Penguin has responded to charges by David Brock that the new book attacking Hillary Clinton from its right-wing Sentinel imprint, The Truth About Hillary by Ed Klein, includes numerous factual errors that are “obviously false and defamatory” (see Tuesday’s MobyLives digest). As Steven Zeitchik details in a Publishers Weekly report, Penguin did not respond directly to Brock’s request for “a public explanation of what, if any, editorial standards and fact-checking processes the Penguin Group applies to its imprint.” The publisher “instead expressed support for its author while implying that Brock’s criticism of the book amounted to censorship,” although it at the same time cited the “author’s responsibility to assure factual accuracy,” reports Zeitchik. A company spokesperson added, “The book publishing industry has always fought against censorship of any kind,” seeming to indicate that the entire industry joined Penguin in seeing Brock’s comments as a threat. Meanwhile, A BBC News wire story reports the extreme nature of the book “has divided her detractors.” Says “prominent Republican consultant” Craig Shirley, “This stuff is disgusting. It makes your skin crawl. It could backfire and make Hillary a more sympathetic figure.” Another of the article’s observations seems to indicate the book is only preaching to the converted: “The online bookshop Amazon helpfully tells customers ordering The Truth About Hillary what those who have bought the rather salacious book about Mrs Clinton have purchased in the past. At the top of the list is Unfit For Command, a book which claimed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry lied to get his Vietnam medals.”