David Streitfeld

I had to laugh at one section in a recent New York Times article about the recent “spat” between Amazon and giant NYC publisher Hachette–which only Hachette writers and the Authors Guild seem to know or care about. (Hachette complains that Amazon is price-fixing and recommending different books than theirs [something they’d never do] over a recent failed negotiation.)

Brad Stone’s book on Amazon, “The Everything Store,” said the company’s negotiations with publishers were so hostile that a veteran of its book group had post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving the company. (The price and availability of Mr. Stone’s book, published by Hachette last fall, appeared unaffected by the current conflict.) [emphasis mine]

I’m not a soldier or a doctor, but I do know one thing: you get PTSD when you have other people shooting at you or when you’re the target of violence, not when you can’t negotiate an extra point on a book sale. Using it to describe anything else is laughable as well as insulting to those who do suffer from it.

If you read the article, beware its one-sided nature–reporter David Streitfeld’s narrative works overtime to resurrect the “Amazon World Domination” meme.