Vector Press
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Press is a small mail order book company dealing in unusual and hard to get information. Some of the titles include : Be your own undertaker - How to dispose of a dead body; Bazooka - How to build your own; How to hide anything; Lock picking Manual; Encyclopedia of Revenge etc.. Mike Wilson has been operating his mail order company for seven years. Pig Meat thought his range of books so interesting that we decide to do a mail interview with him, to just find out what it's all about.
Pig: Tell me about your background?
Mike: Really pretty uninteresting. I'm a white, middle class, single, university educated male.
Pig: How many people are involved in Vector Press?
Mike: All the administrative details and order fulfilment are handled by me (with occasional help from my friends.) The books we publish are written on a free-lance basis.
Pig: What inspired you to start Vector Press?
Mike: Censorship, both formal and informal. I've always believed passionately in both a free press and freedom of information. In the early eighties (as political correctness began to rule the day,) some forms of previously legitimate speech began to quietly lose currency. It became acceptable to publish explicit sex manuals (both gay and straight) and for minorities to advocate violence and revolution, yet technical information of an unusual nature became harder and harder to find. I selected the field I did because of this, and because I have a reasonable grounding in the sciences.
Pig: How is Vector Press run?
Mike: Vector Press is purely a mail-order business which publishes and sells retail books. We don't have a shop-front. The books we publish are written by free-lance agents who usually contact us first. The more customers we have, the greater the pool of talent we have to select our authors from.
Pig: Where do you obtain your books and plans?
Mike: Most of our plans (but not all) are obtained from Information Unlimited in the US. This enables us to obtain parts and technical assistance if needed. Although we don't sell completed devices, Information Unlimited do, which enables us to be sure that the plans we sell actually work. We publish a number of books ourselves, others are obtained from distributors in Australia and overseas. Of the books we import the vast majority are not available in Australia from other suppliers. In fact the vast majority of the titles we stock are not available from any other source.
Pig: Have you had any backlash from some of your titles and if so, what kind of trouble?
Mike: One of my early titles ('Weapons of the American Underground') was banned by the Federal Government. I used to advertise in People until a single reader complained to the Advertising Standards Council about my ad for 'The Complete Lock Picking Manual.' The ASC wrote to me and I returned a detailed submission explaining that I had not breached any ASC guidelines. The ASC agreed, then leant on Australian Consolidated Press (the publisher of People) to disallow any further advertisements for the book. I have always found it amusing that a magazine which runs advertisements for phone-sex lines called "I Love My Dog", has problems with lock picking. "Australia Post" also banned my lock picking advertisement. I am now permitted to advertise my catalogue in Post, however. They seem enthusiastic about my continued custom, even though they have a sample of my catalogue. Perhaps the old order has changed.
Pig: Would you feel guilty if someone used your books for bad instead of good?
Mike: To feel guilty would imply that I felt I had done something wrong by providing the information I do. I don't. It would be tragic if someone were to use the information I provide for nefarious purposes. However, experience in the US suggests that the possibility is remote. Kurt Saxon, with a mailing list of over 80 000 people for his 'Poor Man's James Bond,' has never had a customer face any legal action related to his book. 'The Poor Man's James Bond' is an instruction manual on improved weaponry and is banned in Australia. Let's face it, if you want a gun or an explosive substance, the easiest way to obtain it is to buy it. Gun laws and explosive licensing laws don't make that difficult, and a thriving black market in weaponry exists anyway. Furthermore, most people who commit violent crimes (of the Hoddle St/ Queen St/ Strathfield Plaza type) do so on the spur of the moment. They are unlikely to snap, buy a metal lathe, machine a pistol, buy ammunition then go berserk.
Pig: Do you think that by putting "for information purposes only" you stop people from using the information or is it to cover your own back?
Mike: A bit of both. A lot of the information I sell can be very dangerous if misused or used without the proper precautions. Use may also be illegal without appropriate licences etc. The more often I reinforce this fact the better. I also believe that the purchaser must take responsibility for his/her own use of the information - and legally, at least for the most part, that is still thankfully the case.
Pig: Do you believe in all the information contained in your books and plans?
Mike: Yes and No. I believe in the accuracy of all the technical information contained in the books and plans we sell. If I say a particular title enables you to build a device to do X, then to my knowledge that is the case. Similarly, as far as I know the theory behind the device is also correct. By that I mean any physical, electronic or chemical theory given is also accurate. I do not however, necessarily agree with the attitudes expressed by the authors. Some titles also deal with controversial areas of science. For example, the 'energy creation' plans detail an unusual theory of free energy: it is up to the reader to determine for him or herself the value of the information. We sell plans for a negative ion generator, and the device described produces negative ions. However, the value of negative ions for health and well-being is still in dispute. Finally, some of our titles, such as 'Hoax of the Twentieth Century,' are stocked purely because of their controversial nature. The fact that the mainstream media does not allow such ideas to be expressed and evaluated is a strong incentive for me to provide an alternative outlet. I don't claim to support the ideas expressed in such publications (and I often say that in the catalogue).
Pig: What kind of people do you think would be interested in your books?
Mike: Broadly speaking, my audience consists of three kinds of people: a) People who want access to hard to find information because they resent others' attempts to prevent them from making free and informed choices, I include myself in this category. b) People who want the information I sell because they may need it one day. The most obvious example of books people would buy are self-defence and survival books. c) People who wish to use the information I provide immediately. I have locksmiths, licensed explosive handlers, lecturers, shooters, weapons trainers, electronic production houses, military personnel and police libraries on my customer list. The SA S.T.A.R. force arrived on my door one day to obtain some information on homemade weapons.
Pig: What kind of person would buy "Be Your Own Undertaker - how to dispose of a dead body"?
Mike: People automatically assume the worst about this title. However, it is one of the most universally intriguing titles I stock. Although it is not one of my best sellers, in general conversation it evokes one of the most positive reactions from the general public. Women especially seem to find it interesting (unlike many of the other titles I sell). I guess to be honest most of the people interested in this title are simply curious about the information. Few people would seriously consider it of great practical value - even though in survival situations (such as wartime) knowing how to dispose of the dead is vitally important.
Pig: What sort of person would be interested in 'Encyclopedia of Revenge'?
Mike: A lot of people feel that they have been victimised by bureaucracy, enemies or business. Books of this nature can provide avenues for revenge. Most people, however, know that such books are compendia of little known information and enjoy them for that reason. Much of the information (at the less serious end of the scale) can also be used for practical jokes. Methylene blue, for example, when added to a drink will cause the victim's urine to turn bright blue. This could be amusing, (especially if he's been screwing your wife...)
Pig: What are your most popular titles?
Mike: At the moment, the list is as follows:
* 1. Plastic explosives
* 2. The Collection CD ROM
* 3. Itm1/Stg 1 Stun Gun Plans
* 4. Complete Lock Picking Manual 1
* 5. Chemical Magic
* 6. The Firework Cookbook
* 7. Complete Lock Picking Manual 2
* 8. Encyclopedia of Revenge
* 9. The Phrack Files
* 10. Secrets of a Super Hacker
This list does not include newly released titles (which are of course our current best sellers)
Pig: What do you think of Australian laws?
Mike: Politically, I am probably closest to libertarian in attitude. As such, I generally believe that fewer laws mean better laws. Australia is not "over-governed," it simply has too many laws. From a comparative perspective, however, Australia is relatively privileged. Even ignoring comparisons with most of the world's legal system (Islamic Law, Chinese Law, etc.) Australia can still claim to be lucky. We don't have the structures of the U.K.'s proposed Criminal Justice Bill, the draconian provisions of the U.S.'s RICO Act nor the bizarre laws of Canada (where sex toys are illegal because they are pornographic!). That being said, it must also be noted that Australia doesn't have the drug-crime, poverty, and race-relations problems of the Western countries with whom we compare ourselves. If we did, our laws would no doubt be much harsher. Politicians love an excuse to beef up the law. There is also a disturbing trend toward the "virtuous victim" syndrome in Australian society, and corresponding laws to enshrine it. Instead of facing problems individually it is now seen as courageous to whinge to a government department or the media. If your partner shouts at you, don't shout back, or leave. Just label yourself a "survivor of verbal violence". And so on.
Pig: Are Australians being controlled too much by the government and media?
Mike: Surprisingly, no. We have more media diversity now than at any time in history - even more so now with the increasing acceptance of the Internet. The fact that the majority of people still believe the same cliches and continue to live Thoreau's "lives of quiet desperation" is no different from at any time in the past. The young at the moment, however, have embraced alternative literature, film, art and commentary more fully than ever before. A large proportion still believe the prejudices of political correctness, but an ever increasing number are now able to question not only the values of society but the value of even having a society. Most people still fail to think for themselves, pay too much attention to the views of their peers and accept the prevailing cultural standards a little too whole-heartedly, but at least alternative viewpoints are available for those who want them. There will never be a time in history when the majority are not ill-informed and hidebound by convention. What is important is that cracks exist to allow "free-thinkers" to experiment with new lifestyles and ideas.
To obtain a Vector Press catalogue simply send a 95c stamp to:
Vector Press
P.O. Box 434
Brighton S.A. 5048
Australia
Don't forget to mention that Pig Meat sent you!