WINDING DOWN THE FIRST AMENDMENT WITH HARPER & ROW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01350R000200300042-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 4, 2004
• Sequence Number: 42
• Publication Date: August 24, 1972
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release T~~14/~ 1j1 ~}EI 88-01350R0002093_Q(,(4 y ~ C, -c) ~..9- \
q ~ c
?.J$:3t C~' i J d IVI . '~ h e Fi - i e. i'_ dill ent
? ~r]~ 4 foci ht for himself and for the in-
` ' Clio '. 1r tel,tity of his boot: In that week,
Vii.E . l_.l+ E_tiCl
McCoy, by publicly pressing his
In his letter in Iast week's Voice, B. Brooks Thonifrs, case: against the CIA, was in-
writes that he felt compelled to respond to n'uv column "
this
`a?vige ctor,y the credit over tile
is dhe;ire CIA in McCoy. As
about, his firm and the CIA because of the p . tenti al c I
impact of my assertions-on the seem to realize that there is 61
author community." whole amendmerd to the United
I had written (Voice, August r0) States Constitution---the First--!
that any writer working qn a book that would have protected it
which might offend the govern. against the arrogance of the CIA..
ment ought to be wary of going to 11's pathetic that -a leading. p;rb.
Harper & Row in view of that pub-
Iisher having yielded to a request
.by, the CIA that it see Alfred
.McCoy's "The Politics of ?llerc+in
lb Southeast Asia,'_lr ore publi;
cation.
Nothing I wrote then, or will
write npiv, is more harmful to
Harper & Ron: in "the author
community" than Brooks Thoni.
a9's own letter last week in The
Voice and Harper- & Row's
apologia in the form of an ad on
the August 15 New York Times
book page. The ad was signed by
Winthrop Knowlton, President of
harper & Ii our.
Both' Thomas and Knowlton
claim that letting the CIA see the
book in advance of publication is
the very model of "responsible"
publishing-no matter what the
author- in this case thinks. After
all, they emphasize, the book has
now been published without a
singie?9hange. So what harm has
been done?
Quite a lot; as you will see, and
as I expect most writers-
-cer-tainly those involved in investiga.
tive . repor(ing---ah?eady know.
Alfred McCoy, the author of "The
lofitics of heroin in Southeast
Asia," certainly knows. This is
what he said on August 14, after
Harper & Row had decided to go
ahead and, publish his book
wttnou . any changes: ?'r crrsagree heroin in Southeast Asia (two of b" along ~~tth us- rather than
absolutely with their decision to them omi the front page, including publish elsewhere only reflects
sho'.v the book to the CIA before the fact that our -committnent to
publication on pragmatic. and on one breaking the story of Harper the book was clearly more impor-
philosophical grounds. It was a & Row's agreement to let the CIA tart to him than our difference. of
bad decision
i
n every possible air review tine editorial, " book). oin There'andwas atlh so
e opinion about showing it to the
wMel~virf Wulf,. legal director of'I War," in the July 28 Washington CIA. Mr. Thomas, do you really Aw, the American Civil liberties Post. i'wcl McCoy himself ap- think this paper's readership is
Union, said to me the following geared on NBC-TV's "Chronolog" 1lib .r
that gulle.
day: ?"1(arper & Ro,v's point tha(.I an Jttly 28. From Alfred McCoy's July 18
it did not accede to any of the It was during that week that the letter to James Fox, assistant
CIA's j CIA, 'courtesy of Harper ez Row,
arlicn tal for changes bbe- had official possession of McCoy's , general counsel, Ha per & Row:
the fundamental
uestion be-
q
,cause Harper & Row should never
have let the CIA see the book in
,
n mart close to the events put it,
"If the CIA had come on as strong
at the end as it did in the begin-
ning, I am far from sure that
Harper &.. Row would have
I refused to make all the changes
usher would surrender its integri-; the CIA wanted. I believe McCoy
ty to the CIA or to any govern- going public had a considerable
ment agency that had the pre- ? effect on so toning down the CIA's
surnption to demalid, or . even final response that Harper & Row
merely to ask, to review an un- could iir;elf---belatedly come to
published manuscript. A terribly the defense of its author'."
had precedent has been set. ? Another point that ought ?to he
Today, the CIA-tomorrow, IlhW -cleared up. In my August 10 col-
or some other governinc'uttrmn, I quoted Brooks Thomas as
agency." telling me that lie didn't know
Before examining Brooks ;whether harper &' Row would
Thomas's remarkable document, have published the book if McCoy
in last week's Voice, some addi- had resisted turning it over to the
tional background which you. CIA before publication,
won't find in Harper & Row's' Nfr. Thomas, to put it kindly,
statements on the case. Niel -\Vulf' _-wa being disingenuous in that.
speaks of the CIA's "arro gance.'; statement,
In early June, the CIA did indceed
From a July fit letter from
Row--verbally. But. by the time
the agency scot in its written
y
review of the book in late July, the harper & Row's determination to
CIA's lone had become rtruch less give the book to the CIA because
Importtinate? ' 11011 have told inc that unless I did
A primary reason for that -so, ilou teoulrl calegoricatltl refuse
change in tone was the decision of 10 publish the book.", (Emphasis
Alfred McCoy--once he learned added-N, 11.)
.
that CIA pressure was on harper Harper & Row twisted the arm
& Row--to go to the media. ("I of its author----let there be no nris-
thought; the liberal media would take about that,
be outraged and would find mate- But, says Mr. Thomas in last
1'Ial to corroborate what 1 was week's Voice:
saying.") He did this artoirrst the "In this case, the author had
wishes of Harper A Row. Taking other equally attractive pub-
his case to the press and to televi- lisping options which did not in-
Moll, McCoy was responsible in volve showing the manuscript to
part for three sizable New York the CIA. The fact that he chose to
book. Because his' publisher
would not fight for him, McCoy
Alfred McCoy to .James Fox, as-
sistant. general counsel of Harper
& How: "I have onl
acceded to
{ ( A I . t l~nMtn~ l wt. S1~ Y.I..I?e Q-
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on t;.;, he d For Release 2004/10/13: CIA-RDP88-0135OR000200300042-5
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