Roosevelt and Hopkins: When Censorship Is Good

In reading dozens of books about World War II, I kept coming across references to a ghostly figure named Harry Hopkins. He had no official title, yet his fingerprints were everywhere. It reached a point where I came to understand Hopkins was — unbelievably — a kind of shadow co-president with Franklin D. Roosevelt. I knew the definitive account was Robert E. Sherwood’s “Roosevelt and Hopkins: An Intimate History” published in 1949 and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize the following year. I downloaded it onto my Kindle and was blown away. Since no reviews existed for the Kindle edition, I wrote one and submitted it. Below is my review. The Amazon Censors The review ran for a short time, whereupon the title disappeared from Kindle along with my review. I was stunned. I absolutely believe it is the most important book I ever read. Why would the Amazon censors strike? Note: I tried to reach someone in authority at Amazon, but they are all hiding under digital rocks. My theory of what happened: Below is the last paragraph of my review. “NOTE: I ordered this on Kindle. It was scanned but not edited. It is filled with typos and occasional gibberish. Do not be deterred. Soldier on. Next to Roosevelt and Hopkins, Obama and Jarrett are a joke.” With all these typos and errors, this was the work of an amateur. No self-respecting publisher would allow this gobbledygook in the text. Nor would a Robert E. Sherwood family member permit these errors. Chances are the book was scanned and sent in for Kindle publication by a petty thief — who disregarded U.S. Copyright Laws — and was on the hunt for free royalty money. About Copyright — A Lightning Fast Digression You are invited to check out my 2007 story of Kessinger Publishing of Whitefish, Montana. This husband and wife team is in the business of stealing works in copyright and hoping nobody will notice. In this case they stole my father’s biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Kessingers’ pirated edition is still being offered for sale on the Internet. It takes 13 seconds to find out if a title protected by copyright. Google “Copyright Renewal” Click on Copyright Renewal Database: Welcome https://collections.stanford.edu/copyrightrenewals/ Click on “Simple Search” In this case I typed in “Roosevelt and Hopkins.” The following appeared: Title: Roosevelt and Hopkins; an intimate history NM: foreword, additions & revisions Author: Robert E. Sherwood [1896-1955] Registration Date: 15 Mar 50 Renewal Date: 3 Apr 77 Registration Number: A41914 Renewal ld: R660854 Renewing Entity: Madeline Sherwood (Mrs. Robert E. Sherwood) (W) (Boldface above by DH) Elapsed time of search: less than 13 seconds. By renewing in that specific time window, Madeline Hurlock Sherwood (1899-1989) guaranteed the “Roosevelt and Hopkins” copyright will be in force until 2045 (95 years from date of original copyright). Amazon the Enabler By publishing this mucked-up edition of “Roosevelt and Hopkins” without first checking if the person making the submission owned the rights or had permission of the copyright holder, Amazon abetted the theft. Shame on Amazon. At the same time, the last paragraph of my review — screaming “typos!” and “gibberish!” — must have alerted Amazon officialdom who took action and scrapped the entire project. Kudos to Amazon. Takeaways to Consider: I am deeply sorry this happened. In my opinion this is a hugely important book. It directly relates to America in the world today. I believe every politician and every voter should read “Roosevelt and Hopkins” for an understanding about how government should work and how America can be saved from the do-nothing, hate-mongering political class. If any reader knows a grandchild — or great-grandchild — of author Robert E. Sherwood or members of Edgar Stillman, Jr. family, email me: dennyhatch@yahoo.com. This book is too important to simply let die of neglect. Meanwhile, any work in public domain (expired copyright) is free for the taking — words, designs, music, songs or software. Any creative work under copyright that can be digitized can be instantly reproduced and sold anonymously all over the world. Every creator of intellectual property is at risk. WWW stands for Wild West Web. Denny Hatch is marketing consultant, copywriter and designer. The author of four novels and 7 business books, his newest is “Write Everything Right!” CLICK HERE to read the first 3 Chapters FREE. For Kindle Edition information, CLICK HERE. Denny can be reached at: dennyhatch@yahoo.com • www.dennyhatch.com

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Roosevelt and Hopkins: When Censorship Is Good

Denny Hatch

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