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It's about time -- his work has been ripped to shreds even by the anti-gun crowd. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Author of Gun History Quits After Panel Faults Research October 27, 2002 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTA, Oct. 26 - An Emory University professor has resigned after an academic panel released a report strongly critical of his research for a widely debated book about the history of guns in America. The professor, Michael A. Bellesiles, said in a statement that he "cannot continue to teach in what I feel is a hostile environment." Mr. Bellesiles said the controversy surrounding his book, "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture," had made it impossible for him to continue his research. Emory officials said Mr. Bellesiles' resignation would take effect Dec. 31. He has been on paid administrative leave this semester. The 40-page report, released on Friday, concluded that Professor Bellesiles had been "guilty of unprofessional and misleading work." The report, written by scholars from Harvard, Princeton and the University of Chicago, said that Mr. Bellesiles's failure to cite sources for critical data "does move into the realm of falsification." It also suggested that he had omitted other researchers' data that contradicted his arguments. Mr. Bellesiles denied the contentions. "I have never fabricated evidence of any kind nor knowingly evaded my responsibilities as a scholar," he said. Mr. Bellesiles's book received national attention for its contention that early Americans did not own or use firearms in great numbers. Gun-rights advocates criticized the book, and scholars suggested the author had made serious errors, prompting Emory to form the investigative panel in February. One finding that led to the investigation concerned historical records. Professor Bellesiles said that he had studied more than 11,000 probate records in 40 counties around the country and that he had found that from 1765 to 1790, only 14 percent of estate inventories listed guns. He said that "over half (53 percent) of these guns were listed as broken or otherwise defective." Those figures are featured prominently in the book and were cited in many reviews as the core of its argument. But those who tried to examine the research found that they could not, because most of Mr. Bellesiles's records, he said, had been destroyed in a flood. The records they could check showed many errors, almost all supporting his thesis. Professor Bellesiles is one of several historians and professors accused recently of academic fraud. In June, Doris Kearns Goodwin, a former Harvard professor, resigned from the Pulitzer Prize board, months after she acknowledged that parts of a book she wrote were from another author without attribution. In February, Prof. Louis W. Roberts resigned as chairman of the classics department and director of the doctoral program in humanistic studies at the State University at Albany, in New York. He had been accused of plagiarizing more than 50 pages of Latin translations from two other scholars. In January, the historian Stephen Ambrose, who died earlier this month, acknowledged that some sentences in his best seller "The Wild Blue" were copied from "Wings of Morning," another book about World War II bomber pilots that was written by Thomas Childers, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/27/education/27BOOK.html?ex=1036687191&ei=1&en=1f3c6906e5064b39 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. 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