Amazon gives lame excuse for removing ‘offensive’ dystopian novel about mass migration ruining Europe
The late French writer Jean Raspail; Micheline Pelletier/Sygma/Getty Images
Vauban Books, an imprint of Redoubt Press, published a new edition in September, generating significant waves and sales. After months of sales of the title on its platform, Amazon U.S. removed the paperback listing for the new edition on Friday.
Vauban Books editor in chief Ethan Rundell said in a statement on Sunday that his publishing house was “informed by Amazon that the book is in violation of the company’s ‘offensive content’ policy. Amazon has supplied no information as to which portions of the book are offensive nor to whom.”
After noting that Vauban had sold roughly 20,000 paperback copies of the book since first listing it for presale on Amazon last summer and that it nets an average rating of 4.8 stars, Rundell said, “It may be no coincidence that the listing was removed one day after New York Magazine published a critical article on Vice President Vance that referenced the book. This echoes a 2019 campaign that targeted Stephen Miller, leading the novel’s previous publisher to drop the title from its catalogue.”
Rundell noted that regardless of whether Amazon chooses to distribute the title, Vauban Books “remains committed to keeping the novel in print and accessible worldwide.”
Shortly after making the initial statement, Vauban Books announced that Amazon U.S. had also removed the hardcover edition of the novel.
There was a great deal of backlash over the book’s removal.
Nathan Pinkoski, a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America who penned the introduction for the new edition, called the reported removal of the paperback option “an egregious act of censorship.”
“Amazon is committed to the burning of your fine oak doors,” wrote BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre, referencing the following line from the novel, “Your universe has no meaning to them. [The invading migrants] will not try to understand. They will be tired, they will be cold, they will make a fire with your beautiful oak door.”
Former Idaho Solicitor General Theo Wold wrote, “Amazon just censored a book first published in 1973 that depicts the destruction of the west through third-world mass migration. I’m sure all the people who whine about ‘book bans’ when a school board prevents 6-year-olds from reading about gay sex will be just as upset.”
Jason Kenney, Canada’s former Conservative minister of immigration and former Alberta premier, tweeted, “This is outrageous. Amazon handles up to 80% of book distribution in North America. A ban by Amazon is a virtual ban of book sales and distribution. I have never read The Camp of the Saints (although I am now moved to do so,) so offer no judgement about its merits. But there is no denying that it is a widely read novel with a significant cultural impact on France, and around the world.”
It appears the backlash prompted Amazon to rethink things.
As of Monday morning, the paperback version of the novel is available again on Amazon.
When asked for comment about the novel’s removal, Amazon told Blaze News that an “error” was responsible for the paperback listing of the book’s temporary removal and that other formats were not affected.
An Amazon spokesperson told Blaze News, “We’ve resolved an error that briefly affected the availability of a paperback listing of The Camp of the Saints, and the title is now restored.”
Vauban Books stated after its title reappeared on the platform, “Amazon has still not offered an explanation as to why the novel was taken down. We have received NO explanation, much less apology, for the deletion of the paperback Friday and hardcover this morning.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.