The Latest Political-Book Best-Seller List

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: December 16, 2006
The Latest Poli-Book Best-Seller List
By Orville Buddo

Senator Barack Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope,’’ truly has staying power on our poli-book best-seller list; for the second time in a month he rules at No. 1. And, while even he mentioned how suspicious he was of the “hype’’ surrounding his possible Democratic presidential bid during his maiden trip to New Hampshire last Sunday, all the publicity surely is helping to pump his book sales....

Riding high, but of course not as high as Mr. Obama, his potential rival for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, is former Senator John Edwards, at No. 9 with “Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives.’’ It’s more or less a coffee-table book, featuring homes of politicians and celebrities featured as well as everyday folks.

But we can’t pass up the fortunate coincidence that his partner-in-home-life, Elizabeth Edwards, holds the spot of No. 15, with “Saving Graces,’’ her memoir of a battle with breast cancer and the 2004 campaign in which she traveled the country alongside her husband, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. The two have made a series of media appearances lately....

The Iraq war and religious conflict still hold top spots on the list. “Fiasco’’ by The Washington Post military correspondent, Tom Ricks, and Bob Woodward’s “State of Denial,’’ continue to round out the topical themes of the day. (With the Pentagon saying farewell to Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary for the last six years, we can only wonder whether those who work there will miss what they called his snowflakes — the white sheets of paper filled with questions that provide the colorful opening of Mr. Woodward’s book.)...

HARDCOVER POLITICAL BEST SELLER LIST
Based on sales for Nov. 18, through Dec. 9 , 2006

1 The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama. (Crown, $25.) The Illinois junior senator proposes that Americans move beyond their political divisions.
2 Culture Warrior, by Bill O’Reilly. (Broadway, $26.) The host of “The O’Reilly Factor” describes a culture war between traditionalists and secular-progressives.
3 The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. (Houghton Mifflin, $27.) An Oxford scientist asserts that belief in God is irrational and that religion has done great harm in the world.
4 Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, by Jimmy Carter. (Simon & Schuster, $27.) The former president calls for revitalizing the peace process.
5 State of Denial, by Bob Woodward. (Simon & Schuster, $30.) The third “Bush at War” volume by the longtime Washington Post reporter and editor describes a dysfunctional administration’s inept conduct of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
6 The World Is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $30.) A columnist for The Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy.
7 From Baghdad, With Love, by Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth. (The Lyons Press, $22.95.) How a mischievous stray dog entered the lives of Marines.
8 Letter To A Christian Nation, by Sam Harris. (Knopf, $16.95.) The author of “The End of Faith,” responds to Christians’ arguments in defense of their beliefs
9 Home, by John Edwards. (Collins, $29.95.) The former senator presents a blueprint of American homes and how they shape lives.
10 Because They Hate, by Brigitte Gabriel. (St. Martin’s, $23.95.) The author (who describes herself as an Arab Christian and victim of radical Islam) presents her view of terrorism.
11 War On The Middle Class, by Lou Dobbs. (Viking, $24.95.) The anchor of CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” decries the outsourcing of jobs, the decline in health care standards and the widening income gap.
12 Fiasco, by Thomas E. Ricks. (The Penguin Press, $27.95.) How the Bush administration’s and the military’s failure to understand the developing Iraqi insurgency contributed to its further growth.
13 Point To Point Navigation, by Gore Vidal (Doubleday, $26.) Memoirs of a life in letters

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/12/16/the-latest-poli-book-best-seller-list/?8dpc