My orders to the UK have practically shriveled up and disappeared. In previous years, I have been sending about half a dozen books a week to the UK. The
last book I sent there was on April 8th, six or seven weeks ago! I've seen a similar drop across the board, including domestic sales, but nothing has been
as dramatic as the dearth of orders from across the pond.
Two explanations immediately come to mind:
1. The recession. (Obviously.) From what I read in the papers (well, the NY Times), Britain is hurting more than other European countries. (In fact, I read
this week that the country's credit rating had been downgraded by Goldman Sachs...which made me think, who the hell are Goldman Sachs to think that they
can rate anybody, given their culpability in the downturn).
2. Relative strength of the dollar vis-a-vis the pound, compared to previous years.
But I am wondering whether there is a third factor at play: Is anti-Americanism on the rise in Britain (since we caused the recession with our real-estate
bubble, institutional corruption, credit default swaps, etc.) and does this account for the pitiful sales to the UK? Or am I the only one reporting a steep
decline in orders from the UK?
Any Brits in the house? Americans, with useful sales data?

