Daniel Fleisch, a physics professor at Wittenberg University in Ohio, was "horrified to learn" from his one-star Amazon review that Ottawa, Canada customer Michel Cuhaci had received a copy of his textbook, A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations, which was missing the first 38 pages.

At first Fleisch offered to send a copy of the book via overnight delivery, but the date - it was 24 December - meant the book, intended as a Christmas present for Cuhaci's nephew, wouldn't arrive in time. He thought about driving to Canada from Ohio, but the weather was too snowy. "I felt pretty lousy," Fleisch told the Dayton Daily News.

Then he found a flight leaving at six am on Christmas morning, hired a rental car, and arrived at Cuhaci's house, where he asked a flabbergasted Cuhaci if he'd prefer a hardback or a paperback. "I was surprised and shocked. I was trying to understand what was happening," Cuhaci told the local paper.

Fleisch apologised for the flaw in the original copy, handed over the book and headed back to Ohio, arriving home after midnight. "Just seeing the look on his face ... it was worth it," he said. Cuhaci has now updated his Amazon review, saying the book is "excellent for a new aspiring electrical engineer, physics student or even a practising engineer".

"I guess there are miracles at Christmas!" he adds. "I never expected to receive a hand delivered book by the author himself Christmas morning, I am still in a state of disbelief ... What a wonderful surprise and made my day! I still cannot understand how the author managed to deliver it in person within a day of my first comment about the misprint volume."