Who is winning the presidential campaign book primary?
A number of 2016 candidates have released books over the last year, with varying levels of success. So far, none of the Republican candidates have matched former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton’s memoir, but it came out in mid-2014 so it’s been on the market the longest.
Here’s how the most recent books by 2016 presidential candidates stack up, based on release-to-date sales figures from Nielsen BookScan:
1. Hillary Clinton, Hard Choices
Release date: June 10, 2014
RTD sales: 280,000
2. Mike Huckabee, God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy
Release date: January 20, 2015
RTD sales: 66,000
3. Ben Carson, You Have a Brain: A Teen’s Guide To T.H.I.N.K.B.I.G.
Release date: February 3, 2015
RTD sales: 23,000
4. Ted Cruz, A Time For Truth
Released date: June 30, 2015
RTD sales: 12,000
5. Rand Paul, Taking a Stand
Release date: May 26, 2015
RTD sales: 9,000
6. Marco Rubio, American Dreams
Release date: January 13, 2015
RTD sales: 8,000
7. Rick Santorum, Bella’s Gift
Release date: February 17, 2015
RTD sales: 6,000
8. Carly Fiorina, Rising to the Challenge
Release date: May 5, 2015
RTD sales: 3,000
See the Covers of the 2016 Presidential Hopefuls' Memoirs
The cover of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2014 book "Hard Choices" is a classic of the political memoir genre: The politician's face, front and center with a strong but vague title beneath.Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina's 2007 book "Tough Choices" followed the same playbook as Clinton's, even down to the similar titles.Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson's 2014 book "One Nation" is a variation on the theme, the crossed arms and the subtitle underlining the message, since he's not been a politician before.Former New York Gov. George Pataki's 1998 autobiography, "Pataki," presents him as such a towering figure that he doesn't even need a regular title.Other politicians go for a softer touch with a more autobiographical book to help voters learn more about who they are, as in Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's 2013 memoir, "An American Son."South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's 2015 e-book, "My Story," takes a similar approach.Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum's 2005 book, "Rick Santorum," is less autobiographical, but the cover also goes for the soft touch.Some books zero in on a specific image. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2015 book, "God, Guns, Grits and Gravy" and the photo of him, tieless, in a pastoral scene, sells him as an avatar of rural America.Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's 2014 book defends the Boy Scouts, reinforcing the fact that he's an Eagle Scout and a cultural conservative.And business mogul Donald Trump's 1988 book, "The Art of the Deal," sells his image as a dealmaker so much that he still references it today.Other candidates aim to show they are leaders, as in Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 2006 book, "Stand for Something."Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's 2015 book, "Taking a Stand," goes a similar route, though the subtitle, "Moving Beyond Partisan Politics," gives it a slightly different spin.Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 2015 book also pitches him as a truth teller, with a casual portrait and the title "A Time for Truth."Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee's 2010 book, "Against the Tide," also promotes him as willing to go it alone, in this case referencing his vote against the Iraq war.Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's 2014 book, "Unintimidated," goes the same route, promoting his fight against labor unions.Penguin Group/APAnd Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's 2010 book, "Leadership and Crisis," adds a photo of first responders to bring to mind natural disasters.But the cover of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 1998 memoir shows that he really does go his own way. It breaks all the design rules, looking more like an airport thriller.
