Twelve years of terror end with a world in flames. Behind filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl’s stirring footage of a million joyous patriots, the horror of Nazi Germany slowly unfolds. It engulfs Katja Sommer, a “good German” with dangerous desires; Frederica Brandt, a traitor to her homeland; Rudi Lamm, a homosexual camp survivor and forced soldier for Hitler; and Peter Arnhelm, a half-Jewish smuggler on the run. Under the scrutiny of the familiar monsters of the Third Reich, their enablers, and their hangers-on, these four struggle for life and for each other. Love does not conquer all, but it’s far better than going to hell alone. (netgalley.com)
It's a story of survival and courage and fighting against something that seems all powerful. But you wouldn't know I'm reading this (unless you looked at my Goodreads profile) because the cover isn't in my 'Currently Gnawing On . . .' spot like all my currently reading books go. Why? Because Photobucket deleted the image for violation of their terms of use. You can find those terms of use here. Now considering I've been using Photobucket to post book covers to route here for years, it couldn't have been just simple copyright infringement. They would have put the kibosh on my and everyone else's accounts eons ago. Well, here's the cover of TYGER. Why do you think they deleted the image?
Do you see it? Because I didn't when I originally uploaded the image. All I saw was the cover of the book I'm currently reading. But it appears Photobucket saw a member attempting to promote the Aryan nation by colorful book covers. Deleted. Imagine my surprise when I see a big white block in place of where the book cover once was.
Of course I read the terms and the only area where this cover can, VAGUELY, be wedged into is the following -
The following items are prohibited: anything that is patently offensive or promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any person or group;
Okay, sure, I get that. But how does this apply to the book cover? Is the mere presence of the swastika "patently offensive or promotes racism," never mind it's context? Seriously? Do you know how many books, the non neo-Nazi kind, are out there with swastikas on the cover? I can't go into Barnes & Noble without coming across at least one every time. Usually it's some kind of era spy/espionage novel of the Vince Flynn-type variety.
This bothers me. Yes, I totally get the connotations of a swastika. I'd have to be brain dead not to. But . . . this one's on an historical fiction novel about people fighting against the Nazis. This isn't promoting any of the prohibited items.
I'm not going any farther than to rant a bit here about it. I know when to pick and choose my battles and this is one that would be lost before it's fought. I just don't think it's too much to ask for a little context behind images. I don't like having my images deleted because of the mere presence of a symbol simply because that symbol is there. Christ. Google the damn book title at least.
And just FYI, I'm almost done with TYGER and it's a pretty good read and takes a look at Nazi Germany from the inside trying to get out. I'm really digging it. Nyah.
