Thursday, July 13, 2017
Amazonian Confusion
I wondered how much it would cost to buy Euripides, Orestes. With Introduction and Commentary by C.W. Willink (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), so I looked it up on amazon.com (typing "willink orestes" into the Books search box). On one and the same web page I saw all of the following.
Charles W. Willink's name as editor, alongside a picture of M.L. West's edition of the play (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1987):
A review of a translation of Euripides' Orestes by John Peck and Frank Nisetich (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995):
And finally product details for Willink's edition:
When I clicked on the Look Inside picture (of West's edition) on the same web page, I got the following message:
What book would I really receive by ordering from this web page? Who knows? Certainly it's impossible to buy Willink's edition used for $5.51, which is one of the prices listed. With all of his billions, why can't Jeff Bezos hire a few librarians to bring order into the chaos of amazon.com's book pages?
Newer› ‹Older
Charles W. Willink's name as editor, alongside a picture of M.L. West's edition of the play (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1987):
A review of a translation of Euripides' Orestes by John Peck and Frank Nisetich (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995):
And finally product details for Willink's edition:
When I clicked on the Look Inside picture (of West's edition) on the same web page, I got the following message:
Just so you know..."[T]he Paperback edition (2010) from CreateSpace" looks like a cheap reprint of an anonymous 19th century translation of Euripides' Orestes. It certainly doesn't correspond to Willink's edition, West's edition, or the translation by Peck and Nisetich.
This view is of the Paperback edition (2010) from CreateSpace. The Hardcover edition (1987) from Oxford University Press that you originally viewed is the one you'll receive if you click the Add to Cart button on the left.
What book would I really receive by ordering from this web page? Who knows? Certainly it's impossible to buy Willink's edition used for $5.51, which is one of the prices listed. With all of his billions, why can't Jeff Bezos hire a few librarians to bring order into the chaos of amazon.com's book pages?
