The $5 Billion Misunderstanding

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sublight

Guest
Have any of you seen or ever been able to get your hands on this book? I am having a very hard time getting my hands on one....
 
Cheapest one seems to be available via German Amazon:
http://www.amazon.de/gp/offer-listing/1557507775/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

Martin
 
YES!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of my German buddies is getting it while we speak..... :)

On the old A12 web site the author said it would be available electronically, that never happened.
 
The best source on the subject - and not because it's the only book dedicated to ATA. Period.
 
flateric said:
The best source on the subject - and not because it's the only book dedicated to ATA. Period.
Click to expand...

Maybe somebody should make a .pdf out of it..... ;)
 
No way. Jim is a friend.
 
I’d hate to bust the bubble before you get the book Sublight but it is almost entirely about the contracting mess that the Navy got into trying to buy the A-12A. What little there is about the technical side of the ATA has been covered in this forum. This is probably why the book is so hard to get these days; every law firm in the USA wants a copy so they can brief their associates before finding some work in the ongoing legal dispute of ATA contract determination.
 
I've been after it a while too - mind you, I don't wish to pay almost 1000USD for it.

Regards,

Greg
 
GTX said:
I've been after it a while too - mind you, I don't wish to pay almost 1000USD for it.
Click to expand...

$1,000, you're kidding! I'd sell my copy for half that, quarter that, 1/8 that... ;D
 
I've got it...and am unimpressed. It's basically a statement of McD/GD's initial position that the Navy had somehow fooled them into signing an unworkable contract...which got shot down later in court.
 
Mike OTDP said:
I've got it...and am unimpressed. It's basically a statement of McD/GD's initial position that the Navy had somehow fooled them into signing an unworkable contract...which got shot down later in court.
Click to expand...

I was able to get a copy recently, a Goodwill store was selling it via Amazon for a reasonable price.
It's true that there is not much about the technology, and there is a lot about the politics and legal aspects. If you're interested in the aircraft it may not be worthwhile to pay a high price for the book.

I have a number of issues with the content of the book, and some of the things that are missing from it.
 
quellish said:
Mike OTDP said:
I've got it...and am unimpressed. It's basically a statement of McD/GD's initial position that the Navy had somehow fooled them into signing an unworkable contract...which got shot down later in court.
Click to expand...

I was able to get a copy recently, a Goodwill store was selling it via Amazon for a reasonable price.
It's true that there is not much about the technology, and there is a lot about the politics and legal aspects. If you're interested in the aircraft it may not be worthwhile to pay a high price for the book.

I have a number of issues with the content of the book, and some of the things that are missing from it.
Click to expand...

So you're the one who beat me to that - I was conversing with the seller regarding shipping prices when it went....

Regards,

Greg
 
Tried to buy it from an ebay seller who is now MIA..... I also have a backup purchase in Germany of all places....

I will be making a PDF out of this, and if the author is reading this, I will be more than happy to provide you with this PDF if you want to sell it to people, because the book is certainly ridiculously hard to get a hold of.
 
The copy of this book sold on Amazon Germany, was sent from Los Angeles. I had it picked up and its on its way back.

Why in the hell would they sell it on Amazon Deutschland instead of the USA????
 
I just got my second copy of the book from Germany. Do you know why he sold it in Germany?

Because it was stolen from a library!!!

No. I am not giving it back to the library. I am ripping the pages out, feeding them into a scanner and making a pdf.
 
sublight said:
No. I am not giving it back to the library. I am ripping the pages out, feeding them into a scanner and making a pdf.
Click to expand...

And you think this is an honorable thing to do? By your admission, you're both receiving stolen property and violating copyright.
 
Sublight

If it was stolen, you are obliged to return it. Handling stolen goods is a crime.

As is turning it into a PDF. The main reason I have not yet published my book is the almost certain knowledge that someone will feel aggrieved at having to pay for it and turn it into a PDF, e-mail that to friends for free and suddenly, why should anyone pay?

Years of research, months of writing, at least thousands of pounds sunk at the author's own expense are what it takes to make a book about projects. A few lucky folk scrape a living from it, most are lucky to scrape back a percentage of their costs. It is mostly a labour of love. A few quid is a small price to pay. If the price is too high, try a system called inter library loan.

If you are foolish enough to advertise your breach of copyright online I think the administrators of this site are obliged to report your crime. I hope they do, as books are the main source of all the hours of pleasure this site usually gives its many honest users.

Shame on you.
 
Agreed. Scanning and posting books is wrong, and offering them here breaks the forum rules, let alone anything else.
 
I think it would be appropriate for Sublight to be removed from the forum for this. He has confessed to committing one crime in terms of handling stolen goods and has now confessed to a second in his plans to break the copyright. All this on a forum which is inhabited by a number of people who have produced books or intend to do so in the future. I find Sublights continued presence here, in light of his current course of action, to be as abhorrent as his criminal activities.
 
sublight said:
I just got my second copy of the book from Germany. Do you know why he sold it in Germany?

Because it was stolen from a library!!!

No. I am not giving it back to the library. I am ripping the pages out, feeding them into a scanner and making a pdf.
Click to expand...

Mr. Sublight, sir:
Please do not do this. Many people feel very strongly on this subject, and a significant percentage of them (myself included) have been victims of intellectual property theft. There are a wide range of opinions and beliefs expressed in and encouraged on this forum (as it should be), but condoning theft is not one of them. It is dishonorable; please do not lower yourself to this level.
 
I work for a media company and it's a bit disheartening to see a book you've spent months producing scanned cover to cover on a "file sharing" site. Copyright simply means 'right to copy.' If you have no such rights then please, take the time to obtain a copy legally.

I dare say too many believe it is OK to download something because an 'actual product' has not been stolen, just digital bits. All I can say is, please don't steal.



Ed
 
Post it on Z-Share and send me a link......... :p

Just kidding guys.

But frankly, removing Sublight is the wrong thing to do. Thats going to far. So far as we know, he hasn't done anything...yet.

If he reads what's been posted here, he won't.

As for the missing library book, who hasn't "forgotten" to turn in a library book or two before. Get off of that already.
 
All I have to say is this: Let he who has never scanned from a book throw the first stone.

Tens of members on this forum are delighted daily by the scans people like Justo make from their huge library to shed some light on a particular subject. Sure, it's not cover to cover copy, but it IS copyright infringement... And yet everyone around here seems to agree and even find it enjoyable. Why be so harsh on Sublight? Surely he deserves being told he was wrong, but give him a break, or at least a chance to realize his mistake. I don't think he ever said that the PDF was for sharing or making profit.

Remember that he has PAID for the book. Buying a second-hand book is not a crime. The author got his money the first time around. The fact that the book he purchased had been stolen by the seller is not his fault!

***

Sublight, if you read this (and if you speak German) try to send an e-mail to the library the book was stolen from and ask them if that's really what happened (sometimes libraries discard books they have duplicates of or that are obsolete). If so, ask them if they want you to send it to them and if they can pay for your expenses. If they say "don't bother", then at least you can keep the book without feeling guilty about it. Now one more question: why tear off pages from the book in the first place? What good will it do? That's really the one bit I didn't get from reading you.
 
This thread is a classic example of the "opinion = arseholes” theory of humanity; everyone has one and most people don’t think their’s stinks. There is an enormous difference between scanning a single page or image from a book and scanning the whole thing. Sublight is freely by his own admission planning on reproducing this book because it is hard to buy a copy because it is currently out of print (see original A-12A thread). It’s theft plain and simple and as previously discussed when he was first talking about this on the actual A-12A thread something that will lead to reduced motivation for a second print run.

What really amazes me apart from stealing from libraries and the Naval Institute Press is he and his supporters clearly haven’t read the book in question. It’s not a detailed history of the development of the A-12A; it’s a detailed history of the CONTRACTING process of the A-12A. It’s dead boring! Sublight's punishment for trying to steal this book should include him actually reading it...
 
Topic locked.

The matter is being dealt with, posting opinions here doesn't help anything.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Please donate to support the forum.

Back
Top Bottom