Obama’s Books Out-Selling McCain’s Titles In 2008

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:00:37 +0000

If book sales were electoral votes, the U.S. presidential election would hardly be a close contest.

So far in 2008, four books published by Sen. Barack Obama between 2004 and fall 2008 have sold a combined 912,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan.

In comparison, Sen. John McCain’s five titles, published between 1999 and summer 2008, have sold a total of 116,000 copies — almost 800,000 copies less than Obama.

Between January and September 21, 2008, McCain’s top selling book, “Faith of My Fathers,” sold 73,000 copies in hardcover, paperback, and audio editions.

Obama’s top book, “The Audacity of Hope,” out-sold McCain’s title by 639% during the same period, according to Nielsen, with sales of 540,000 copies in hardcover, paperback, audio, and Spanish language editions.

John McCain’s Book Titles	Format	Pub Date	Publisher (Imprint)	2008 Unit Sales (Thru Sept. 21, 2008) *
FAITH OF MY FATHERS	Hardcover	3/1/2008	RANDOM HOUSE	36,000
FAITH OF MY FATHERS	Trade Paperback	9/1/2000	HARPER PERENNIAL	35,000
WHY COURAGE MATTERS	MM Paperback	7/1/2008	BALLANTINE BOOKS	11,000
HARD CALL	Trade Paperback	2/1/2008	TWELVE	9,000
WORTH THE FIGHTING FOR	Trade Paperback	9/1/2003	RANDOM HOUSE	7,000
WHY COURAGE MATTERS	Hardcover	1/1/2004	RANDOM HOUSE	5,000
CHARACTER IS DESTINY	Trade Paperback	8/1/2007	RANDOM HOUSE	4,000
HARD CALL	Hardcover	8/1/2007	TWELVE	4,000
FAITH OF MY FATHERS	Hardcover	8/1/1999	RANDOM HOUSE	1,000
CHARACTER IS DESTINY	Hardcover	10/1/2005	RANDOM HOUSE	1,000
FAITH OF MY FATHERS	Audio	4/1/2008	RANDOM HOUSE AUDIBLE	1,000
HARD CALL	Audio	2/1/2008	HACHETTE AUDIO	1,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (January 1, 2008 – September 21, 2008). *BookScan does not track sales from Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, BJ’s, and airports.

Barack Obama’s Book Titles	Format	Pub Date	Publisher (Imprint)	2008 Unit Sales (Thru Sept. 21, 2008) *
THE AUDACITY OF HOPE	Trade Paperback	11/1/2007	THREE RIVERS PRESS (CA)	441,000
DREAMS FROM MY FATHER	Trade Paperback	8/1/2004	THREE RIVERS PRESS (CA)	310,000
THE AUDACITY OF HOPE	Hardcover	10/1/2006	CROWN PUBLISHERS	33,000
DREAMS FROM MY FATHER	Hardcover	1/1/2007	CROWN PUBLISHERS	30,000
THE AUDACITY OF HOPE	MM Paperback	7/1/2008	VINTAGE BOOKS USA	30,000
THE AUDACITY OF HOPE	Audio	11/1/2007	RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO ASSETS	27,000
DREAMS FROM MY FATHER	Audio	5/1/2005	RANDOM HOUSE AUDIBLE	13,000
THE ESSENTIAL BARACK OBAMA	Audio	3/1/2008	RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO ASSETS	9,000
BARACK OBAMA: IN HIS OWN WORDS	Trade Paperback	3/1/2007	CARROLL & GRAF PUBLISHERS	7,000
LA AUDACIA DE LA ESPERANZA	Trade Paperback	6/1/2007	VINTAGE BOOKS USA	4,000
THE AUDACITY OF HOPE	Audio	10/1/2006	RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO ASSETS	3,000
CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN	Audio	9/1/2008	RANDOM HOUSE AUDIBLE	1,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (January 1, 2008 – September 21, 2008). *BookScan does not track sales from Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, BJ’s, and airports.

Nielsen Wire » The Audacity of Hope

Obama’s Books Out-Selling McCain’s Titles In 2008