Letters sent to book stores asking them not to promote 'A Natural History of Rape'

The following letter was sent to Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble with a request to avoid promoting the book in their stores. Both stores have responded positively (see below).

From: C. Cairo
To: Information

Sent: Friday, February 04, 2000 3:24 AM

Subject: New Book Request

I would be very pleased if you draw no special attention to a new book entitled, "A Natural History of Rape" by Randy Thornhill and Craig Palmer. The so-called "theories" which these men propose are deeply offensive to women, insensitive and downright preposterous. You may have already received correspondence regarding this book from several of your regular customers who are friends and relatives of mine.

I do not believe in censorship, and so I do not ask that you refrain from selling this book - just that you do not promote it. To gain some insight into my request, please see the following web site which includes correspondence between one of the book's authors and my dear friend, Laura Hartley.

From:         Borders Customer Service
To:             C. Cairo
Sent:         Monday, February 07, 2000 12:02 PM
Subject:     Your Borders Inquiry

Dear Ms. Cairo,
Thank you for contacting Borders Customer Care with your concern.

I have checked our central database and see that our orders for this book are consistent with those of any new book that is neither being heavily pushed nor expected to be a big seller. In fact, our database has notations indicating the controversial nature of this title. I have also checked around here at the Home Office and have not found any evidence of any special treatment being planned for this book.

If you have any further questions or another issue ever arises, please feel free to write or call us again.

Nealie McBean
Borders Customer Care Rep
100 Phoenix Dr
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
(800) 566-6616

From:         Amazon Customer Service
To:             C. Cairo
Sent:         Saturday, February 05, 2000 3:29 AM
Subject:     Your Amazon.com Inquiry

Dear Ms. Cairo,
Thank you for writing to Amazon.com with your concerns about "A Natural History of Rape" by Randy Thornhill and Craig Palmer. This is an issue we take very seriously and we wanted to share with you our goals with respect to our catalog. Our goal is to support freedom of expression and to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover and buy any title they might be seeking.

That selection includes some titles which most people, including employees of Amazon.com, may find distasteful or otherwise objectionable. While we do not censor items from our catalog, I wanted to reassure you that Amazon.com does not promote these kinds of titles. Also, we do not endorse any opinions expressed by individual authors, musical artists, or filmmakers. We value all feedback from our customers, and I thank you again for taking the time to send us your comments about this issue. We hope you will allow us to continue to serve you.