USC Doc’s Book Pulled After Newspaper Finds ‘95 Instances of Plagiarism’

A highly anticipated new book by a University of Southern California oncologist has been suspended from release after the Los Angeles Times uncovered dozens of instances of plagiarism in it. The Book of Animal Secrets: Nature’s Lessons for a Long and Happy Life by Dr. David Agus was all set for release March 7 after a buzzy press tour that included stops on CBS News and The Howard Stern Show, as well as a spot atop Amazon’s best selling books about animals list. However, the Times investigation revealed at least 95 instances of plagiarization in the book, some word-for-word. Sources the book was accused of stripping info from range from The New York Times to a column in an Indiana newspaper, and even a 2016 blog post titled “The Ten Craziest Facts You Should Know About A Giraffe.” Both Agus and Simon & Schuster released statements announcing sales of the book have been suspended Monday, days after the Times reached out with its findings. The publishing company said Agus decided to pull the book, and he has their full support. “I was recently made aware that in writing The Book of Animal Secrets we relied upon passages from various sources without attribution, and that we used other authors’ words. I want to sincerely apologize to the scientists and writers whose work or words were used or not fully attributed,” the doctor said in a statement. “I take any claims of plagiarism seriously.”