Former President George W. Bush has written a blockbuster.
Bush’s "Decision Points" sold 775,000 copies through its first week of release, Crown Publishers, an imprint of Random House Inc., announced Tuesday. An initial print run of 1.5 million copies has been increased to 1.85 million. E-book sales alone have topped 100,000.
"We expect his book will be one of this holiday season’s biggest-selling titles," Crown’s senior vice president and publisher, Tina Constable, said in a statement.
Bush signed on with Crown not long after leaving the White House in 2009 with poor approval ratings and skepticism that his book would have any appeal. Liberals deeply disliked him, and even conservatives were wary, with the Conservative Book Club declining to make "Decision Points" a main selection.
The memoir has received mixed reviews, but it topped the best-selling list on Amazon.com before publication and has remained No. 1 over the past week. In it, the two-term president discusses the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his decisions to send troops to Afghanistan and Iraq and the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Bush has made numerous television appearances in support of his book, including interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Matt Lauer and Jay Leno. His book had first-day sales of 220,000, and momentum remained strong in the following days.
While the former president likely will become a million-selling author, he still trails his predecessor Bill Clinton in the memoir sweepstakes. Clinton’s "My Life," which came out in 2004, sold more than 900,000 copies in its first week.
Clinton has praised Bush’s book, saying last week he found "Decision Points" to be "well-written and interesting from start to finish."
