Jane Goodall's Plagarism

If I could use one word to describe what has happened in the writing of Jane Goodall's new book it would be "unfortunate." Think about all of the things Goodall has accomplished in her scientific studies of chimps and the worldwide recognition she has gotten. So much respect is lost for her because of her plagiarism. Goodall will be looked at very differently from a professional stand point. She truly messed up badly.

Goodall's plagiarism is very serious. Not only will it lose her respect, but it is also illegal. She stole someone else's work, and that is not ok under any circumstances. “This was a long and well researched book,” Goodall said in an e-mail, “and I am distressed to discover that some of the excellent and valuable sources were not properly cited, and I want to express my sincere apologies. I hope it is obvious that my only objective was to learn as much as I could so that I could provide straightforward factual information distilled from a wide range of reliable sources.” After reading this quote, I can tell Goodall didn't intend any harm, but that still doesn't make it permissible. I think she should first write apologies to all of the authors she stole work from. Next, she should go back it edit the whole book again and fix any errors in not giving credit to others. Only then should she be allowed to put her name on the book and share it with the world.