Jim Baen Dies

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.david-drake.com/baen.html">http://www.david-drake.com/baen.html</a><br /><br />From the <a href="http://www.baen.com">Baen.com</a> home page: <i>"We regret to inform you that publisher Jim Baen passed away on June 28th. He suffered a massive stroke on June 12, 2006 and never woke from it. Jim Baen was a founding partner of Baen Books, one of the largest independent publishers of popular fiction. Since its inception in 1984, Baen evolved to be one of the leading publishers of science fiction and fantasy, and in recent years a leader in electronic publishing and the fight against encrypted books."</i><br /><br />It is obvious from his obituary and web site, he had a passion for books, both electronic and paper, and a respect for his customers, which he treated like valued customers, not thieves. You'll be missed Jim! You can read about Jim Baen's philosophy in fighting the practice of foisting DRM on users <a href="http://www.baen.com/library/">at the Baen Free Libaray page</a>.

[Airscanner]

A really great loss. He published books that no "big publisher" ever would. I have fond memories of reading many excellent sci-fi books published under his imprint.

[griph]

I've been a fan of David Weber (Honor Harrington novels) for some time - all published by Baen. I purchased 'At All Costs' in hard back and had a great surprise - in the back a CD with 36 CURRENT Baen unabridge novels including David Weber &amp; Eric Flint in HTML and MS Reader formats - plus cover artwork - that was the best deal I've had for some time - and underlines the publisher's policy for good service!
Jim - you will be missed, and I hope that there are others who will continue the legacy you leave behind!

[Damion Chaplin]

'Tis a sad day indeed for the publishing industry, and for Sci-Fi fans in general. Science Fiction wouldn't be what it is today without Jim Baen. He will be sorely missed and I can only hope his legacy continues in his absence.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I'm very, very sorry to hear this - the ebook community has lost a good friend today. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

[SteveHoward999]

Seems like he has been the only publisher to truly understand the concept of eBooks. Plus, of course, he published some great books.

This is a sad loss.

[geneb]

This is indeed a great loss. You will be missed by many Mr. Baen. We can only hope your legacy will live on.

[natestera]

I probably have 5 or 6 Baen books on my handheld at any one time. The site offers an extensive free library, and many different e-book formats. I agree with the previous post about the Honor Harrington series, and recommend also anything from Harry Turtledove, James Schmidz, Larry Niven, Kieth Laumer, David Drake, Jerry Pournelle, Eric Flint and many more. Baen books also published a lot of reprints of old science fiction periodicals in compiled books for the author, and that's some of their best stuff. The Laumer Retief book is priceless sci-fi wit at it's finest, and free now, and anyone that likes tank stories, must have the Bolos series. I didn't know him, but Mr. Baen will indeed be missed, and I hope this site is there for as long as there are e-book readers in the world.

[Darren Behan]

Farewell to a pioneer who took a stand against the inanity of DRM and trusted the consumer to do the right thing. Thanks to Jim, I discovered ebooks through baen.com. My sympathies to his family.

db

[Steve Jordan]

In addition to the great material available through Baen Books, Baen was my inspiration for the potential and future of e-book publishing. He had a dedication and vision that is an example for us all. My sympathies go out to Jim's family and friends.

[Rob Alexander]

What a loss! Jim Baen was the only publisher that really got it about ebook consumers and, consequently, Baen Books and his Webscriptions site are the only places I buy ebooks. It's so refreshing to just pick your book, pay for it, and drop into your library where you can download your purchase (or any previous purchase) in any format you like. No DRM, no treating me like a criminal, just honest people doing business. I discovered many exceptional authors on his site, including the previously mentioned Weber. If you're looking for a good, hard-core scifi war story, there's no one like Weber. Rest in peace, Jim. We'll miss you!