Ex-Aide's Book Corners Market in Capital Buzz

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, March 25 — On the first day, the hottest new book in town sold out in an hour at Politics and Prose and sales clerks turned away dozens of disappointed buyers. On the second day, the store called three national book wholesalers, which announced they did not have a single copy left.

That was when Barbara Meade knew that Richard A. Clarke, the author of "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror," was the genuine article, an unexpected literary phenomenon whose account of counterterrorism failures within the Bush administration has been flying off the shelves this week.

"It's reached a point now where if you're going to be in the loop in Washington you probably have to say you've read the book," Ms. Meade, co-owner of Politics and Prose, said, adding that she believed she now has enough copies to last through the weekend.

In Washington, Mr. Clarke's book is not just the talk of the town, it is practically the only conversation in town, having — in just four days — hijacked the news agenda and placing him in the ranks of other best-selling Washington authors like Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. On Amazon.com, it is ranked first, outselling even "The South Beach Diet." And some booksellers around the country are struggling to keep up with demand for the book, which has gone into its fifth printing since it went on sale on Monday.

more…
http://nytimes.com/2004/03/26/politics/26BOOK.html?hp

[Supormom]

1. Pretty good for a guy who was supposedly "out of the loop"!

"It's reached a point now where if you're going to be in the loop in Washington you probably have to say you've read the book," Ms. Meade, co-owner of Politics and Prose, said.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Funny how all the witnesses before the Commission...

claimed not to have read the book --

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

2. 5th printing in 4 days!

I have yet to add my count to the total, but soon, very soon.

[kskiska]

3. If we're to believe that Clarke is a liar to be discredited

why are so many people buying his book?

[yellowcanine]

4. Exactly

People aren't going to buy a book if they think the writer is lying. People are buying it because they think he is telling the truth and they want to read it first hand. The bushbots have badly miscalculated on this. They will try to save the day by having Rice testify before the Commission but it will be too little too late. Worst political week of the Bush presidency, hands down. The wheels are coming off the Bush campaign cart.

[fearnobush]

5. People are buying it because Condi won't testify.

[Florida_Geek]

6. An even if she testifies

she wants it to be in PRIVATE. The People do not want to hear that.