From George Cohan's rousing anthem to John Newton's "Amazing Grace," from George Washington's Farewell Address to Willa Cather's O Pioneers!, A Patriot's Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories, and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love contains a breadth of writing (the book's index is nine-plus pages) that's clearly touching a responsive chord. Published by Hyperion on May 7, this anthology—selected and introduced by Caroline Kennedy—is marking its third week on PW's charts; yesterday was its second on the New York Times list. After two trips back to press, the in-print total is 230,000. "Caroline's signings have been amazing," says associate publicist Karin Maake—at Nashville's Davis-Kidd Bookseller, for example, approximately 800 attendees bought 752 copies of Kennedy's new book, along with 200 copies of her The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and nearly 100 copies of Profiles in Courage for Our Time. Not surprisingly, Kennedy's personal appearance roster reads like a media handbook: Today, The View, The Early Show, Imus in the Morning, CNN's NewsNight, Live with Regis and Kelly, etc. Print coverage highlights: features/interviews in Oprah, USA Today, Vanity Fair, People, Newsweek and more.
With reporting by Dick Donahue.
