0-67144977wX 0-67l-77972-9 0-671-88031-4

The author extends his grateful appreciation for photographs supplied through the courtesy or Yad Vashem Photographic Service and Leopold Page (Leopold Pfefferberg)

Bradley Smith's irreverent editorial comment:
"Give 'em another couple years and we may discover we have an original Nuremberg document here."

Harvard's Widener Library lists all editions as fiction, and mentions the change in the title from "Schindler's Ark" to "Schindler's List" in the American Edition:

AUTHOR: Keneally, Thomas.
TITLE: [Schindler's list.]
Schindler's ark / Thomas Keneally.
PUB. INFO: London : Hodder and Stoughton, c1982 (1983 printing)
DESCRIPTION: 432 p. ; 23 cm.
NOTES: American ed. published under title: Schindler's list.

SUBJECTS: *S1 Schindler, Oskar, 1908-1974--Fiction.
*S2 Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Fiction.
*S3 World War, 1939-1945--Fiction.
AUTHORS: *A1 Keneally, Thomas.
LOCATION: Widener: WID-LC PR9619.3.K46 S3x 1983b

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