It Takes a Hillary

You could not open a newspaper or tune into a national talk show last week without reading or hearing a discussion on the latest blockbuster, Living History by Hillary Clinton. Its record-breaking opening day was gratifying to publisher Simon & Schuster, which paid $8 million for the book. It will obviously be the lead title on all national bestseller charts next week (rankings for the June 16 nonfiction hardcover list are based on sales through June 8, the day before the Clinton title made the cash registers sing). In next week's column, we will offer some comparatives for other impressive opening-week sales. Meanwhile, Senator Clinton's book was launched with a heavily promoted one-hour Barbara Walters Special on ABC (which Nielsen said was the most watched news program of the week) and a cover story excerpt in Time magazine. A three-part interview with Katie Couric, a live TV interview with Larry King and a CBS Sunday Morning are still to come. There will be more media appearances, and the publisher plans to have Clinton tour nationwide throughout the summer, accommodating her Senate schedule. S&S estimated that it had sold about 200,000 copies of its one-million printing even before the national laydown day of June 9. The house has gone back to press for a second printing of 300,000. Clinton's first signing, at Barnes & Noble's Rockefeller Center store in Manhattan, was a smashing success—hundreds of people lined up for her autograph. B&N reports sales of about 40,000 copies in the first 24 hours, a record for a nonfiction book at the chain.

With reporting by Dick Donahue