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Wikileaks books

My review of several of the leading books about Wikileaks is up at ZDNet UK

There's been a lot of speculation about why Assange's Unauthorised Autobiography isn't selling well (Amazon.co.uk has it ranked around 1400 as I type this, though it's number 1 in a niche category). My guess is that Assange supporters won't buy it because they feel he's been badly treated by Canongate (I'm a little confused about the situation in general - it seems to me that if Canongate has published the book the company now owes Assange the rest of his advance, but ultimately that's going to come down to what lawyers make of the contract in this very messy situation); Assange critics won't buy it unless they're hoping to find ammunition; and the remaining folks aren't sure whether they can trust it or not. As I say at ZDNet, I'd read Sifry's book on transparency, because it puts Wikileaks in its proper place as exposing larger issues.wg