Blueprint for Action is "Foreign Affairs" bestseller for 4th month in a row

There have been 23 months of "Foreign Affairs" bestseller lists, and my two books have appeared on 15 of them (11 for PNM and now 4 for BFA). No single author (as opposed to the 9/11 Commission authors, who sit atop the list at 17 appearances when both editions are counted) has appeared more than I have over that almost two-year time period. The only double-digit authors are Diamond (13), Fishman (12) and Friedman (10). Clearly, any of those books can easily catch me when BFA fades, and clearly, it's a bit unfair to count my two books against their singles, but I guess I won't be too ashamed about being so prolific!

Of course, none of this success should indicate that "Foreign Affairs" should ever dare to review either book. The Establishment knows best, I am sure.

I drop two spots this month, from 8th to 10th, but with four big new books breaking in ahead of me, that still feels pretty good.

Here's the list for February 2006:

The top-selling hardcover books on American foreign policy and international affairs. Rankings are based on national sales at Barnes & Noble stores and Barnes & Noble.com.

POSTED FEBRUARY 1, 2006

1) The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman (1st last month, 10 months on list)

2) State of War by James Risen (new/1)

3) The Assassins' Gate by George Packer (3rd/4)

4) My Year in Iraq by L. Paul Bremer (new/1)

5) The Cold War by John Lewis Gaddis (new/1)

6) The Osama Bin Laden I Know by Peter L. Bergen (new/1)

7) Postwar by Tony Judt (4th/4)

8) Imperial Grunts by Robert D. Kaplan (6th/5)

9) China, Inc. by Ted C. Fishman (7th/12)

10) Blueprint for Action by Thomas P. M. Barnett (8th/4)

11) Collapse by Jared Diamond (2nd/13)

12) The Great War for Civilisation by Robert Fisk (5th/3)

13) 9/11 Commission Report by National Commission on Terrorist Attacks (9th/17)

14) The Case for Goliath by Michael Mandelbaum (new/1)

15) Future Jihad by Walid Phares (12th/3).

The bestseller list is published monthly by Foreign Affairs magazine. Rankings are based on national sales at Barnes & Noble stores and Barnes & Noble.com in January 2006.

Comments

[Menno]

Congratulations on your work's success. About Foreign Affairs not reviewing your book, I think it's a blessing in disguise. Seeing how most of their book reviews consist of just three or four small paragraphs, it would be pretty difficult for them to give an accurate description of your books. Since your work revolves around economics, security, the relationship between them, and the bifurcation of the military, it isn't exactly something you can explain concisely in two paragraphs unless you're attempting to poke holes or ridicule. Anyway, here's hoping to your continued success, and I look forward to reading your third book.