Arthur James Putnam (Jim Putnam) (1893-1966) was the editor with Macmillan who accepted Velikovsky‘s book, Worlds in Collision for publication.[1]C. J. Ransom, The Age of Velikovsky, “Chapter I: The Review”, 1976 Dell Publishing Co., ISBN 0-440-50323-X Although the book became a No. 1 best-selling, he was fired. In the book, The Velikovsky Affair, Ralph E. Juergens writes:
“James Putnam, a 25-year veteran with Macmillan, had been entrusted with making the arrangements to contract for and publish Velikovsky’s manuscript. His judgement in urging that Macmillan accept Worlds in Collision had been confirmed in spectacular fashion when the book became a best seller. Nevertheless, the negotiations to transfer publishing right to Doubleday were carried on without his knowledge, and as soon as the transfer had been consummated, Putnam’s good friend, editor-in-chief H. S. Latham, was delegated to inform him that his services were being terminated immediately. January 1963 Latham expressed in a letter to Velikovsky the great regret he still feels for Macmillan’s capitulation.“[2]Ralph E. Juergens, “Minds in Chaos” in The Velikovsky Affair (ed. Alfred de Grazia) online at the Quantavolution & Catastrophism Web site
External links
- Arthur James Putnam papers (1942-1963) at The New York Public Library
References
| ↑1 | C. J. Ransom, The Age of Velikovsky, “Chapter I: The Review”, 1976 Dell Publishing Co., ISBN 0-440-50323-X |
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| ↑2 | Ralph E. Juergens, “Minds in Chaos” in The Velikovsky Affair (ed. Alfred de Grazia) online at the Quantavolution & Catastrophism Web site |