On Sale Next Week: Tim Flannery and Elizabeth Strout

by Charlotte Abbot, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 3/7/2006

Tim Flannery weighs in with the U.S. edition of the book that prompted Australia's energy minister to put global warming at the top of his agenda, while Elizabeth Strout, author of the breakout Amy and Isabel, delivers her second novel.

March 14

Cobra 2: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor (Pantheon, $27.95) is written by the New York Times' chief military correspondent, the sole reporter to have access to the generals' war room during the Iraq invasion. 200,000 first printing.

A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveler by Frances Mayes (Broadway, $26) finds the author of Under the Tuscan Sun and her husband travelling across much of Western Europe, renting villas and farmhouses, and living as the locals do. 125,000 first printing.

Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer's Search for the Soul of Baseball by Mike Schmidt with Glen Waggoner (HarperCollins, $24.95) is a hall of famer's account of how major league baseball can get back on track. 100,000 first printing.

What Price Love? by Stephanie Laurens (Morrow, $22.95), reintroduces Dillon Caxton, a reformed rake in the Cynster clan, who investigates rumors of horse race fixing in 1831 England, and finds romance. 100,000 first printing.

Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout (Random, $24.95) follows up the author's 1999 debut, Amy and Isabel, with the tale of a recent widower recovering from grief in 1959 Maine, delivered in "deadpan, melancholy prose," according to the PW review. 100,000 first printing.

March 15

The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth by Tim Flannery (Atlantic Monthly, $25) examines the connection between climate change and global warming and may be "destined to become required reading following Hurricane Katrina," according to the starred PW review. 75,000 first printing.

March 16

Seducing the Demon: My Life as a Writer by Erica Jong (Penguin/ Tarcher, $22.95) offers four "chatty, gossipy essays [that] are just serious enough to count as literary," said PW, while making that case that writing has propelled this 60-something author into a fulfilled life.

For a complete listing of major titles on sale between now and August, 2006, go to PW's exclusive online calendar.

To contact PW about any corrections or additions to the calendar, e-mail onsale@reedbusiness.com.