Dangerously e-books: How do I know if my ebooks have been altered?

[HarryT]

Thanks - very interesting.

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by EbookNovice

Hey all, I've been working to get rid of all of my physical books to the point where 90% of new books I buy are e-books so that I'm not harming the earth. However, one scary thought crept into my mind: What if the e-books I'm reading have been manipulated and their content is wrong? I find this extremely worrying to the point where I haven't been able to sleep.

If this is the type of thing that keeps you up at night, then I either envy you your apparently otherwise carefree existence - or - feel bad that you are experiencing such paranoia

If it bothers you so much, then only buy ebooks from mainstream publishers from mainstream ebookstores. And if that isn't sufficient to quell your worries, buy the paper versions of the books. And if that still isn't sufficient, stop reading. Then you'll have no worries about the issue at all.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by theducks

How did you know if your paper edition was un-modified?

If I give a bibliographic citation for a print book, anybody with the same material as described in the bibliographic citation can assure themselves that the printed text did give the statement that was cited.

With ebooks, even when given the same bibliographic data, there is no assurance that the copy you have, contains the same text as the copy I have.

As to why reputable publishers do it, it is sold to them as a form of DRM, complete with patents issued by the German Patent Office.

Some theological publishers do it, in an attempt to minimize the possibility that nobody will realize that they are not teaching the same thing that they taught two decades ago.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

And that is why the Jewish Bible is sacrosanct and it is heresy to change it, even by one (silent) letter.

Which explains why the Lenningrad Codex and Allepo Codex differ by about 400 characters and several hundred words.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What reason would someone have to do this?

In as much as the publisher in question makes more money from lawsuits, than selling books, and they have a habit of suing first, and asking questions later, I won't name them here.

The company has admitted to changing the content of their ebooks, to minimize detractors using their publications against them. They did the same thing with pbooks, but at least one can find used pbooks with the unchanged material in them.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Catlady

While the original post seems rather overwrought, I think there are legitimate concerns that should be taken seriously. For example, public domain books are sometimes cleansed to make them politically correct according to current sensibilities. Anyone can take it upon himself or herself to "improve" a book and offer it for downloading.

Remedy: Treat the book like you would software, and get it from a legitimate, trusted resource. That's about the best you can do.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Remedy: Treat the book like you would software, and get it from a legitimate, trusted resource. That's about the best you can do.

The issue here is publishers, not vendors. In some fields of study, this is a legitimate, known, existing issue.

The only solution is to do your initial work with ebooks, then locate a hard copy to verify that what you cited is in the hard copy. Ideally, you'll cite first edition, first printing of the work in question.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Fiat_Lux

The issue here is publishers, not vendors. In some fields of study, this is a legitimate, known, existing issue.

Can you give a specific example, please?

[EbookNovice]

Originally Posted by meeera

Step one is to use your critical thinking skills: I'm sure that you can tell a positive view on capitalism from a positive view on communism.

Mostly, though, I'd suggest that if this issue is truly causing you an ongoing lack of sleep and psychological distress, that's not good for you at all, and your problem will not be solved technologically, but with addressing whatever the underlying issues are and developing your coping skills accordingly. Those are for you to explore in meatspace with someone who can help.

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

As meeera said, use your judgement.

Helen

Okay, thanks a lot!

Originally Posted by markom

You can use Google Book search, Amazon or any other similar site for suspicious parts of the book.

Originally Posted by owly

Also look at for reviews. If a books contains misinformation people usually notice and write about it.

Thanks! So reviews and Google Book search. How do I use Amazon for this purpose?

[EbookNovice]

Originally Posted by Catlady

While the original post seems rather overwrought, I think there are legitimate concerns that should be taken seriously. For example, public domain books are sometimes cleansed to make them politically correct according to current sensibilities. Anyone can take it upon himself or herself to "improve" a book and offer it for downloading.

Do you mean overwrought by I'm too anxious OR because I over-wrote the question?

Originally Posted by Tarana

Certainly true for children's books. If you read fairy tales as they were in the 1800s, they compare well with the goriest of modern horror stories. My suggestion is to simply stick with traditional publishers. I certainly didn't miss the hue and cry over the mistypes in the first LOTR ebook.

Okay, thanks.

Originally Posted by jgaiser

The paranoia is strong in this one...

Haha, you're correct! It was just something that concerned me.

Originally Posted by HarryT

True for all sorts of books. Eg the 1847 English translation of "The Count of Monte Cristo" (which is still by far the most commonly-encountered English version) is heavily censored to remove language and scenes from the French original which would have been unacceptable to a Victorian British readership.

Translators take all sorts of liberties with books. The most commonly-found English translation of Jules Verne "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" bears only a passing resemblance to the original. The translator basically rewrote the book.

Thanks, but I'm not reading translated ebooks at all.

[EbookNovice]

Originally Posted by theducks

Editions change:
PC rules, Government regulation (editorial censorship). Corrected of text errors, file corruption (new data errors )

How did you know if your paper edition was un-modified?

Just because it was PRINTED does not mean what you see was what the AUTHOR originally wrote.

But most of the e-books I'm reading are free and are only self-published on a very small level.

Originally Posted by Catlady

There is less chance for mischief with a printed edition.

Right, I thought this too.

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

How could a reputable ebook publisher "mess with" an ebook? They'd have to unpack the book, edit it, re-pack it, and put it out for distribution. Why would they bother? If you get a "messed with" book from an author's website or something, then that's the author's fault for not maintaining security on his website. How could you tell if the book was "messed with", anyway? What you consider to be fallacious reasoning, etc. might be just the author's opinion.

But most of the e-books I'm reading are free and are only self-published on a very small level.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

It is unlikely that your book would be updated with a sanitized version. Some authors do push updated version of their books, but that's to fix mistakes. It is, I suppose possible that an author or their heirs could rewrite a book to sanitize it, but we'd hear about that. Imagine George Orwell's estate decided to update 1984 to have a positive portrayal of Big Brother. They control the copyright, they could cease selling the original and only offer the sanitized version. They could also have it pushed as an update, but there would be a firestorm of controversy.

Thanks, but that's only applicable for a book that's well known. What if the e-book I'm reading is from a self-published author? Even if it's a more popular e-book, it just seems so much easier to make changes without people knowing about it compared to a hard cover book.

[mrscoach]

EbookNovice, if you only read (or mostly read) Public Domain (PD) books or indies, then, yes, you might get erroneous information. Not because someone CHANGED the ebook, but because the information is out of date or was wrong to begin with.

You used an example of a weightlifting book by Arnold Schwarzenegger (too lazy to look up correct spelling). If someone used advice from him they might be in trouble if they didn't also look up more recent developments and thinking in bodybuilding and/or weightligting. Almost all fields have advancements and developments, and what worked years ago might no longer be true. Or was never true to begin with, but was the accepted practice.

Indie books do not have the same level (if any)of fact-checking that published books have, so you wouldn't be sure of accuracy unless you cross-referenced the information yourself, and not necessarily with any websites suggested in the book itself. It would be just as easy for an indie author(s) to print an erroneous book as to put it out in ebook format.

If you ever doubt the validity of any information in any book (in any format), then do due diligence and CHECK the facts. This goes for BPH books as well as indie and PD.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by EbookNovice

Thanks, but that's only applicable for a book that's well known. What if the e-book I'm reading is from a self-published author? Even if it's a more popular e-book, it just seems so much easier to make changes without people knowing about it compared to a hard cover book.

It's possible to alter a self-published book with a small readership, but who would want to sanitize such a book? It's not going to influence many people, after all. When a more well-known book is altered, it creates a firestorm. Such a firestorm took place a couple years ago when someone altered Huckleberry Finn to edit out allegedly objectionable language. It turned out to be a bit of a tempest in a teapot, it didn't supplant the original. The edited version ranks #1,321,511 Paid in Kindle Store. A quick look on Amazon shows in addition to the free version which is at #699, there are unedited versions for sale ranking at #46,519 #15,806 #11,775. Clearly the sanitized edition has lost.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

It's possible to alter a self-published book with a small readership, but who would want to sanitize such a book? It's not going to influence many people, after all. When a more well-known book is altered, it creates a firestorm. Such a firestorm took place a couple years ago when someone altered Huckleberry Finn to edit out allegedly objectionable language.

I was proof-reading one of the books in my H. Rider Haggard anthologies a couple of years back, and I got a scanned edition from "archive.org" to proof it against. Much to my disgust, someone (in the original book, not the scan) had blacked out every instance of the word "nigger" in the book. Such things happen with paper books, not just ebooks. It's just easier to spot in paper books.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I was proof-reading one of the books in my H. Rider Haggard anthologies a couple of years back, and I got a scanned edition from "archive.org" to proof it against. Much to my disgust, someone (in the original book, not the scan) had blacked out every instance of the word "nigger" in the book. Such things happen with paper books, not just ebooks. It's just easier to spot in paper books.

While I think censorship is wrong overall, I think discriminatory perjorative terms should in many cases be expunged. Not advocating this as they are often used to illustrate the true character of the bad guy in many books. Still I often find it disturbing.

I am not talking Huck Finn here, which does use the word as a noun? without a discriminatory or hate context IIRC and probably the Haggard series is the same.

I think republishing an older book with those terms changed is the often only way these books will make it into the schools, but then again I have read many recent books with liberal usage.

Guess I am all confused as I think censorship is wrong but I personally would rather have not encountered a book or two.

Helen