In December, the Guardian reported:
The UK’s biggest book chain, Waterstone’s, has apologised after one of its branches pushed Adolf Hitler‘s manifesto Mein Kampf as the “perfect” Christmas present.
Amid the glossy hordes of titles by Jeremy Clarkson, Lee Evans and Jamie Oliver for sale this Christmas, the Huddersfield branch of Waterstone’s used a festive sticker to describe Mein Kampf (My Struggle), the antisemitic diatribe written by Hitler in prison before he rose to power in 1933, as the “perfect present”. A staff recommendation described it as “an essential read for anyone seeking to understand one of history’s most despicable figures. A shocking read and a vital warning for future generations.”
It goes without saying that the Guardian is also selling Mein Kampf. In two editions. One gets a less condemnatory review from the Guardian than that accorded by Waterstones:
Hitler’s infamous political tract was first published in 1925-26 and has been widely translated since. This edition contains a detailed introduction which analyses Hitler’s background, his ideology and his ruthless understanding of political power
The Guardian originally advertised their Bookshop with the following description:
The aim of this site is to present you with a tailored selection of handpicked books that reflect the Guardian and Observer’s well-respected literary coverage and reviews.
That has now been replaced with a rather mealy mouthed and confusing disclaimer:
The Guardian Bookshop makes nearly 200,000 books available to our customers with 20% discount or better available on the majority of titles. Within this wide selection, we aim to highlight a tailored selection of handpicked books in each genre that reflect the Guardian and Observer’s well-respected literary coverage and reviews. In addition to our recommendations, our browsable selection of books also includes a feed of the top 5,000 best-selling titles through independent booksellers (not including Amazon) as supplied by Bertrams.Inclusion in this automated feed does not necessarily denote recommendation by GNM.
You’ll remember that last year, there was a little furore when it was discovered that the Guardian Bookshop was selling the racist book of the promoter of Holocaust denial, Gilad Atzmon. The Guardian Bookshop described Atzmon’s work as:
“An explosive unique crucial book tackling the issues of Jewish identity Politics and ideology and their global influence.“
Ironically, you can’t buy Mein Kampf from the Daily Mail’s online bookshop. Nor anything published by Gilad Atzmon.
