Globe Fearon Educational Publisher promotes a fraudulent 'biology' textbook

This item was published in the "Editor's File" in
The Textbook Letter, September-October 1997.

Globe Fearon's "Up-to-Date" Fake

William J. Bennetta

In 1993 the Globe Book Company published a fake textbook titled Concepts in Modern Biology. Produced by writers who were so ignorant that they didn't know what mammals were, the book was riddled with pseudoscientific nonsense and startlingly stupid statements -- none of which was more startling than the writers' declaration that "the cause of AIDS is not known"! For sheer charlatanry and irresponsibility, Concepts in Modern Biology was hard to beat.

The Globe Book Company no longer exists as such, for it has been absorbed into Globe Fearon Educational Publisher. Concepts in Modern Biology is still in print, however, and it now is being promoted to educators by Globe Fearon. It is shown on page 98 of Globe Fearon's 1998 catalogue, accompanied by promotional claims that include this one: "With Concepts in Modern Biology, you get an easy-to-use text that's been hailed both for its clarity and comprehensive, up-to-date content." There is no explanation that being "up-to-date" means teaching students that the cause of AIDS in unknown. I infer that when Globe Fearon absorbed the Globe Book Company, it absorbed that company's duplicity in full measure.

Readers who would like to see how Concepts in Modern Biology was "hailed" in The Textbook Letter will find reviews in our issue of May-June 1994.

William J. Bennetta is a professional editor, a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, the president of The Textbook League, and the editor of The Textbook Letter. He writes often about the propagation of quackery, false "science" and false "history" in schoolbooks.

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