Bob Woodward's book wrapping up the Watergate scandal's final mystery with some 61,000 copies sold hasn't been the mega-selling phenomena many predicted.
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Woodward and publisher Simon & Schuster rushed "The Secret Man" into production after Vanity Fair published an article in which "Deep Throat" unveiled himself as former FBI official W. Mark Felt. The book came out about five weeks after the Vanity Fair issue hit newsstands.
That and that fact that Watergate was a political scandal from more than 30 years ago may have held sales down, The New York Times reported Wednesday. In comparison, Woodward's "Plan of Attack," work on the White House prior to the invasion of Iraq, sold 183,000 copies the first week it was on sale, the Times said.
Still, by most authors' standards, 60,000 copies sold is a lot and "The Secret Man" is ensconced on many best-seller lists.
"It's been a fantastic best seller. I think it has been, given our expectations, a success, and we expect more out of the book." Simon & Schuster's David Rosenthal told the newspaper.