my own experience in the eld of visual message design, I can say that the rec-

ommendations can be amply supported by research in and the theory of human

perception of visual messages. This book is an excellent general guide to cre-
ation of eective data displays. For those with a specic interest in human
perception of visual messages, I would recommend the works of Edward
Tufte (Visual display of quantitative information, Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press;
Envisioning information, Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press; and Visual expla-
nations: Images and quantities, evidence and narrative, Cheshire, CT: Graphics
Press), who Wainer acknowledges was inuential in the direction of his
thinking. Jeanne M. Hites, CIM, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN
5630

The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Dierence

Lawrence Venuti. London: Routledge, 998. 20pp.

Lawrence Venutis well-written and very interesting book rests on two key
thoughts: translation, besides rendering an authors ideas and words into a
dierent language, serves the culture and needs of the translators society
through word choice, emphasis, and selection of texts, among other things, and
translations in current practice are perceived as transparent i.e., a non-dis-
torted window into the original work, a copy rather than a new rendering
when they are not so, when they change and omit ideas, when they elide or
adjust elements that are foreign to their target audiences. Translations, Venuti
argues, should be perceived and taught as translations, not as copies of the
original works. Venuti argues these ideas very strongly and supports them well,
not only with theoretical discussions, but with analysis of situations, current
and historical, in the translation industry.
The author discusses these two concepts as if they are new and shocking
in the translation industry and academic circles. Yet as I read The Scandals of
Translation, I wondered whether these ideas are as original or as radical to
translation studies as Venuti implies. They seemed obvious to me as a special-
ist in medieval literature, a eld that necessarily studies and compares multi-
ple versions of the same stories and which also necessarily must make use of
many works often in multiple translations.
Venuti begins in his rst chapter with an overview of current translation
studies and his own theories about translation. He views language as a mani-
festation of power between competing dialects and as a culturally produced tool
that does not necessarily reect the personal intent of the author. He also argues
for what he calls minoritizing translation, a practice that would retain foreign
elements in translated texts and that would choose non-mainstream and more
diverse foreign texts for translation. Chapter two deals with translation and

Reviews 81
authorship and discusses the devaluation of the translation eld in the acade-
mic community. Chapter three examines copyright and copyright law and the
position of authors and translators under copyright practices; here Venuti
argues that translators ought to be viewed as authors and be entitled to more
compensation than a at fee for translating work. Chapter four considers how
translation, through choice of texts and how these texts are translated,
inuences the translating cultures view of foreign peoples. Chapter ve
addresses the problems of teaching works in translations and is especially con-
cerned with teaching translations as if they were original texts. Chapter six
tackles the problems of philosophical texts in translation, which are subject to
many of the same problems and pitfalls as the literary texts covered in the pre-
vious chapter. Chapter seven, The Bestseller, possibly the nest and most
interesting discussion in the book, argues that a bestselling translation tends
to reveal much more about the domestic culture for which it was produced, than
the foreign culture which it is taken to represent (25) and supports this argu-
ment with a well-researched analysis of the English translations of Giovanni
Guareschis Don Camillo novels. Chapter eight returns to earlier themes about
cultural inequalities exposed by translation and examines the connections
between translation, colonization, and globalization.
In general, Venuti writes and argues well, clearly, and coherently; he
explains translation jargon and his own terms when he begins to use them, a
practice that more theorists ought to follow for the sake of their less-experi-
enced or more generalized audience. On only two counts can I justly criticize
his perspective. First, although his arguments for more academic prestige and
monetary compensation for translators are valid and well supported, he, as a
translator, must necessarily be considered biased. Second, he does not discuss
the problems of those who translate dead or archaic languages. For instance,
Venuti examines in great detail the fact that translators do not hold the copy-
right of their translations, but he is only discussing contemporary works. What
happens when something in the public domain, like Beowulf or The Iliad, is
translated? Venuti also discusses in several places how contemporary transla-
tions aect one cultures view of another, but he does not examine how trans-
lations of older works aect our views of the past.
Otherwise, Venutis approach and arguments are relevant, intelligent, and
realistic. Chapter ves discussion of the use of translations in the classroom is
highly useful, not only in its observation that translations of Dante (or Homer
or Chaucer or Moliere) are treated as if they are Dante (or Homer or Chaucer
or Moliere), but in giving concrete suggestions on how to remedy the problem
and exploring the realistic pedagogical implications of his solutions. Chapter
sevens examination of the Don Camillo books in translation is revealing about
American culture in the mid-twentieth century and is interesting enough for
the casual reader. Although the book as a whole might not be as appealing to

82 JOURNAL OF INFORMATION ETHICS, Spring 2002

a general audience, The Scandals of Translation is certainly enticing, relevant,
and comprehensible not only to translation specialists, but to the academic
community in general, which, as Venuti points out, frequently relies on trans-
lation.M. Wendy Hennequin, Department of English, University of Connecti-
cut, Storrs, CT

Silencing Scientists and Scholars in Other Fields: Power, Paradigm

Controls, Peer Review, and Scholarly Communication
Gordon Moran. Greenwich, CT: Ablex Publishing, 998. 87 pages, ISBN -56750-342-X.
$73.25.

Balancing ego, reputation, and power with truth and honest scientic dis-
course continues to be a struggle. The struggle, as Moran points out, is not new.
It is a pattern that has been with us for centuries. Science is not as self-correcting
as one might believe. Errors go uncorrected. Denitions of misconduct are
revised to adjust to unusual circumstances. The pattern shows that those in
power do what they want when they want and justify it later. If the justication
is not accepted, they close ranks and stonewall, ostracizing those who do not
conform.
Silencing Scientists is not a polite, forgiving work. It points out many lay-
ers and facets of how scientists and scholars disrupt the search for truth. It gives
a glimpse of the psychological patterns within a community that foster cover-
ups and retribution. In a true setting of collegial discourse, dierences of opin-
ion and suggestions for altering an original idea are welcome a natural part
of the process. In reality, a few are able to control the discourse of many. Under
the guise of impartiality and protection against retribution, those in positions
of prestige and power hide from accountability for their opinions and actions.
They suer from a crowd mentality closing ranks to protect the current regime.
Moran uses a thread of examples as he moves through the subtle variances
that eectively silence scholars and scientic works. Some primary examples
of silencing dissidents are Guido Riccios challenge in the art world; Baltimore
and Cell for the way in which the discovery of falsifying data was handled; and
the conicting evidence in the HIV-AIDS studies and the role played by the
NIH in retaining the status quo. He has compiled and examined the nuances
of how scholars, scientists, and politicians manipulate circumstances to cen-
sor the works of others if those works jeopardize the current paradigm or their
personal reputations. He explores political considerations and trends, rhetoric
versus reality, tolerance for falsication, retaliation against whistleblowers like
Stewart and Feder, secrecy in peer review, and failure to cite and index works
that reect opinions dierent from their own.
The underlying thread with which peers, librarians, and editors eectively

Reviews 83
 About the Contributors
Judy Anderson is a librarian at Portland State University. Her scholarly work deals with
plagiary and other topics.
Leonard R. N. Ashley (Ph.D.), a professor of English at Brooklyn College (retired), is
the author of hundreds of books and reviews.
Claire Hoertz Badaracco (Ph.D.) is a professor of Communication at Marquette Univer-
sity. For some years she was the book review editor of the Journal of Communication.
Lynn Z. Bloom is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Aetna Chair of Writ-
ing at the University of Connecticut. Her extensive vita reveals numerous books, arti-
cles, poetry, and creative nonction, but none of the 300+ reviews she has published in
academic journals and, for 25 years, as a regular book review for the St. Louis Post-Dis-
patch.
Michael Burlingame teaches history at Connecticut College.
Edmund F. Byrne, J.D., Ph.D., taught philosophy at Indiana University in Indianapo-
lis from 969 to 998, at which time he retired as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and
of Philanthropic Studies. He has continued to take on various responsibilities since
retiring, including work as a legal intern for the Legal Services Organization of Indi-
anapolis; regular contributor of book reviews to the journal Teaching Philosophy; sec-
tion editor: work for the Journal of Business Ethics; and member and one-time chair of
the Book Award Committee of the North American Society for Social Philosophy. He
is working on a book about religion and public reason. He is the author of six books
and 30+ articles.
Russell Eisenman (Ph.D.) teaches psychology in Texas. He is a prolic scholar.
David Galef, a professor at the University of Mississippi, is a prolic author.
Robert Hauptman edits the Journal of Information Ethics.
M. Wendy Hennequin is at the University of Connecticut.
Jeanne M. Hites teaches in central Minnesota.
Wendell Johnson is a librarian in Illinois.
Ken Kister recently retired as one of North Americas best known reviewers of refer-
ence and information sources. Among his current projects is a book-length biography
of Eric Moon, scheduled for publication by McFarland in the spring of 2002. During
his career, Kister (MLS, Simmons) has worked in public, academic, and special libraries
and taught library science at several schools.
Richard H. McCuen (Ph.D., Georgia Tech) is the Ben Dyer Professor of Civil and Envi-
ronmental Engineering at the Univesity of Maryland. He has been the book review edi-
tor of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association since 985. He has pub-
lished extensively on engineering ethics, including Applied Ethics in Professional Practice,
which is oered by The Institute for Professional Practice.
Charles W. McCutchen is a physicist employed by the government.
Gordon Moran, an independent scholar, resides in Firenze, Italy.

95 Contributors
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without
permission.