The latest pick in the Barack Obama book club is Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan. The President-elect was photographed leaving the Chicago home of friend Penny Pritzker after having dinner last Saturday. Barack’s getting in his Lincoln reading early - next February is the 200th anniversary of his birth and there are going to be dozens of Abe books on the market.
It’s been fun and interesting seeing Obama books flying off the shelves (servers?) and becoming increasingly collectible since his victory in early November. It seems everybody wants to get to know the President-elect and have a hint at what might be in store for the United States for the next four years.
But if it’s political books you’re interested in generally, there’s a lot more than just Obama. According to Reuters:
Republicans may have been voted out of power but they could dominate U.S. political bookshelves with memoirs by President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush among the possible coming attractions.
Publishers would eagerly offer Laura Bush seven figures for her memoirs, publishing experts say, raising the question of whether she could fetch more than her husband.
Yet both could be outdone by Sarah Palin, the feisty governor of Alaska and unsuccessful Republican vice presidential candidate.
So there’s much to look forward to reading there. As well, representatives of Fidel Castro announced his latest book, in Havana last week.
“La Paz en Colombia,” or “Peace in Colombia,” explores Cuba’s role in attempts to end Colombia’s civil war, which has raged for more than four decades.
If the recent election has you focused solely on American presidential thoughts, Jon Meacham released a new book on the 11th of November, titled American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. As well as Jackson’s politics and policies, the biography of the 7th American president also examines his personal life, from his deep devotion to his wife, Rachel, who died of a heart attack within a month of his election, to his religious beliefs, and his private friendships, making for more of a portrait of the man, not just the president.
According to this report, the President-elect’s latest read is Collected Poems 1948-1984 by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott.
Demand for a piece of Barack Obama history is still generating huge interest in signed copies of his books. Since his triumph at the polls, AbeBooks.com has sold 20 books autographed by the President-elect priced at $500 or higher with one buyer shelling out $5,500 for a signed copy of Dreams From My Father.
Before the election, the most expensive Obama book sold by AbeBooks.com was a signed copy of Dreams From My Father for $1,798. Twelve of the 20 signed copies sold since Obama’s victory have been priced more than $1,000.
The most collectible Obama books are the signed 1995 first editions of Dreams From My Father. Originally published when he was still working as a run-of-the-mill lawyer and lecturer, the book went out-of-print in a hurry and had a small print run. Asking prices for these scarce editions stretch well past $10,000.
Even though Obama has yet to move his family (and puppy) into the White House, prices for his signed books are already comparable to previous presidents. In recent years, AbeBooks has sold a signed copy of Bill Clinton’s My Life for $3,450 and a signed copy of Ronald Reagan’s An American Life for $6,325.
One other interesting fact about this surge in demand for signed Obama books - the buyers are not what we would classify as our traditional rare book-buyers. For many of the customers spending four figures, these prices are the highest they have ever spent with us.
It’s interesting. On one hand, he hasn’t actually done anything yet. He’s spent four years working towards getting into the White House so he can start make changes. On the other hand, getting to the White House is a miracle in itself.
We all know Barack Obama is in the market for a puppy but the big news from his first press conference as President-elect is that he needs a hypoallergenic dog. Wow - he’s having to make big decisions already. The pressure. I hope he’s handling it OK.
“This is a major issue,” he said. “It has generated more interest on our website than just about anything. We have two criteria that have to be reconciled. One is that Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic.
“On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog. But obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts, like me.”
I know just the book he needs - Sneeze-free Dog Breeds: Allergy Management and Breed Selection for the Allergic Dog Lover by Diane Morgan. There’s a book for everything in this life.
The demand for Barack Obama’s signature is not showing any signs of letting up, with a $3500 signed copy of The Audacity of Hope being sold yesterday smashing the previous record of $2495 that was set only one day earlier.
Along with re-breaking the record price, several more signed Obama titles worth over $1000 also sold yesterday…. The demand may not be slowing down but the supply is shrinking, you can still find signed Obama titles but they’re selling quickly.
AbeBooks.com is experiencing a lot of interest in signed Barack Obama books. Today (Wednesday), we sold a signed first edition of The Audacity of Hope for $2,495. Our previous most expensive Barack Obama sale was $1,798 for a signed copy of Dreams From My Father.
We have also sold seven other Barack Obama books priced $1,000 or over. I’m sure more signed books will sell overnight. To be honest, I didn’t expect to be selling so many high priced Barack Obama books today because his signed books have been very expensive for a very long time. Buyers are simply not being put off by four-figure price-tags. They are clearly thinking that this is a very unique moment in American political history and that these are special books.
The Washington Post recommends some reading while you are waiting at the polls.
If you’re in the mood for fiction, try Robert Penn Warren’s classic “All the King’s Men,” the 1947 political thriller about Southern populist politician Willie Stark, modeled after Louisiana Gov. Huey Long. (Both Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are reportedly fond of the book).
For more recent tales, there are Larry Beinhart’s “American Hero,” the 1995 political satire about a staged Hollywood-style war (the film “Wag the Dog” was based on the book) and Joe Klein’s “Primary Colors,” the fictional novel based on the goings-on behind the 1992 presidential campaign of former President Bill Clinton.
And in memory of the late Tony Hillerman, the New Mexico author who died earlier this month at 83, there’s the 1971 political novel “The Fly On The Wall,” which follows reporter John Cotton as he becomes embroiled in a political scandal involving a senatorial candidate.
Out of those, I really enjoyed Primary Colors. I read that book 12 years ago and loved it.
John McCain and Barack Obama have named their favorite books in a TV interview - McCain said Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and Obama said the Bible and Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. In a few days one of them is going to have plenty of time for reading.
Wouldn’t it have been interesting if one of them had said something completely unpredictable? Like a quilting book.
Politics are on the mind of everyone in North America at the moment. We are in the midst of a financial crisis that at least matches the recessions of the 1980s (or possibly the 1930s) and elections in both Canada and the US. So it not surprising to find out one of the most searched for and bestselling books is Fareed Zakaria’s Post American World.
A few months back Barack Obama was seen reading a copy of the book and now it is being touted by foreign affairs analysts as the wake up call that America should take heed to.
This article in the Seattle Times echo’s the sentiment of the books first line:
How could this be? The United States remains the singular world power, even with a battered and bruised economy. No other country is a match for this nation’s military might. Turns out the resounding global chorus is, “So what?”
Sens. Obama and McCain are receiving this sober assessment from an equally sober source, Thomas Fingar, the top analyst in the U.S. intelligence community. His report, “Global Trends 2025,” argues the erosion of U.S. leadership in political, economic and even cultural areas is accelerating.
Fingar, who will brief the new president, shared his findings with an organization of intelligence analysts last month, and The Washington Post covered his speech. His talk echoed a book that is a must-read, “The Post-American World,” by Fareed Zakaria. The first sentence in the slim but powerful volume sets the tone: “This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else.”
In Comic Book form? It seems that IDW Publishing has released graphic novel biographies for both presidential candidates, they look pretty fun and if they end up getting more people to vote I’m all for it. The publishing house has also published the Presidential Material Flipbook.
An article yesterday in Publisher’s Weekly highlighted the demand and popularity of art books. As publishers try to cash in on the booming demand for literary art, it gives a great opportunity to highlight some of the rare and collectible art books here on AbeBooks.com
Art books have long been a major facet of the book collecting landscape, so much so that one year ago collecting art books was the subject of Fine Books & Collectibles monthly feature. This article brings attention to some lovely items such as a copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses signed by Henri Matisse featuring the artists illustrations and etchings. Art books were also featured by AbeBooks in an article including the works of famous artists Emily Carr, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh.
Possibly the most unique and interesting piece of art on AbeBooks is much more contemporary in nature. For $2,000 there is an abstract painting of current US presidential candidate Barack Obama by German artist Al Schilling. Pictured below, this vibrant painting is certainly unusual and very eye catching. Should Obama claim the presidency, its value may even increase.
There are vast numbers of political and social commentators, many of them with wildly unusual views and opinions. Generally their opinionated speeches and writings largely blend in to the general whir of divergent opinion that abounds during election season. Stanley Kurtz, however, has managed to draw national attention, including direct criticism from the Barack Obama campaign - making his name one of the hottest searched topics on the internet this morning in advance of his two hour radio interview tonight.
Kurtz, an author and investigative journalist for the National Review, will be appearing from 9-11pm tonight on WGN radio, where it is widely speculated that he will continue his stark criticism of Barack Obama, particularly focusing on his relationship with University of Illinois Professor William Ayers. The Obama campaign were so incensed by this that they released a campaign email to supporters denouncing Stanley Kurtz and calling him ‘a slimy character assassin.’
In addition to being a political commentator, Kurtz is a social anthropology writer. He is best known for All Mothers are One, a book that he wrote while researching in India. Whether you agree with his opinion or find his accusations entirely baseless, his published works are arguably the best way to better understand the origins of his wildly controversial stance.