Still Number One

Back in April, writing in Publishers Weekly, Sara Nelson bet that the book version of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth wouldn't make "much of a peep in the political discourse." Furthermore, she said, "I'd bet my campaign contributions that [it's] not going to sell through all that well, either."

But with Gore's book now in its 10th week on the New York Times Bestsellers List and its 2nd consecutive week at number one, the columnist isn't crowing so much as eating crow.

The book has been a bonanza for Rodale. The publishing company's chief executive officer, Steve Murphy, compares An Inconvenient Truth to the sensational success of The South Beach Diet, which has sold 25 million copies. He told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "We're already on an exponential roll that feels similar... This book is tracking to be a mega-bestseller."

An Inconvenient Truth isn't Gore's first bestseller. In 1992, then-Senator Gore made the list with Earth in the Balance. Rodale plans to publish a revised edition of the earlier book, with release scheduled for Fall 2006.