If bookworms decided the presidency, Barack Obama would beat John McCain handily.
Obama’s memoirs, “Dreams From My Father” and The Audacity of Hope,” have combined to sell 2.2 million copies, according to Nielsen BookScan. McCain’s books boast impressive sales, but Obama wins the political-tome war.
“Obama represents America. He’s Mr. America. I want to know more about him,” said Patrick Jean Baptiste, 37, of Montclair, NJ, who recently scooped up “Dreams From My Father” at Penn Station after reading “The Audacity of Hope.”
“Dreams From My Father” has been on The New York Times’ best-seller list for 96 weeks. The story of Obama’s early years, first published in 1995 to little fanfare, has sold about 900,000 copies in the last few years as the Illinois senator’s career has skyrocketed.
The more recent “The Audacity of Hope” has sold more than 1.3 million copies and been on the Times’ bestseller ist for 21 weeks.
McCain’s “Faith of My Fathers,” cowritten with senior aide Mark Salter, was a blockbuster when released in 2000, during his first White House run. It has sold more than 500,000 copies and was a Times best-seller for 24 weeks.
His second, more modest-selling, memoir, “Worth the Fighting For,” details his Senate career.