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The Lost Busby's Saga
(the texts below are posts taken from the PSUBS.ORG mailing list)
Shipmates,
On April 9th I made a post offering Busby books to the Psubs community. Unfortunately, the main body of the post was in an attachment, and many folks missed it. So I am re-posting it now, from memory. Please remember, all Busby Book business is conducted with me directly at SeaLordOne@aol.com and NOT personal_submersibles@psubs.org. Ray does NOT want the site tied up with a "Busby feeding frenzy". And if you piss off Ray...no Busby for you!
Announcement
On behalf of Psubs (sponsor), the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy (donor), the Naval Oceanographic Office (donor), and myself (negotiator), I am pleased to announce the availability of 193 "virgin" copies of R. Frank Busby's 764-page, 1976 classic book "Manned submersibles". These will be distributed by me on behalf of Psubs for the cost of shipping and handling. That will be $5.00 US stateside, and actual postage for overseas orders. Ray asks you not to order a Busby if your already have a Busby. The Navy requires that you DO NOT SELL this book. You may give it away or return it to Psubs, but you may not sell it. Here is the story.
The "Lost Busby's" Story
When I joined this site a few years back, I wanted to make a contribution to the community, to give something back. I figured that since Busby books were scarce and in the public domain, I would sell photocopies to those who wanted them...at cost. That was fine, for a while. But then some of the heavyweights on the site questioned whether the book really was in the public domain. So I said I would contact the Navy and find out for sure. That began an 18-month adventure that ended up with this post.
I was passed from person to person at the Navy, and finally ended up with "The Chief". He assured me that the book was public domain, but he also started talking about the possibility of a lost shipment of Busby books that had dropped out of the Navy inventory system years ago, but that might still be sitting on a shelf in a satellite library somewhere in the government library system. My brain was thinking "what have you been smoking, Chief?", but my mouth was saying "that sounds great, Chief, do you think we can track them down?". Lost Busby's? Too good to be true. Pure urban legend. But lo and behold, The Chief knew exactly what he was talking about. He traced those books from Washington, DC to the Maury Library at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. I negotiated with my Point of Contact there for about 6 months. In the end, he agreed to send me the entire cache of Busby Books, for free. He would send them to me for free, if I would distribute them for free (meaning no profit...only the costs to box and ship them), and you would agree not to try to make a profit on them either.
Here is the deal. I am not actually selling you these books. I do not "own'" the 800 pounds of Busby books in my basement. I am "holding" them for the Navy. I am simply distributing obsolete technical manuals, surplus government property, to the public over the internet. But I cut the deal in such a way that Psubbers would be in the front of the line for public distribution. That is why neither you nor I can make a profit on these. A number of folks have suggested side deals to this main deal, like selling these books and donating the profits to Psubs. It is a nice idea, but as you can now see, it cannot be done. I have a deal with the Navy, and the PRIME DIRECTIVE is do not sell these books.
Rules
1. Busby's "Manned Submersibles" are scarce. If you already have a copy of Busby's "Manned Submersibles" please do not order another. Let someone who does not already have one take advantage of this opportunity.
2. You can not resale your copy. By accepting one of these copies you are also accepting my agreement, and PSUBS agreement, with the Navy that no one will profit from this deal. If you no longer want the book either send it back to me or give it away.
3. Once the supply is gone. They are gone.
How to Order
To place an order, e-mail me (SeaLordOne@aol.com) the following information:
1. Name
2. Mailing address (I will ship United States Postal Service, not Fedex or UPS)
3. E-mail address.
I will contact you regarding remaining availability of Busby's and further ordering information including my address to send your money order to.
Summary
As to the numerous "usung heros" in the Navy that have made this possible, they have elected to be "silent partners" in this deal. I will share their names with Ray and Jon, if necessary, but not with the group. I have already thanked them on behalf of Psubs.
Sincerely,
Doug Farrow
Custodian of the "Lost Busby's"
Sold out !
Teammates,
After filling the orders I received today, the 200 "lost Busbys" will all be gone...distributed to Psubbers in 18 countries and 26 states. I will ask Jon and Ray to take down the Busby offer on the website. I will not be taking any new orders...I have no more books left.
For those of you who have placed orders over 30 days ago and have still not received your book, please e-mail me directly at SeaLordOne@aol.com. I have a book left for you. For those who have placed orders in the last 30 days, please be patient. I have enough left for all those who have already placed an order, but no more. If I end up with an extra copy or two when the dust all settles, I will offer them up. Otherwise, the well is dry.
I also have a couple of extra books pre-positioned overseas. I ask those of you with this extra copy to contact me. Thank you.
I am now out of the Busby Book business. It has been an honor to have my name associated, in even this indirect way, with such a magnificant volume. I will now rely on those few of you who indicated you would either (1) put Busby on a website, or (2) make CD's of the book available, to take over from me and keep this information available to the community. This book is in the public domain...there is no copyright. You can even sell the CD's for a profit if you want to..it is perfectly legal. Psubs could make a buck or two that way. The books I distributed were covered by an exclusive deal I had with the Navy, but your CD's (or even photocopies) would be totally public domain.
I am now going to look for some other way to support the Psubs community. I am not sure what I will do just yet. Any good deeds you can suggest?
I have toyed with the idea of starting a submarine library, but after mailing 200 books around the world over the last year, that seems a little too same old- same old. I also thought about organizing and tagging the archives. Using the old 80/20 rule, you can probably get 80% of the hard core submarine data from reading 20% of the posts, if someone would simply indentify those 20%. I could also organize them by topic: wet subs, batteries, prices, distributors, etc. Or perhaps I will develop a series of white papers on various topics. I am not sure. What do you think the community needs?
Prepare To Dive...Dive!,
Doug Farrow
Doug's words never ceased echoing in my mind. This is why I've scanned the book: "I wanted to make a contribution to the community, to give something back."
Jorge L.