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[url]http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2003-06-17-hillary-list_x.htm[/url]
Clinton memoir tops Best-Selling Books list
By Deirdre Donahue, USA TODAY
Hillary Rodham Clinton's Living History will make its debut at No. 1 on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list, published Thursday. The book sold more in its first week than any other book since the list was created in 1993 except for J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2000.
An estimated 600,000 copies of Living History have been sold since its June 9 publication, compared with 3 million in initial sales for Goblet of Fire.
Simon & Schuster took a financial risk, shelling out an $8 million advance to Clinton for worldwide publishing rights. And the risk is paying off.
"We certainly knew that this would be the biggest adult book of the year, and it could be one of the biggest of all time," says David Rosenthal, publisher of the Simon & Schuster imprint.
Living History started with a 1 million printing, and the publisher has since printed an additional 600,000 copies. Even before it went on sale, it generated $3 million from foreign sales, serial rights to Time, People and some foreign publications.
Many of the book's details were revealed during Clinton's TV interview with Barbara Walters, but people — especially women — still want to buy the memoir.
Former congresswoman Pat Schroeder, who heads the Association of American Publishers, says the book appeals "first, to women her age who have lived through similar ups and downs and juggling work and family. And I think there is a whole group of people who are looking for a strong voice on the progressive side."
Many are buying it as a statement of support for Hillary Clinton.
"I wouldn't be at all surprised if she became the first woman president," said Myrina McCullough, 55, of Washington, D.C., as she stood in line at a Capitol Hill bookstore signing last week.
Others at the signing shared her sentiment. "I think Hillary Clinton is a mentor for women," said Sylvia Chaffee, 40, of Lexington, Ky. Joy Mossman, 20, of Virginia Beach, called Clinton "a role model."
Living History also is selling well at the King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City. Bookseller Doug Jenson says every copy he has sold or seen sold has been to "a baby boomer woman around Hillary Clinton's age."
Sales are also brisk at Second Story Bookshop in Chappaqua, N.Y., where the Clintons have a home. Says owner Joan Ripley: "I just think this will be a huge collector's item."