I got sent the Powells Book official press release on the Andy Ngo book. Here is an interesting extract:

Since the first published texts there have been calls to disown different printed work, and at Powell’s we have a long history of experiencing these calls, and the threats they bring with them, firsthand. Until recently the threats were from those who objected that we carried books written by authors we respected or subjects we supported. The threats were real but we could feel virtuous — we were bringing the written word to the light of day. We could feel proud of our choices, even when the choices created conflict.

Our current fight does not feel virtuous.  It feels ugly and sickening to give any air to writing that could cause such deep pain to members of our community. But we have always sold books that many of us would reject.  We have fought for decades, at Powell’s, for the right of a book to stand on its own. Doing so is one of our core values as booksellers.

Powell’s Commitment to Free Speech

How’s that again? “we carried books written by authors we respected or subjects we supported”

Mein Kampf: Adolf Hitler: Trade Paperback: 9780395925034: Powell’s Books

My Autobiography with the Political & Social Doctrine of Fascism By Benito Mussolini

Francisco Franco by Joaquin Arraras (He was the propagandist for Franco during the Spanish Civil War)

So the biographies of the three men that created and defined Fascism for the world are “subjects respected” by Powells, but Andy Ngo’s book makes them “feels ugly and sickening.”

It is just BS to appease the little local fascist, specially after the boatload of money that they know it comes with the amount of free advertisement provided, so they are still selling the book online. That is so Gracious and Brave!

If I buy the book, it won’t be via Powells, that is for sure.