JWSR review of ReOrient

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANDRE GUNDER FRANK               CURRENT UNIVERSITY AFFILIATIONS

250 Kensington Ave - Apt 608     University of Amsterdam, Emeritus
Westmount/Montreal PQ/QC         University of Toronto Sociology Dept.
Canada H3Z 2G8                   Northeastern Univ. World History Center
Tel:1-514-933 2539               Stanford Univ. School of Education
Fax:1-514-933 6445               McGill University
e-mail:agfrank@chass.utoronto.ca   Centre for Developing Area Studies

My home Page is at:       http://www.whc.neu.edu/gunder.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This refers to the 'review' of my book publishedd in the electronic
JOURNAL OF WORLD SYSTEMS RESEARCH vol. 4 nr. 2, fall 1998
and accessible through the WSN home page.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dearest Chris, Editor of JWSR
Now and Open Letter

As you know, I am used to , accept and welcome critiques of my writings,
including those that are totally unfavorable. Eg. at ISA
Minneapolis, Giovanni said that there is nothing of value or use in my
book whatsoever. The same day then in the taxi from O'Hare to Evanston we
worked out a compromise evaluation that was satisfactory to both of us.
And when we got to the hotel I tended to him with chicken soup made to 
his peculiar specifications by the chef on my instructioons while G was
still resting in his room.

But the review of Kees Terlow, and your publishing it as is, is quite
another matter. I am literally appalled and very concerned that you did
so.

Shall I tell you why?

Apart from the absurd and totally counterfactual assertions he makes in
this review, you could have known that he would and does so by taking 
even the slightest editorial precautions, which it seems to me it is
your responsibility to do. How so?

Kees was one of the discussants of ReOrient at the International
Convention of Asian Scholars in Leiden in June 1998. One of the others was
Nicola DiCosmo [cc above] and another Andre Wink at Wisconsin [dont have
his e-mail at the moment]. Present was Marilyn Levine [your colleague
from H-ASIA], among many others  - with an overflow crowd of about 70,it
was the most attended panel at  the conference, so we can find quite a 
few more witnesses, also in the US, eg John Willis who is alos critical.
So they can - and by my cc to them I  hereby request them to - 
testify to the accuracy of what i write below:

- Kees not only did not understand the book or what it says, but his
demonstrated total ignorance of the subject matter and lack of training
[as a geographer, but a bad one] in history, economics,etc. and
his ingrained prejudices against both make him incapable of doing so.

- That is why, never mind his evaluation of my argument, he totally 
MISstates and MISrepresents what the book says and does, again and again.

- In my reply at the Leiden roundtable, I demonstrated citing chapter and
verse any number of total MISstatements of his about the book's contents.

- In my reply also, i totally demolished  his [lack of] argument by
showing that and how it is inconsistent with and contradicted by the 
NEGATIVE parts of the  critiques of the other panelists, in particular
those of Nicola Di Cosmo and Andre Wink.

- Kees was left in total ridicule without a leg or even a toe to 
stand on, as shown by the laughter in/by the audience and by about a
dozen comentaries by attendies about the effectiveness of my having used
the other critics and their critiques to show that there was no basis 
whatsoever to the claims by Kees.

- Alas, he was the only one who seemed incapable of understanding that
then and he still is, witness his repetition in writing now published by
you of the total NON-sense that he spoke some months before. Perhaps he 
is trying to settle scores, which also disqualifies him as a reviewer.

So of all the qualified citics, however negative they may wish to be,
that were and are available to you as reviewers, I am appalled that you
picked one who had already been certified by a whole room full of people
to be totally and unquivocably UNqualified to review this book, not only
out of total ignorance about the subject matter, but also out of
unwillingness and incapability to learn even the first thing about it,
as well as being incapable of recognizing even the most simple 
empirical and analytical contradictions in his argument. Under these
cirumstances, any even moderately responsible person would have 
disqualified himself  from participating in the Leiden panel to begin
with, and after having been shown to be totally unqualified by the 
other panelists, he would certainly have desisted from putting his same
stuff in writing for publication.

I therefore must charge you dear Chris yourself with the height of
editorial irresponsibility or at least ignorance in having chosen or
accepted this person as reviewer of this book, whatever he may have to 
say about it. Having already demolished his argument piece by piece 
orally and put him in total ridicule once before, I do not now have 
the stomach to do so again. Moroever, it is not worth my or anyone's time
to do so in writing.

What is however indicated is that you now immediately publish one or more
other reviews of this book by qualified reviewer/s. If I may suggest so,
indeed it would be appropriate that you publish TWO contrasting
reviews, one favorable and one UNfavorable review, but that the latter
be based on what the book actually says and does. Already among the
people cc'ed above, there are more than enough candidates of such people
who have already prepared and even written such reviews of both kinds.
Morevover, I suggest that you owe it both to this author/writer and to
your readership in general to aplogize for having published a 'review'
by someone who not only falisifies the contents and argument of the book
again and again but is incapable of even reading or understandinbg the
first thing about it and whose total incapacity had already been 
demonstrated to and by all then present already months ago -- 
except apparently to himself, which is till further evidence of his total
disqualification.

Respectfully and sincerely submitted by
ever your faithful friend and servant
Gunder Frank

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANDRE GUNDER FRANK               CURRENT UNIVERSITY AFFILIATIONS

250 Kensington Ave - Apt 608     University of Amsterdam, Emeritus
Westmount/Montreal PQ/QC         University of Toronto Sociology Dept.
Canada H3Z 2G8                   Northeastern Univ. World History Center
Tel:1-514-933 2539               Stanford Univ. School of Education
Fax:1-514-933 6445               McGill University
e-mail:agfrank@chass.utoronto.ca   Centre for Developing Area Studies

My home Page is at:       http://www.whc.neu.edu
Click on 'Current Research in World History' and then 'Andre Gunder Frank'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~