A few days ago, MobyLives felt a little lonely in its criticism of Henry Holt and Company for the publisher’s announcement that it would revise — not withdraw — Charles Pellegrino‘s The Last Train from Hiroshima, which was under assault from numerous quarters for questionable and provably wrong reportage. Now, the company says it has changed its mind. “It is with deep regret that Henry Holt and Company announces that we will not print, correct or ship copies of Charles Pellegrino’s `The Last Train from Hiroshima,'” says a release from the company quoted in an Associated Press wire report by Hillel Italie.

The move comes on the heels of scathing revelations uncovered by web journalist David Brennan on his website and in a letter to MobyLives, detailed here on Moby yesterday, including further questionable “facts” in the Hiroshima book, allegations against Pellegrino’s other titles, and the revelation that Pellegrino has been lying about having earned a PhD.

Now, on top of questions concerning one of Pellegrino’s key sources for Hiroshima book — Joseph Fuoco, now dead, but whom Pellegrino says was a hoaxter who fooled him, as per our earlier report — the AP says Holt made its decision to stop the book after Pellegrino “was not able to answer” questions about two other sources in the book, including whether they even existed. As Italie reports,

The publisher was unable to determine the existence of a Father Mattias (the first name is not given) who supposedly lived in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing, and John MacQuitty, identified as a Jesuit scholar presiding over Mattias’ funeral.

“I read a number of books on this period of time and none of them mentioned Mattias or MacQuitty. I knew there was no way those people could have been omitted if they were real,” said history professor Barton Bernstein of Stanford University.

Or, as the company says in its statement, “The author of any work of nonfiction must stand behind its content. We must rely on our authors to answer questions that may arise as to the accuracy of their work and reliability of their sources. Unfortunately, Mr. Pellegrino was not able to answer the additional questions that have arisen about his book to our satisfaction.”

But beyond its stern statement disconnecting itself from Pellegrino — and possible legal suits from any number of people misrepresented in the book — what does Holt mean to do, exactly? According to the AP report,

Holt publicist Nicole Dewey said 18,000 copies of the book, published in January, were in print. The publisher “will issue full credit to wholesalers and retailers who wish to return the book. Consumers who seek a refund should return to the retailer from whom they purchased the book,” Monday’s statement said.

As of Monday afternoon, “Last Train” was ranked at 244 on the Amazon.com best-seller list. According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks around 75 percent of industry sales, the book has sold 7,000 copies.

Which means, of course, that Holt is doing absolutely nothing.

Although the AP report fails to say as much — perhaps because it’s so commonly known — all books are subject to return by retailers. Rather than doing the right thing and recalling The Last Train from Hiroshima, Holt is clearly leaving it out there in hopes of selling as many of the 18,000 copies they’ve printed as possible — and at 244 on Amazon, with 7,000 copies already sold, they’re selling at a good clip already. Plus, odds are very few people who bought the book have heard about the scandal, and even fewer will return it, while Amazon and other retailers will leave it out there to sell as long as it’s hot.

Holt’s announcement, in other words, is a fraud in itself.