The New York Times reports that Amazon is slowing deliveries of certain popular books to a crawl, apparently in retaliation against publisher Hachette Books. For example, if you want to buy Stephen Colbert's America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't from the online retailer, you'll have to wait several weeks for shipment, as opposed to the customary two days.
It remains unclear what the beef is between Amazon and Hachette. A spokesperson for the publisher said Amazon was slowing deliveries "for reasons of their own," and an Amazon publicist acknowledged that the company is holding "minimal stock" of Hachette books. However, this is not the first time that Amazon has used its monopoly-like clout to play hardball. Here's the Times:
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