Bush's memoir to have print run of 1.5M copies

[October 08, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Former President George W. Bush's memoir will arrive next month with a huge first printing and an e-book with multimedia extras, Crown Publishers said in a statement Thursday.

"Decision Points" will have a print run of 1.5 million copies, the same number given six years ago for Bill Clinton's "My Life," which went on to sell more than 2 million copies, far greater than for most presidential memoirs.

Crown, an imprint of Random House Inc., also announced that an enhanced e-book edition will be available, featuring video highlights of Bush's presidency, photographs not included in the hardcover book and personal correspondence.

"Decision Points," which comes out Nov. 9, a week after Election Day, will not be a conventional narrative, but a reflection of important decisions and moments in Bush's life, including the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq.

Bush left office two years ago with low approval ratings and skepticism among publishers about the appeal of a memoir by him, but Republicans are looking to make substantial gains in next month's elections. A month before publication, "Decision Points" is already in the top five on Barnes & Noble's website and the top 200 on Amazon.com.

"We believe there is a broad and large readership nationwide waiting to read President Bush's book and that this readership will be fully engaged by what he has written," said Crown publisher Tina Constable.

[Associated Press; By HILLEL ITALIE]

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