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Larry Moss raises the interesting issue of authorial  
attribution when a book "evolves" through a succession of  
authors and co-authors. I agree with him that there is  
indeed an ethical issue involved in deleting original  
authors and retaining only the latest author or co-authors,  
and I look for guidance from other responses to Larry's  
query. The book that Larry refers to at the beginning of  
his message is "Evolution of Economic Thought" by Stanley  
L. Brue (not Bruce), which in the year 2000 came out in its  
sixth (not fifth) edition. It is a text that I have enjoyed  
using for some years. At the beginning of the section on  
"Acknowledgments" in its Preface, Brue states: "Longtime  
admirers of this textbook will recognize Jacob Oser's  
legacy within it. Although Professor Oser was not alive to  
participate in the past three editions, it retains the  
features, style, and, in many places, the actual words of  
the early editions. It has been an honor for me to carry on  
Professor Oser's work over the past 12 years." I have found  
no mention of "good reasons" by the publisher for dropping  
Oser's name. A possibly good reason for doing this, both in  
this case and others mentioned by Larry, is that the  
revisions made in the latest edition go beyond what one of  
the original authors (Oser) would have approved of, or  
would have wanted to be associated with. To that extent,  
and especially after the death of the original author, it  
seems to me justified to omit his or her name, as long as  
his or her influence is acknowledged as Brue did in this  
case. 
        An even more extreme example of changes in authors  
is the popular text on "International Economics" that  
Charles Kindleberger published in 1953, and that I remember  
from my graduate school days. At one point Peter Lindert  
became his co-author. Subsequent editions showed Lindert as  
the sole author, then Lindert and Thomas Pugel became  
co-authors, and now, in its 12th edition, Pugel is the sole  
author. In the Preface, Pugel states: "We are all very  
happy that the book reaches its golden anniversary with  
this edition. I also enjoy the mirth of a literary  
improbability -- I am the author of a book that was first  
published in the year I was born". 
        Perhaps this practice is more appropriate for  
textbooks than for scholarly books, as long as the readers  
are made aware of all previous authors. 
 
Andrea Maneschi 
 
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