 David Irving[Photo by Michael Hentz, for
The New York Times]
Letter to the Editor
The Sunday Telegraph
[Not published]
The Editor,
The Sunday Telegraph,
Fleet Street,
London EC4 |
| London, January 10, 1992 Sir,
IT SEEMS that my book
Hitler's War,
with its sumptuous colour photos, has again set
the cat among the pigeons. You will recall that I personally delivered several thousand
copies to five hundred bookstores from Inverness to Penzance before Christmas; on
January 22 I shall set out--preceded by a ton of the books--to South Africa to continue
the sales drive. Now it appears we are up against the kind of small-minded censorship
about which you have already published one item--censorship in both usual and unusual forms.- A journalist, Mr Adam Smallman of Southsea (0705-294 635), phoned me just
now: the "local community" is indignant to find the book in W H Smith Ltd bookshops all
along the south coast, and how could I justify it?
- W H Smith Ltd of Worthing, which
has invited me to a signing session on January 18, have today cancelled this on order from
Head Office (see their letter).
- W H Smith's Head Office, chief book buyer, Madelaine
(sic) Smith (0793-616161 ext. 2195) phoned this morning, forbidding us to direct-sell
this book into her branches, even though local managers, having seen it, ordered large
quantities for their shelves. Coincidence, or has W H Smith been got at? [1]
- Perhaps
most intriguing of all--in shops I visit I have been puzzled to find the book tucked
out of sight the wrong way round on bottom shelves.
Last night a dinner guest here
told me he was in Waterstone's, Hampstead, two days ago and saw somebody furtively
entering the shop, taking the book of its prominent shelf, and hiding it at the bottom.
Who are these fiends? And are they already buying their tickets for South Africa, I
wonder.Yours faithfully,
David Irving |
David Irving 1998