Abstract

The Silent Treatment

Before the first edition of Paul Blanshard's book, "American Freedom and Catholic Power," the men who run the Beacon Press, it Unitarian publishing house in Boston, estimated that it might sell as many as 15,000 copies in its first year. They knew that the average book of non-fiction in this country is bought by only two or three thousand people a year; they knew they might face a hostile or fearful press; they knew that to a certain degree pressure would be applied against efforts to advertise, promote or sell the volume. On the other hand, 162 of 165 Unitarian ministers, privately polled, were in favor of the venture; publishers could count on the hearty support of readers of The Nation, in which portions of the book had originally appeared.