Almost a decade ago, Randall Hansen entitled Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-1945. So when he was in Washington for a conference last week as Michael Wolff’s new book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, was taking the city by storm, he had a laugh over the similar titles. But then, on a whim, he looked up his book sales on Amazon. He discovered that sales had suddenly shot up and the book had landed on three different bestseller lists on Amazon virtually overnight. He realized that people were probably buying it, thinking it was Wolff’s book, which sent the White House into a furor last week and prompted Trump to break with his former chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, over scathing criticism attributed to him in Wolff’s book, writes The Washington Post. Trump’s attorney tried to stop the book from getting published, so the publishing company instead released the book early. It became the fastest-selling nonfiction book in Henry Holt’s 151-year-history. But in the midst of all of this, readers who bought Hansen’s book instead felt deceived.
“I DON’T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP! I DON’T KNOW WHY THE DEMOCRATS ARE SO HAPPY WITH THIS BOOK AND MAKEINIG A BIG DEAL OF THIS,” one review said.
Others seemed to know it was not the same. One reviewer wrote, “I love Trump, so I bought this book to spite Wolf.”
Hansen’s book is currently back-ordered on Amazon. He couldn’t be more thrilled. He plans on sending Wolff a letter someday.
Incredibly, sales of my https://t.co/8VeAA9DCFT have increased. Will I owe a larger royalty cheque to Bannon & Trump? If so, the irony will know no limits. #FireAndFury
— Randall Hansen (@ProfRAHansen) January 6, 2018
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