BELLESILES UPDATE: The Emory Wheel is reporting that Bellesiles may have his prizes revoked — both the Bancroft Prize and another from the Organization of American Historians. But to me, the big story is at the end, where it is revealed that Garry Wills — who wrote an absurdly favorable review of Arming America for the New York Times, part of which is excerpted at the beginning of James Lindgren’s Yale Law Journal piece — has changed his tune publicly:

Garry Wills, a Northwestern University (Ill.) historian who wrote a favorable review of the book in The New York Times, wrote in an e-mail that much of Bellesiles’ work has been “discredited.”

In his book A Necessary Evil, Wills cites Bellesiles’ work to refute popular claims that the Second Amendment guarantees individuals the right to bear arms.

In his e-mail, Wills wrote that he regrets having professionally associated himself with Bellesiles.

“I would not have included it if I had known what I now do, though my basic argument on the Second Amendment is not affected by it,” Wills wrote.

Knopf Press, which published Arming America and is said to have plans to print a second edition, did not respond to repeated e-mails and phone calls.

I’m glad to see that Wills has the decency to admit this now. (Though the claim that his argument is “not affected” is a bit much.) Knopf, though, isn’t showing much decency at all here. Coming soon: The Knopf guide to Piltdown Man!