John Bolton’s book is a big hit.
The Room Where It Happened, the memoir by President Trump’s former national security adviser, sold more than 780,000 in the first week of its release, CNN reports. That’s more sales than James Comey racked up in the first week of sales for his book, A Higher Loyalty.
Bolton’s publisher, Simon Schuster, said it had ordered an 11th printing of the book.
Bolton had been criticized by many political observers for waiting for a book deal to disclose his revelations about the Trump administration, and many urged a boycott of the book. That, evidently, didn’t work.
The Trump administration sued Bolton to stop publication of the book, but a judge ruled in favor of Bolton last month. Bolton’s book was met with mixed reviews—a critic for Kirkus said the book was “thoroughly self-serving,” and noted that it contains “more confirmation of malfeasance than fresh news, but the message is clear: Voter, beware.”
Bolton’s sales figures are reflected on the most recent bestseller charts. His book debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list and also claimed the top spot on USA Today’s list.
As of Thursday afternoon, the book was the No. 3 bestseller at Amazon. The No. 1 spot was occupied by Too Much and Never Enough, Mary Trump’s forthcoming book about her family, including her uncle, President Trump. That book, which seems likely to match or top Bolton’s sales figures, is scheduled for publication on July 28.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
