There are five new nonfiction titles right below the top 15. In ranked order, they are: Two Guys, Four Corners by Don Imus (Villard), The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger (Norton), The Bible Code by Michael Drosnin (Simon &Schuster), News of a Kidnapping by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Knopf) and Brain Droppings by George Carlin (Hyperion). Marquez's book is selling strongly at the independents, as is another title moving up the indie charts -- the $65 PBS companion American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America by Robert Hughes (Knopf). Imus's book (which the radio talk-show host has been promoting relentlessly) is up to 135,000 copies.
The fastest moving of these nonfiction runners-up is The Bible Code, a controversial book that claims that many recent (including the Rabin assassination) and ancient events are revealed in a code in the Hebrew version of the Torah. Published simultaneously in seven countries -- and picked up by Reuters as world news coverage -- the book is up to 200,000 copies in print after three trips to press; the first printing was 75,000 copies.
