Publisher says Trump book hits record sales

From coast to coast, US bookstores have been reportedly selling out of the book that has caused a furious reaction from the White House and President Donald Trump - Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House - and the publisher said it has orders for more than a million hardcover copies.

That, says publisher Henry Holt & Co, has made the book about Trump's first year in office by Michael Wolff the fastest-selling nonfiction book in its 151-year history.

The book has been No. 1 on Amazon's best-sellers list since Jan 3, when the first excerpts from the book were published online. The e-book edition is available but Amazon is telling customers of a "2 to 4 week" wait for the hard cover version, although it said copies could ship sooner if the printing schedule allows it.

John Sargent, CEO of Henry Holt's parent company, MacMillan Publishers USA, told The Washington Post in an interview on Monday, "We have multiple printings at multiple printers now and all of our suppliers are doing a remarkable job of getting books into the marketplace. They all realize the importance of this book as a commercial success, but they also recognize the huge importance of reading a book the government is trying to stop."

The White House has attacked Wolff and the book, with press secretary Sarah Sanders calling it a "complete fantasy". Trump sought to block the book's publication, whose revelations prompted him to denounce Stephen K. Bannon, his former chief strategist.

On Jan 4, a lawyer for Trump demanded the author and publisher stop releasing material, retract what had already been released, and apologize. Instead, the publisher bumped up the book's publication date up four days from Jan 9 to Jan 5, citing "unprecedented demand.

"My clients do not intend to cease publication, no [retraction] will occur and no apology is warranted," Elizabeth A. McNamara, an attorney for the publisher, wrote in a letter to Trump's lawyer.

She said that "we have no reason to doubt ... that Mr. Wolff's book is an accurate report on events of vital public importance. Mr. Trump is the president of the United States, with the 'bully pulpit' at his disposal. To the extent he disputes any statement in the book, he has the largest platform in the world to challenge it."

In a series of morning tweets on Jan 6, Trump responded to what he perceived as the book's characterizations of him as childish and mentally unfit for office, by calling himself "a very stable genius.

"I went from VERY successful businessman," Trump wrote on Twitter, "to top T.V. Star, to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!"

China Daily