electronic books

In order for electronic books to live up to their billing, the system in which nonfiction writers get permission to use copyrighted material in new work has to be fixed.

Amazon.com is trying to get more people to buy the electronic books that are compatible with its Kindle e-reader _ even if they don't have the gadget.

Last week Amazon did something despicable. They violated the privacy of every Kindle user when without warning they remotely deleted copies of George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm from Kindle Readers.

It seems that Amazon had determined these books had been purchased "illegally." (The irony of choosing these particular books goes without saying.) This set off a firestorm of protest and criticism aimed directly at Amazon and raised some very serious questions about electronic books (and electronic content) in general.

If it could be deleted or even altered, what could that do to the...