Glorious Debut
by Daisy Maryles -- Publishers Weekly, 4/12/2004
Top coverage on CBS Morning News and CBS Evening News. Feature placement on Today; headlines on ABC World News Tonight. Reported by Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News. Front-page stories in the New York Times and USA Today. Coverage of the latest world crisis? No, but hot news in the publishing sector: Tyndale releases Glorious Appearing, the 12th and final installment in the megaselling Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. "Eagerly awaited" is a major understatement describing this book's March 30 one-day laydown and, to no one's surprise, the book grabs the top spot on our fiction chart—as it will on every national bestseller list. It's interesting to note that, though this installment is being billed as the series finale, Tyndale is planning a prequel and a sequel, slated for 2005 and 2006, respectively. And why not? With more than 42 million books sold to date (including the latest entry), this series ranks as one of the greatest publishing success stories ever. (It's also been influential in opening the door to Christian fiction in general-interest bookstores.) According to Dan Balow, director of business development for the Left Behind series, Tyndale announced a 1.9 million-copy first printing, which has been augmented with two additional printings of 50,000 and 100,000—and that's more than two million, folks. —With reporting by Dick Donahue
