I had a bit of luck in the book review department last month. "The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back," a highly praised history of the atomic bombing of Japan by Charles Pellegrino, was bumped from the review schedule for lack of space, but I wanted to let readers know about this compelling story and rescheduled it for today.

Now, "The Last Train" is derailed for the all-too familiar revelations of fabrication. Publisher Henry Holt last week pulled the book from distribution and promised to give refunds for any sold copies after a series of factual questions arose.

Mr. Pellegrino is an established author with several books to his credit, including "The Ghosts of the Titanic," landing him an advisory role on director James Cameron's film about the doomed ocean liner.

He also worked with Mr. Cameron on his latest, "Avatar," and the filmmaker had optioned "Last Train" for a movie.

Doubts about the book initially were raised when it was learned a source for the Hiroshima attack proved to be a phony. A man claiming to have flown aboard an observation plane told Mr. Pellegrino claims about the device that were later dismissed by experts. It was also proved that the source lied about his role in the mission.

After the contrite author vowed to correct the problem in paperback versions, more factual distortions arose, including Mr. Pellegrino's claim that he held a doctorate. He also quoted two other sources whose existence was questioned.

"It is easy to understand how even the most diligent author could be duped by a source, but we also understand that opens that book to very detailed scrutiny," said a statement from the publisher. It added:

"The author of any work of nonfiction must stand behind its content. We must rely on our authors to answer questions that may arise as to the accuracy of their work and reliability of their sources. Unfortunately, Mr. Pellegrino was not able to answer the additional questions that have arisen about his book to our satisfaction."

While "The Last Train" contained stirring stories of survival, especially the amazing saga of more than 100 survivors of both atomic bombings, the book and Mr. Pellegrino's research is en route to the pulping machine. Also lost in the project are the time and money Holt sunk into the book.

It's a fact of publishing, though, that Holt blames the author, not itself, for the errors. It might have saved itself the trouble if it had invested a few bucks in research.

That's not done much anymore, as last year's similar tales of fabrication and frauds demonstrated. Although these incidents seem to be occasional, it's usually by accident that the fakes come to light.

I tried to be a volunteer fact checker myself last year after I spotted a string of mistakes in advance copies of two books with Western Pennsylvania connections -- "Taking on The Trust" by Steve Weinberg and "American Eve" by Paula Uruburu. Both books contained factual errors, misspellings and odd descriptions of local sites.

Ms. Uruburu's publicist thanked me for the corrections and said they were being double-checked.

Mr. Weinberg, a journalism professor at the University of Missouri, made a series of odd mistakes, including calling Titusville the Crawford County seat.

In response to my alerts of the flubs, he thanked me and made a promise:

"I appreciate your diligence and your sharing. If the book is reprinted in hardcover or eventually appears in paperback, I will credit you for locating errors that W.W. Norton and I allowed missed," he wrote last year.

Whoops, another Weinberg miscue. You won't find my name in the paperback edition of "Taking on the Trust," although you will find it more accurate than the original.

First Published: March 7, 2010, 5:00 a.m.