“Years ago I had purchased your book the Logic of Steel. I found it to be a very educational as well as a very entertaining book.
“My copy has since been hijacked by others who apparently feel the same way, though are not upright enough to find their own copy.
“I have searched the web and the only out of print copies available are extremely overpriced.
“I was curious if you have any or knew how I could get a hold of another copy. Any help would be most appreciated.
“Thank you for your time,”
-Robin
Robin, I am very sorry about what has happened with The Logic of Steel.
In 2010 The Logic of Steel went out of print and a Japanese man who owns an online bookstore put the last 10 copies up for sale and got $249 a piece for them. This prompted Paladin Press, my publisher, to issue a Kindle version. They, however, are not interested in reprinting it because the sales were down to about 75 per year. At that rate, it would take them five years to get their money back, and in today’s publishing market five years is an Ice Age away.
Paladin Press has the rights to the book and there is nothing I can do about this. I do not even have a soft copy, as the computer I wrote it on died in 2000 and the publisher has the files.
I was given 10 copies and gave them to people, keeping one copy for myself, with typo notes and such in it.
Robin, I have the following suggestions:
Buy When You’re Food and read that. Honestly, The Logic of Force, the sequel to The Logic of Steel, is not very good—probably my worst book out of 83—and When You’re Food is the third of that three book trilogy on violence that I wrote from 1998-2000. It has been updated in 2011 as our e-book available here:
and the print version updated in 2014, available here:
If Robin, you are a dude—first, forgive me if you’re not a dude—that some hippie named Robin, then I encourage you to stab the person [with a Phillips head screwdriver, of course] who stole the book and then claim that The Logic of Steel made you do it. That will cause Paladin Press to reprint it to raise money for a defense, probably retailing it for the original list price of $24. You will be able to afford a copy, and have plenty of time to read it.
If Robin, you are a babe, and you live within driving distance of Baltimore Maryland, you may visit me in this famously violent majority black city, on White Avenue, which I police myself, and avail yourself of the spacious accommodations in the room that I rent from a karate instructor, where I have a copy of The Logic of Steel on my book shelf, right across the room from the only piece of furniture in the room other than this swivel chair I now live in, where you may recline and read until your heart is content.
If however, this arrangement would inconvenience you or your spouse, I suggest that you utilize this website by accessing the Harm City page—the tab for which is above at the top of this page—and perusing those 700 and some articles, absolutely for free, provided at my own expense as compensation for you and the other three women who actual read The Logic of Steel and did not immediately throw it in the trash.
Sorry I could not be more help.
Take care out there, Robin.
-James
I read this and decided to check out the various amazon stores for myself to see what the state of the market for The Logic of Steel was. I found a copy on amazon France for under 10 euros, so I bought it and it arrived in fine condition.
My guess is that the pricing software usually goes crazy with rare titles with high offered prices like this but some places have more rational pricing software that detects when prices are artifacts driven by peer pricing rather than by demand.
Nearly finished An Arabian Terror Tale, too. I like it - great nighttime reading!
Thanks for the info—and watch out for the recessionary garden...