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Andrew J. Galambos made a decision to publish key elements of his work, specifically the material contained in Courses V-50 and V-201, as a book.  He actively solicited his students to subscribe and pay in advance for this and other books, and set up appointments with his staff to do so by means of a contract, called the Pre-Publication Subscription Agreement (PPSA).The most important book, the one that was to include V-50 and V-201, was referred to as "Book 1."

 

Galambos never wrote the book but, pursuant to the contract, the trustees of his estate were required to produce it in the form of a transcript of his lectures, and they ultimately did—in part. This website exists because they have refused to publish the rest. What follows are documents that take us through the publication of the first (and only) volume.

 

I have reproduced the first page and part of the second page of the 20-page PPSA that my wife and I entered into in 1978. Book 1 is clearly described, as is the procedure for producing it if Galambos himself did not. We agreed to pay $435 for this collector’s item, which translates to about $1500 in today’s dollars.  By the time Volume One was published in 1999 and we received our copy, the list price for the full book had risen to $2000, with specially numbered copies priced as high as $3000. 

The original target date for publication was 1987, but no book was published. Whether Galambos would have eventually written it is unknown, but a heart attack and, later, dementia brought on by Alzheimer’s disease, precluded that. In addition, Galambos and his wife, Suzanne, suffered a terrible financial and emotional blow.  All of the money they had collected as advance payments for the books and for courses yet to be delivered—about a million and a half dollars—was embezzled by their friend, Mitchell J. “Matt” Lange. In this 1988 letter, Suzanne Galambos reveals this to customers.

Ten years later, in 1998, the trustees notified customers of their commitment to publish Book 1, and that funding was in place. Some months after that a publication and distribution date for Volume One was announced—April 17, 1999.  Book buyers were invited to attend the event and were given a price list for additional copies.  There were no restrictions on purchase, or on ownership rights. The event was held, the first volume of the pre-paid set was delivered, and additional copies, including a softbound version, were purchased by some people.  And then, without notice, publication of the remaining volumes, expected to be four or five, was stopped.

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