College and Research Libraries


BOOK REVIEWS 
Book Pirating in Taiwan. By David Kaser. 

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania 
Press, 1969. ix, 154p. $6.50. ( 69-12289'). 

Perhaps any reference to piracy whets 
the reading appetite; in any case, David 
Kaser's book presents a suspenseful ac-
count of a bedeviling situation in the book 
publishing world. The book has much to 
offer for serious thought; it happens also 
to be entertaining, a quality that never 
prejudices a judgment. 

The chapter headings are tempting. 
Witness a few: "Through Tara's Halls: 
The Beginnings of Copyright"; "A Lick and 
a Promise: First Attempts at Resolution"; 
"The Carrot and the Stick: Reactions on 
Taiwan"; "And Never the Twain . . . : 
Negotiations Flounder"; "Hope Springs 
Eternal . . . : New Efforts to Bargain"; 
"Dashed Hopes and Greater Chaos: The 
Situation Worsens" ; and "This Point 
Whither: The Present Scene and Current 
Trends." 

The Irish reference recalls the sixth 
century decision of King Diarmuid against 
St. Columba who, without permission, had 
copied a psalter. "To every cow her calf; 
therefore to every book its copy." The 
tangled webs resulting from that decision 
have stretched and strengthened through 
the years and Kaser writes a short, in-
formative background to the understand-
ing of his present concern . He does not 
overlook the struggles of noted English 
writers with the vagaries of nineteenth 
century reprinting in the United States. 

The reader is equally well served by a 
brief description of the status of literary 
property in the East. Since the American 
copyright laws had become fairly stable, 
American publishers found it most un-
pleasant to be confronted with dwindling 
sales and a dictum agreed to by China 
and the United States in 1903: "It is un-

58/ 

Recent Publications 
derstood that Chinese subjects shall be at 
liberty to make, print and sell original 
translations into Chinese of any works 
written or of maps compiled by a citizen 
of the United States." During the 1950s it 
became apparent that far more than trans-
lations into Chinese were being printed; 
furthermore, the books were being pub-
lished not only for students in Taiwan but 
for other centers like Hong Kong and 
Macao, and finally for sale in the States. 

There follows a detailed account of the 
frustrating efforts of American publishers 
to come to terms with this flagrant piracy. 
Misunderstandings on a colossal scale 
complicated the paths of decency and 
fairness. "Almost all of the Taiwan reprint-
ers had done exactly what good business-
men have always done everywhere-they 
operated their activities to the limit of the 
law in the interest of profits and what they 
felt to be the public good." The ever-in-
creasing hordes of students needed books; 
book prices were high; reprinting seemed 
to be as kindly as it was unauthorized. 

Kaser clarifies the maze of negotiation, 
compromise, and self-interest with a nar-
rative style that untangles and delights. 
He concludes on a note of subdued opti-
mism, having told a good yarn while in-
creasing the reader's awareness of an im-
portant facet of the world's book trade. A 
satisfying index guarantees the book's use-
fulness to future students of copyright. 
The same index comes in handy for more 
casual readers; it helps them keep track of 
the names and numbers of the players.-
Philip ]. McNiff, Boston Public Library. 

The Library of The College of William 
and Mary in Virginia, 1693-1793. By 
John M. Jennings. Charlottesville: The 
University Press of Virginia, 1968. xvi, 
91 (1) p. $5.00. (68-59130). 

Much of the intellectual history of co-
lonial America has gone up in smoke-
literally. One need only recall the fire