Clinton’s memoir and election postmortem has enjoyed the biggest debut for a nonfiction book in five years

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Hillary Clinton’s memoir What Happened has enjoyed a hugely successful debut, with publisher Simon & Schuster reporting that the book has sold 300,000 copies since its release on 12 September.

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According to the publisher, the sales combine 167,000 hardcover copies with ebooks and audiobooks, giving What Happened the biggest first week for a non-fiction hardcover book in five years, when Mark Owen’s 2012 memoir No Easy Day sold 250,000 copies.

Carolyn Reidy, the president of Simon & Schuster, said: “The remarkable response to What Happened indicates that, notwithstanding all that has been written and discussed over the last year, there is clearly an overwhelming desire among readers to learn about and experience, from Hillary Clinton’s singular perspective, the historic events of the 2016 election.

“In its candor and immediacy, What Happened is satisfying that demand.”

Clinton’s 2003 memoir, Living History, sold 600,000 copies in its first seven days. Clinton’s previous book, Hard Choices, which recounted her time as secretary of state, sold 100,000 copies in its first week.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hillary Clinton, holds her book It Takes A Village as she sits on stage at the Warner Theatre in Washington, Monday, 18 September, during a book tour event for her new book What Happened. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP

Clinton has been hitting the promotional circuit hard, and has appeared on morning shows, in interviews with the likes of Rachel Maddow, and on Tuesday night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. What Happened provides insight into the Clinton campaign plus personal tales about how Clinton recovered from her defeat in November. In conjunction with the memoir, Clinton released a picture book adaptation of her 1996 memoir, It Takes a Village.

In What Happened, Clinton offers her thoughts on Trump’s campaign, his presidency so far, her primary battle with Bernie Sanders, the sexism she experienced on the campaign trail, and interference into the election by former FBI director James Comey and the Russian government.