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