Amazon reportedly removed and then reposted a controversial 1970s book from its U.S. website. Jean Raspail's The Camp of the Saints was relisted on the retailer’s site Monday after its removal caused backlash online, the book’s publisher, Vauban Books, said in a statement. The publisher said
Amazon removed the paperback and hardcover listing on Friday though the
book remained available for purchase in Kindle and audiobook formats.
Amazon removed the book because it violated the company’s offensive content policy, Vauban Books said. The publisher accused Amazon of attempting to censor the book.
The Camp of the Saints is a 1973 French dystopian
novel that follows a massive fleet of Indian migrants who invade Europe
through their sheer force of numbers. For decades, the book has garnered
polarizing reactions, with some calling it racist while others insisted it was an important warning about the dangers of mass immigration.
Who else has responded to the incident? John Daniel Davidson, a senior editor at The Federalist, described
the book as a cult classic that portrayed something fundamental about
the current cultural moment. He argued it was temporarily removed
because the book was an effective argument against letting immigrants
destroy Western culture. U.S. conservative political commentator Jack
Posobiec said the incident was a blatant example of book banning.
Other notable fans of the book include former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Marine Le Pen, parliamentary leader of France’s National Rally party.
Liz Lykins
Liz is a reporter covering breaking news and First Amendment
freedoms for WORLD. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and
earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish from Ball State
University. She and her husband currently reside in Raleigh, N.C.