Greeny News

Amazon customers trying to buy Mark Lynas 'new book on technology and environment, Species of god , Yesterday stated that the paper version from the sale of the retailers had (there remains the Kindle Edition) drawn. As I write this on Saturday morning, the product page contains the following message:

Item Under Review

This product is not currently offered by Amazon.co.uk because a customer recently told us that the item he or she received was not as described.We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. In the meantime, you may still find this product available from other sellers on this page.

I have a copy of the book for review, and I do not understand how the product differs from the description, or even like this, a book in the first place rather than, say, a TV or stereo system can be used. The most reasonable explanation I can come up with is something like a faulty bearing, but if so it 'sa very strange message to set up.

Lynas himself believes it may be a result of disgruntled critics. Like George Monbiot he has been the subject of frenzied abuse from anti-nuclear and anti-capitalist greens for his stance on topics like nuclear power, "At the George 's debate in London [Thursday] night I actually had to go sooner than someone screamed and tried to confront me," He told me yesterday.

I'm not generally given to conspiracy theories, but as far as I can tell it has to \ be a kind of campaign "Hack 'of the Amazon sales page - the book was withdrawn and has therefore fallen on the Billboard charts.

I can not think of many candidates from all those who have to send me negative, hateful e-mails and postings related blogs. However, I have no idea about the real truth behind this - I just know that it ruined the introduction of species to God, the first full day of sales.

So far, Amazon has offered no explanation to Lynas or his publishers:

"I asked my publisher this way with Amazon, but they were unable to determine the location, either whatI s going on or how to fix it. Someone told me that this message should only apply to faulty hardware sold by Amazon are not books. "

I tried to reach 'reply've yet to my e-mail, so I assume it' their press office last night and this morning for comment and / or explanation, but nobody picked up the phone, and she \ s nobody in until Monday. If I get an answer I 'll update this blog (or post a new one).

I can 't see any reasons for the described customer complaints at Amazon' s website. If it turns out that these is have taken the result of misfortune rather than cock-up, and it 's so easy, a book from the shelves of such a large distribution, then we could witness the start of a very worrying trend.

Until someone gets an answer from the company but we can 't be sure what happened. It 's possible that there is an innocent explanation, in this case should give Amazon a lot more information when they do this sort of thing in the future. A dealer of their size and influence has the duty to open and clear about incidents like this.