Year Book

Obama’s Books Heading to the Top of Charts

Barack Obama’s two books Dreams from my Father and The Audacity of Hope, are selling incredibly well in the UK and could vie for the ‘unexpected bestseller’ title this Christmas, claim Waterstone’s, the UK’s leading bookseller.

Waterstone’s has seen increasingly good sales for the two titles since they were released earlier this year. “Books by politicians aren’t natural Christmas hits, especially when they come at the start of a career in high office rather than at the end. But Obama has captured everyone’s imagination and British readers want to find out more from him, so it was very prescient of the President-elect to write these books, and even more so for Canongate to publish them in the UK,” says Waterstone’s Politics Buyer, Andrew Lake.

Political biographies are not natural bestsellers – for every success like Alistair Campbell’s Blair Years There Are several notable failures, such as David Blunkett’s notoriously poor selling autobiography. But foreign politicians’ books often fare better in the UK than that of home grown statesmen. “Bill Clinton’s autobiography was a huge success, and President Musharraf of Pakistan’s In the Line of Fire did very well in 2006. But the politician I am reminded most of in the way Obama’s books are selling is Nelson Mandela. He is an inspirational figure whose appeal crosses borders and generations, and his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom is a bestseller to this day. I think Obama’s books will also have a long shelf life.”

Sales of the two titles nationally are already over 130,000 combined, but Waterstone’s believes they can only rise. “We saw sales double week on week the day of the election, and today we have placed big orders for more stock to go into our stores nationwide. Obama’s sales could easily reach a quarter of a million by Christmas if this keeps up – and I believe it will,” says Lake.

Notes for editors Waterstone’s was founded in 1982 and is now the UK’s largest specialist bookseller, with over 300branches across the country. As well as stores in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Waterstone’s Bookstores can be found on Jersey and the Isle of Man, and in Brussells and Amsterdam, and at Waterstone’s.

Waterstone’s prides itself on its bookseller’s passion for books, and believes its stores and booksellers offer the best range, value and service on the high street and online.

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