Amen, Jenny!

BU anthropologist Jenny White publishes her first novel, and gets all sorts of reactions. But a big AMEN to this quote from the article:

It occurs to me, not for the first time, that academics are some of the few people in our knowledge economy expected to make available the intellectual fruit of decades of labor for a pittance, or for free, to publishers, journalists and others asking you — indeed, giving you the honor of spending hours or days of your time — to evaluate manuscripts, give information or travel across the country to give a talk. I regularly remind commercial textbook publishers that their offer of a $150 “honorarium” for reading a 500 page manuscript and writing an extensive review is inappropriate for a money-making enterprise.