Woodward's 10th Hit

It's no surprise that Bob Woodward's latest #1 bestseller, Plan of Attack, is also his fastest selling book ever (he has had 10 bestsellers over the last 30 years). Politics has been the hot category in the past year or two, and with the war and a presidential election, readers are turning to books for information and guidance. For the last year or so, at least one-third of the books on the hardcover nonfiction list fall into the political category. In its first week on sale, Woodward's eagerly anticipated book (it includes interviews with 75 key members of the Bush administration, plus a lengthy sit-down with the president himself) outperformed counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies by almost 50%—250,000 vs. 170,000 copies sold. Plan of Attack's one-day laydown was April 19 and in just that week, Woodward appeared on Today, World News Tonight, Larry King Live, Nightline, Charlie Rose, Fresh Air, Hannity & Colmes and many more. The following week, he did Meet the Press, Washington Journal and The Daily Show on Comedy Central, among others; tomorrow (May 4) he'll be on Tonight. Reviews for the book have been stellar and international interest has been strong, with rights sold to Japan, the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey. S&S reports 850,000 copies in print after four trips to press. Woodward's previous record was 800,000 in print for his 1994 The Agenda. Woodward's Bush at War, published three months after 9/11, reported sales of about 600,000 in PW's 2002 end-of-the-year bestseller issue, and it was on our charts for 14 weeks, five in the #1 spot. Thirty years ago, his first hit, All the President's Men, sold about 300,000 copies and was on the charts for 28 weeks, 16 at #1.