Reuters
James Comey’s first week of sales of the much-anticipated recollection of his investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails and his awkward encounters with President Donald Trump has crushed the launch of Michael Wolff’s shocking million-selling “Fire and Fury,” a mostly open-access account of the early Trump White House days.
And Comey’s sales have outperformed the first week for Clinton’s own memoir of the upset 2016 election.
Flatiron Books announced Tuesday that sales of the former FBI director Comey’s memoir “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership” topped 600,000 copies across print, audio and e-books since it was published April 17, including pre-sales.
Clinton’s memoir, “What Happened,” sold more than 300,000 copies in all formats in its first week on sale. And “Fire and Fury” sold around 200,000 hardcover copies in its first full week on sale, according to NPD BookScan.
“A Higher Loyalty” got more promotion, including Comey’s own talk-show tour, and had an announced pre-release print run of 850,000 copies. By contrast, demand for “Fire and Fury” was largely surprising for industry watchers. The announced print run by Henry Holt and Co. was just 150,000 copies and many stores soon sold out. E-sales since then have helped pushed totals to well over 2 million copies to date.
Among the fastest-selling political books in recent memory were Bill Clinton’s “My Life” and Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue,” both of which were million sellers after two weeks of publication.
Comey’s polarizing account has drawn mixed reviews from critics. The New York Times called it “persuasive.” The Washington Post was mixed at best, with reviewer Carlos Lozada saying “Comey isn’t just the kind of writer who quotes Shakespeare, but the kind who quotes himself quoting Shakespeare.” Rolling Stone said Trump may be the villain in Comey’s tale but Comey brought the political poison.