NEW YORK – It took the January 6 report less than a day to go from public unveiling to the bestseller list on Amazon.com.
As of late Friday, three editions of the congressional investigation into the 2021 US Capitol siege by supporters of then-President Donald Trump were in the top 30 on Amazon. Issues include one with a foreword by MSNBC host Ari Melber, published by Harper Paperbacks; A Celadon Books publication with a foreword by New York publisher David Remnick and an epilogue by Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and member of the House Select Committee; and a volume of the Hachette Book Group’s Imprint Twelve, published in coordination with the New York Times.
The 814-page document, released late Thursday, is out of copyright, can be published by anyone and is otherwise available for free on various government and media websites. Previous government publications, from the 9/11 commission report to Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s ties to Russian officials when he ran for president in 2016, have been bestsellers. The 9/11 report was even a finalist for the 2004 National Book Award.
As with other government publications, publishers have rushed to get their books out quickly to capitalize on public interest. All three bestselling editions are due out within the next two weeks, along with books from Random House and Melville House Books.
The Jan. 6 report is the culmination of an 18-month investigation that included more than 1,000 interviews with witnesses and more than a million pages of source material. The committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans blamed Trump for the rebellion and found a “multiple conspiracy” orchestrated by the president and his closest allies to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump, a Republican, has already announced his 2024 candidacy.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed without permission.
