Simon & Schuster and author Agus halt distribution of title over plagiarism issue

Simon & Schuster and author David B Agus have halted distribution of all formats of The Book of Animal Secrets: Nature’s Lessons for a Long and Happy Life owing to plagiarism issues, for which the author has apologised. The publisher has notified its retail and distribution partners to return copies of the book. 

The book was set to be published 7th of March in US and on 13th of April in the UK, but will instead be published at a later date when revisions have been made. 

The publisher said: “Numerous issues regarding the text of The Book of Animal Secrets by David B Agus have been brought to the attention of the author and Simon & Schuster. We take these matters seriously, as does the author, and regret that these errors were included in the initial editions of the book.”

Agus is a cancer doctor, biomedical researcher, and the author of The End of Illness. The Book of Animal Secrets, looks at the lessons that humans can learn from animals when it comes to longevity and health. 

In a statement published by Publishers Weekly, Agus said: "I was recently made aware that in writing The Book of Animal Secrets we relied on passages from various sources without attribution, and that we used other authors’ words. I want to sincerely apologise to the scientists and writers whose work or words were used or not fully attributed. 

"Because I take any claims of plagiarism seriously, I am taking two immediate steps. First, I have asked the publisher to halt the publication of the book in all formats. Second, I will rewrite the passages in question with new language, will provide proper and full attribution, and when ready will announce a new publication date. These corrections will be included in all future printings and editions of the book. 

"Writers should always be credited for their work, and I deeply regret these mistakes and the lack of rigour in finalising the book. This book contains important lessons, messages and guidance about health that I wanted to convey to readers. I do not want these mistakes to interfere with that effort. Once again, I apologise."

Simon & Schuster added: “Dr Agus has decided, with our full support, to recall the book, at his own expense, until a fully revised and corrected edition can be released, and which Dr Agus is currently working on. We do not currently have a projected publication date for the new version of the book.”