Never ever give up - that's the philosophy

How court battle held up a book

THIS is the book critics said would never appear in print. But six years after it was completed, Making Names by Andrew Malcolm has reached the shelves of Brighton's bookshops. The 200,000-word work was the subject of one of the most extraordinary battles in publishing history and almost cost its author everything he owned, including his home.

Today Mr Malcolm said: "I'm very excited it is in the shops at all. It feels very good." Mr Malcolm, 44, sued Oxford University Press in 1985 after it withdrew an agreement to print Making Names, an original work on philosophy written in the style of Plato. The Brighton-based author then waged a bitter campaign against the Oxford press in the courts.

This is what happened:

• Mr Malcolm sued for breach of contract after Oxford pulled out of an agreement to publish the book.
• After four years of legal argument the case reached the High Court.
• Mr Malcolm cross-examined some of the top guns in the academic world who contested the case, but he lost.
• He appealed and three Lords Justices found in his favour. He was eventually awarded £17,500 damages.
• Making Names was finally printed by Brighton publishers AKME. This month it hits the streets of Brighton, London and Oxford.

If Mr Malcolm had lost the case he would have had to sell his house in Southover Street and file for bankruptcy. The case cost thousands of pounds in fees.

He said: "The inspiration for the book came to me in the mid-seventies sitting on Brighton Beach. I thought the idea pulled a lot of things together in a brilliant way. In the early eighties I revised the book and sent a synopsis to all the publishers in the country. Not many publishers print serious philosophy books, so I had a problem. I didn't want it to be written off as a cranky fringe work and it was almost a last throw of the dice going to Oxford University Press. That is when my battle started."

When the case began in 1986 Andrew Malcolm, who now earns his living as a builder, worked almost full-time as an unpaid lawyer. He admits it was a lonely struggle for him, despite support from his family and girlfriend Liz.