Commentary on the American Prayer Book
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Here's the Thing
Hatchett's Commentary on the American Prayer Book is one of the essential books that sits on my shelf next to the BCP and Michno's Handbook . This was a seminary textbook for me, and I've seen it recommended frequently in this sub as a resource for unpacking the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.
With prayer book revision (shhhh don't say it out loud) realistically a long, long way off, books like this become even more vital to helping us understand the shape and riches of the prayer book that sits at the heart of our shared life of faith.
Unfortunately, it is out of print.
Are you in seminary? Has your professor told you to go find a used copy? Did they have to find another book to recommend because they can't stock it in the bookstore? Are you in EfM or exploring The Episcopal Church and can't stomach paying $139 for a used copy on eBay?
Don't worry, I might be able to help.
Brief History of Handoffs
Originally published in 1980 by Seabury Press, the rights and assets transferred to Winston Press when Seabury Press went out of business in 1984. Winston-Seabury in turn was sold in 1986 to Harper and Row, which in turn was sold the very next year to News Corp and later merged with the UK publisher William Collins to form Harper-Collins in 1990.
Following this series of acquisitions and mergers, Hatchett's book was published through an imprint of HC, HarperOne, I think until at least 2014 or so when I bought it from the Cokesbury bookstore on campus. I've contacted Harper-Collins as well as Church Publishing, and it seems the book is out of print for good, with no additional print runs planned or even an option for print-on-demand. One copy on Amazon is listed at $849, most others are well worn, with those in new condition commanding a high price.
Thanks in part to the Disney Corporation's copyright lobbying, the timeframe for a work entering the public domain is 96 years. For a book published in 1980, that means we're looking at 2076 before this text is free to share. Excuse me while I consult my calendar to see if I'll even still be alive.
What Now
So what do we do now? How are Episcopal learners and newly-forming clergy supposed to access this trusted and treasured reference tool?
I found a high resolution native scan of the book courtesy of Claremont School of Theology on Internet Archive. By digitally borrowing the book and making use of some know-how, I've been able to generate a PDF copy that is searchable, easier to read, and smaller in size (just 45.6 MB).
Unfortunately, I'm hesitant to share it directly for fear of running afoul of copyright law (even though the author has been deceased for 17 years and the publisher that holds the rights has stated:
>Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, this title is out of stock indefinitely. We recommend searching for the ISBN 9780060635541 on alternative book retail sites.
Fair Use can be a little complicated to untangle, but in light of the above, it does seem like there's a strong case here. The common standard of Amount Copied generally states that a sharing no more than 10% or a single chapter (whichever is smaller) is considered fair use.
Sample
I don't think I can share it here in its entirety, but here is a sample that includes the TOC and Introduction:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nKekd-2w3h4K4FSOcV8P8e1iWUW6oVqv/view?usp=sharing
If you would like to request a specific chapter, I'd be happy to provide help there too.
Just send me a DM.