Thoughts on the U.S. election

Posted by Simone Preuss Nov 7, 2008

I know, the last thing on Barack Obama's mind right now would be his book sales - but just think about it, they must be soaring! In fact, they must have been ever since he was declared presidential nominee in August of this year. Or even earlier.

Here's how I deduct his surge in popularity based on his publications: His memoir Dreams from My Father came out in 1999 as a hardcover edition, which is the normal procedure for an unknown or little-known author. His second book about his political vision, The Audacity of Hope, came out in October 2006, two years after Obama got elected to the U.S. Senate. Again, hardcover first, so the publisher was not ready to take the risk of a paperback first edition back then.

The book got reviewed in Publisher's Weekly at the time. Here's what they wrote: "Obama writes insightfully, with vivid firsthand observations, about politics and the compromises forced on politicians by fund-raising, interest groups, the media and legislative horse-trading. Alas, his muddled, uninspiring proposals bear the stamp of those compromises."

These "muddled, uninspiring proposals" in hardcover now rank at #18 on Amazon. The mass market paperback edition of Audacity (indicating a large print run to begin with) came out in July of this year and is currently ranked #1 on Amazon! The reprint edition of Dreams then came out in 2007 and the paperback in June 2008 (ranked #9 and #2 on Amazon, respectively).

The book Change We Can Believe In, quickly published in September 2008 before the outcome of the presidential race, looks like it is by Barack Obama but if you look closely, he's just written the foreword. Regardless, it's ranked #11 on Amazon.

Looks like the public really wants to get to know its president. Good then that among many firsts, Obama has also managed to publish his autobiographical and other writing even before his presidency.