Book on Science and Faith Climbs Bestsellers Lists

by Marcia Ford, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 8/16/2006

For a book's sales team, the timing could hardly have been better. Two days after the July 17 release of The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis S. Collins, director of the Human Genome Project, President Bush vetoed an embryonic stem-cell research bill, drawing attention to a bioethical issue addressed in the book.

By late July, The Language of God had landed among the top 15 nonfiction titles on most major bestseller lists, including those of PW and the New York Times; earlier this month, it reached the number 6 spot on the Washington Post nonfiction list. But neither the author nor his publisher believe the presidential veto impacted sales to any significant degree.

"The TV and radio interviews I've done have almost always included questions about the stem-cell debate," Collins told RBL. "But I think my readers are more interested in the idea that science and faith are not locked into an irreconcilable battle. The book supports their hopes and dreams that the two can coexist quite happily." Added Bruce Nichols, v-p and senior editor of Simon & Schuster's Free Press: "My sense is that most of his readers are motivated by the larger questions of faith rather than by the current debate in Washington."

Nichols acquired the book after three years of discussions with Collins. "I didn't think I could write a book and run the nation's effort in genome research for 90 hours a week," Collins said. But Nichols persisted and eventually won Collins over. "I was convinced there was a very large audience for this book that crossed over between believers and seekers," said Nichols, who compares the quality and clarity of Collins's writing style to that of C.S. Lewis.

Lewis's classic work, Mere Christianity, helped transform Collins from an atheist into an evangelical 25 years ago. "When a scientist as prominent as Francis is explaining why he believes, you have someone who is not just preaching to one choir--he can reach across to both groups," Nichols said. "I believed from the beginning that this book could be a bestseller." After an initial print run of 36,000, there are now 91,000 copies in print.