Ben Carson, the conservative former neurosurgeon who reportedly is considering a run for president in 2016, extracted huge passages from other works and placed in his book, “America the Beautiful,” without attribution, prompting charges of plagiarism.
Carson acknowledged the breach, saying in a statement to ABC News: “I attempted to appropriately cite and acknowledge all sources in America the Beautiful, but inadvertently missed some. I apologize, and I am working with my editors to rectify the situation.”
BuzzFeed News reported that several portions of Carson’s 2012 book were lifted from a variety of sources, including several online articles, SocialismSucks.net, an article by CBS News and a host of conservative offerings.
“It has become apparent that further source citation is appropriate in Dr. Carson’s America the Beautiful. Any necessary updates will be made in subsequent printings,” a spokesperson of Zondervan, a Christian imprint of Harper Collins, said in a statement.
Conservative historian William Federer worked with Carson on his book and said he was “dismayed” at charges that Carson sought to steal others’ work.
“Any missing attributions were simply editor’s oversight,” he said in a statement “It is disingenuous for the writer of the BuzzFeed article to level the accusation of plagiarism against Dr. Carson.”
Federer was cited by Carson in the book, according to BuzzFeed. Federer says in the statement that he was cited with “correct attribution,” even though some of his work was not noted to be Federer’s.
He said he told Carson, “I hoped he would find (his writings) interesting and that he had full permission to use any of the material in the books as he liked.”
Federer said he also allowed Carson to “duplicate 10,000 words or less” as long as “acknowledgement is given.” He added that he read and approved Carson’s manuscript.
“He has shown an honest and sincere effort to give acknowledgment, and for this I am very grateful,” Federer added.
