In a unique twist on publishing, a business school professor has developed computer algorithms that collect publicly available information on a given subject and turn it into books, printed on demand or delivered digitally, reports the New York Times. Using this method, Philip M. Parker–a chaired professor of management science at Insead, a business school with campuses in Fontainebleau, France, and Singapore–has generated more than 200,000 books, as an advanced search on Amazon.com under his publishing company shows, making him, in his own words, "the most published author in the history of the planet." And he makes money doing it. If this sounds like cheating to the layman’s ear, it does not to Mr. Parker, who holds some provocative–and apparently profitable–ideas on what constitutes a book. While the most popular of his books may sell hundreds of copies, he said, many have sales in the dozens, often to medical libraries collecting nearly everything he produces…

Click here for the full story