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CIAO DATE: 12/03
Foreign Policy
Hillary’s World
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s would-be tell-all, Living History, has become the fastest-selling nonfiction book in history. In the first week of its release, Clinton’s book sold 600,000 copies, which allowed publisher Simon & Schuster to recoup its $8 million advance.
Within weeks, Living History blipped onto bestseller lists from Australia to France to Mexico. As of early September, Simon & Schuster had sold foreign syndication rights to 40 publishing houses representing 33 languages, including Bengali, Albanian, and Marathi. Robert Barnett, Clinton’s personal attorney and a partner at the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, credits the book’s success to Clinton’s "travel and impactful activities." She has "caught the people’s attention" wherever she goes, says Barnett. Asked if he thought the Monica Lewinsky scandal also helped the book’s international appeal, Barnett said he did not know.
But scandal, it appears, hasn’t hurt Living History’s sales. Hard-bound books rarely sell well in India, yet India Book Distributor received over 2,000 orders for the book in Bombay and 5,000 in all of India in its first three days in print. For some, the book’s runaway success is worrying. "People are likely to buy the book not because they want to know about Hillary but because of the sensational episode between her husband and Monica," moans Indian newspaper columnist Anil Dharker. Writing about Living History in Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper, columnist Morenike Taire noted that Clinton’s explanation of her role in the "filthy scandal which had rocked the White House" would further the status quo of holding Nigerian women to a higher standard in politics than men.
For others, Hillary is an icon whose appeal transcends scandal. Zhang Zude, president of China’s Yilin Press, which translated Living History within 40 days of its U.S. release and has done a print run of 100,000 copies, has said that Clinton could be a role model for women striving for success in both work and life. "[T]oday is a special day," one Chinese tourist, Yantao Zheng, told the Guardian. Zheng was waiting in a 500-strong line for a Clinton book signing in London. "The U.K. had Margaret Thatcher and I think the U.S. is now ready for a woman president."
Maybe so. But does that mean that if husband Bill’s book (due out next fall after an even bigger advance payment) outstrips Hillary’s, the United States should repeal the 22nd Amendment?