And just when I was getting so chummy with my Kindle, Amazon goes all "Carnegie"

Don't know about this yet? You should. Folks all over the US are making a federal case out of it, literally. Looks like a grand monopoly suit in the works, which will affect everyone who values books: readers, writers, publishers, booksellers. Be informed.

The breaking news on March 27 From Writer's Weekly:
"Reports have been trickling in from the POD underground that Amazon/BookSurge representatives have been approaching some Lightning Source customers, first by email introduction and then by phone (nobody at BookSurge seems to want to put anything in writing). When Lightning Source customers speak with the BookSurge representative, the reports say, they are basically told they can either have BookSurge start printing their books or the 'buy' button on their Amazon.com book pages will be 'turned off.'"

Followups:

Amazon – The Great Dictator
What is going on at Amazon? The Internet behemoth suddenly seems to be turning the screw on publishers. Last week it was Print-On-Demand publishers whose turn it was to feel its wrath, with its outrageous behaviour demanding that POD publishers use only Amazon's 'Book Surge' POD service or face putative measures. This week it is the publishing world in general.
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Amazon Policy Concerns Many In Publishing Industry
The Washington Attorney General's Antitrust Division has advised Amazon.com of concerns it has received from several parties and has asked the company to respond. The Antitrust Division is also conducting an initial review of the marketplace and will respond to inquiries more full once the review is complete, according to Writers Weekly.
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New publishing policy at Amazon angers authors: Writers see move to monopolize printing
A power struggle has erupted between several national writers groups and Amazon.com Inc. over the company's new publishing policy, which some charge gives Amazon a monopoly on book printing.
(more)