Bob Woodward's Donald Trump book 'Rage' sells 600,000 copies in first week
The glut of books on the market about President Donald Trump hasn't dampened readers' appetites for in-depth reporting, explosive exposés and revealing tell-alls on his presidency.
Once again, a book about Trump is dominating sales lists: Bob Woodward's "Rage" sold more than 600,000 copies in its first week of publication, continuing a yearlong wave of blockbuster books about the president. The first week sales include hardcovers, audiobooks and e-books.
"Rage" tops this week's USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list, besting books by J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer and Ken Follett to take the No. 1 spot. Last week, the spot was claimed by another book about the Trump administration: "Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump," by Michael Cohen.
Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that Woodward's book will be going into its fourth printing, with 1.3 million copies in print.
"Rage" features 18 interviews with President Trump, including one in which he acknowledges in February the potential severity of the coronavirus. Trump told Woodward in a recorded interview that despite knowing how "deadly" and serious the coronavirus pandemic would be for Americans and the world, he wanted to "play it down" and wanted to continue to do so. "I wanted to always play it down," Trump said to Woodward. "I still like playing it down because I don't want to create a panic."
Woodward also writes that former Defense Secretary James Mattis told former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats that Trump was "dangerous" and "unfit," with "no moral compass." Coats said Trump was incapable of telling "the difference between truth and a lie." "There may come a time when we have to take collective action," Mattis told Coats, according to Woodward.
Despite the ongoing publicity surrounding the book's revelations, "Rage" is not the year's fastest selling Trump book — Mary Trump's scathing psychological portrait of her uncle, "Too Much and Never Enough," had sold 950,000 copies by the end of its first day of release. "Rage" also hasn't matched the pace of Woodward's previous Trump book, "Fear," which sold more than 1 million copies its first week and has sold 2 million since its 2018 release.
Contributing: Hillel Italie, Associated Press; USA TODAY staff
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bob Woodward's Trump book 'Rage' sells 600,000 copies in first week
