Veteran investigative reporter Bob Woodward joins six major journalists already under contract to write about the Obama presidency and campaign (including Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter and the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza), according to a report in The New Republic.

While noting that “Obama’s White House is known to hate process stories, exactly the sort of exhaustive, in-the-room descriptions of high-level debates at which Woodward excels,” The New Republic also claims that Woodward may be particularly hungry for scoops this time around, given that “his fouth and final Bush book, The War Within, sold just 159,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan,  far below his third Bush installment, State of Denial, which sold more than half a million.” No title or publication date has yet been announced for the new book.

Meanwhile, readers who can’t wait to read the Obama story have pushed Renegade: The Making of a President by Richard Wolffe up to #55 on Amazon. Although some libraries have not ordered the book by the Newsweek Senior White House correspondent and frequent MSNBC contributor, most have small quantities, with a few reserves.

Renegade: The Making of a President Richard Wolffe Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Crown – (2009-06-02) ISBN: 9780307463128

Available from Random House Audio:

• CD;  $30; 9780739385265 

Award-winning graphic novelist Kyle Baker, best known for his wordless portrait of rebel American slave Nat Turner, also has a fresh take on Obama scheduled for publication by HarperCollins in 2011, according to the author’s blog.

The 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth is nearly upon us. Henry Louis Gates’s new book, Lincoln on Race & Slavery comes out next week; his documentary, Looking for Lincoln, also airs on PBS next week. He is interviewed in both the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine.

Wall Street Journal, Lincoln in Black and White

Time, 10 Questions for Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The book is owned by surprisingly few public libraries; it appears it wasn’t reviewed prepub.

Lincoln on Race & Slavery

Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.

• Hardcover: $24.95; 408 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (February 11, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0691142343
• ISBN-13: 978-0691142340

Lincoln has always been a favorite subject (Gates claims that around 14,000 books have been written about him; more than any other American). Two publications look at  some new titles.

USA Today, Literature hails Lincoln on his bicentennial

Wall Street Journal, Abe Lincoln as He Really Was

Barack Obama’s writing skills get appreciation from two sources:

New York Times:

From Books, New President Found Voice, by Michiko Kakutani 

Barack Obama’s love of language and reading has helped him to communicate and shaped his sense of the world.

The Wall Street Journal:

All the Presidents’ Literature 

Rare is the leader who can actually write well, but those who do offer a window into their governing style. Jonathan Raban on the best presidential writers, and what Barack Obama’s memoirs say about how he’ll lead.

Today marks the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth. The New York Times presents a slide shows about the author, based on images from the New York Public Library:

New York Times, Edgar Allan Poe at 200

and the Wall Street Journal offers an assessment of his influence:

Wall Street Journal, Poe at 200 — Eerie After All These Years

Sarah Weinman writes in the L.A. Times about the five cities who claim him:

Los Angeles Times, Who owns Edgar Allan Poe?

and  about the books that have just been published to honor Poe:

Poe: A Life Cut Short

Ackroyd, Peter

• Paperback: $14.99; 416 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (January 6, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0061690422
• ISBN-13: 978-0061690426

In the Shadow of the Master: Classic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe and Essays by Jeffery Deaver, Nelson DeMille, Tess Gerritsen, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Laura Lippman, Lisa Scottoline, and Thirteen Others

Edited by Michael Connelly

• Hardcover: $25; 416 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (January 6, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0061690392
• ISBN-13: 978-0061690396

On a Raven’s Wing

Stuart M. Kaminsky (Editor) , James W. Hall, Thomas H. Cook, Mary Higgins Clark, Don Winslow

• Hardcover: $21.95; 224 pages
• Publisher: Nan A. Talese (January 20, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 038550800X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385508001

February 12, 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth and a raft of new Lincoln books are being published this fall, to tie in with the upcoming celebrations.

Nobody could have anticipated an even more powerful publicity push; a President-elect with a Lincoln fascination. Yesterday, he was photographed by the AP, carrying the recently-released Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan. (Thanks to our friends at Shelf Awareness for spotting it).

The book has been reviewed widely:

• LA Times, by Jack Lynch
• NYT, by Michiko Kakutani
• Washington Post, by Jonathan Yardley

Most libraries own the hardcover, but few have the audio.

Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer

by Fred Kaplan

• Hardcover:  $27.95; 416 pages
• Reader: Dan John Miller
• Publisher: Harper (October 28, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0060773340
• ISBN-13: 978-0060773342

The cover review of this Sunday’s NYT Book Review is of the biography of V.S. Naipaul. It has already been reviewed favorably in many other publications (Daily NYT, Washington Post, LA Times). Libraries have a modest number of copies, with comfortable holds to copy ratios.

‘The World is What it Is’, By PATRICK FRENCH

Reviewed by GEORGE PACKER

This biography of V. S. Naipaul is a monument truly worthy of its subject, elucidating the enduring but painfully asymmetrical love triangle at the core of Naipaul’s life and work.

You may have thought you’d already lived through it, but Twilight Mania is back, with a vengance. 

The movie opens next week. The NY Times reports on the thousand squealing fans who showed up for a mall appearance of the actor who plays Edward.

You may remember the skepticism that accompanied his casting. Seems that’s over.

The Times doesn’t mention it, but there is a paperback unauthorized biography of the 22-year-old actor. A few libraries have ordered it.

This is just the beginning; the Times notes the rights to books two and three, New Moon and Eclipse have just been signed (The Hollywood Reporter says the deal also includes the final book, Breaking Dawn).

Robert Pattinson: Eternally Yours 

by Isabelle Adams

• Paperback: $4.99; 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment (October 21, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0061765538
• ISBN-13: 978-0061765537

Carolyn See does it again in the Washington Post; she makes me want to read a book I might not have considered on my own:

Francine du Plessix Gray does a marvelous job in Madame de Staël, filling us in on the French Revolution as though it were (almost) easy to understand, recognizing de Staël’s faults (delusions of grandeur, mostly), while steadfastly commending her talents, her sweet nature, her generosity. I loved this book!

The publisher, Atlas & Co., an independent press dedicated to nonfiction, was founded by author James Atlas, and published their first list this Spring. Previously known as Atlas Books, the company published short biographies by well-known authors under other imprints, such as the Penguin Lives series (discontinued), and the ongoing Eminent Lives with HarperCollins, and Discoveries with WW Norton.

Most large libraries own the book in small quantities.

Madame de Staël

Francine du Plessix Gray

• Hardcover: $24; 224 pages
• Publisher: Atlas & Co. (October 9, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1934633178
• ISBN-13: 978-1934633175

…read Carolyn See’s amusing review of Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream by Steven Watts in today’s Washington Post. See manages to write a fascinating review of a book she considers “incredibly boring.” 

USA Today’s review in the current issue consists mainly of a list of the “most interesting parts” of the book.

Mr Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream

Steven Watts

We just heard from the publisher that The Man Who Owns the News has been moved from February 19th to Dec. 2nd. 

The book about Rupert Murdoch generated many news stories based on an excerpt in the Oct Vanity Fair.

The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch

Michael Wolff

• Hardcover: $27.95; 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (Dec. 2, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0385526121
• ISBN-13: 978-0385526128

We should have guessed; the Vanity Fair excerpt of Michael Wolff’s book on Rupert Murdoch, The Man Who Owns the News, has generated dozens of articles, proving once again that the media is obsessed with itself.

Reuters headline is Murdoch yearns to buy New York Times; New York Magazine likes the part about Rupert’s dye job, The Aubergine-Haired Mogul and the Girl From Shandong Province (the Financial Times, which has a “People” Column, who knew?, gets all NY Posty with Do or dye for Rupert Murdoch). Most, however, ran with the revelation that Obama, Murdoch and Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes had a sit-down (e.g., Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post, Obama Met With Fox News Executives). That story dovetails nicely with news that Obama will appear on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox tomorrow night.

If so much news can be generated from a short excerpt, you’ve got to wonder what will happen when the book comes out in February (9/5 update; the publisher has moved the pub date to Dec. 2nd).

As we mentioned in our story yesterday, the book has not yet been reviewed by prepub sources and is not on order in any of the libraries we checked.

The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch

Michael Wolff

• Hardcover: $27.95; 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (Dec 2, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0385526121
• ISBN-13: 978-0385526128

Your first question after hearing that McCain had chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate was undoubtedly, “Is there a book about her?”

The answer is “yes, and it’s now #12 on Amazon.”

Published with uncanny foresight in April by Alaska’s Epicenter Press, the book is partisan towards its subject (as is clear from its subtitle). 

According to Publishers Weekly.com the publisher is out of stock and is working with Lightning Source to meet demand until it can do another reprint. 

Joe Biden’s book, Promises to Keep went to #8 on Amazon after his nomination last week. It is now at #246.

The libraries I checked do not own it.

Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment on Its Ear 
by Kaylene Johnson

• Hardcover: $19.95; 159 pages
• Publisher: Epicenter Press (April 1, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0979047080
• ISBN-13: 978-0979047084

Libraries have had the authorized bio of Warren Buffett on order since February (the book was originally scheduled for May). Don’t let those orders get cancelled; USA Today reports that it will be released on September 29. 

The story also explains that the curious title, The Snowball comes from a Buffett quote: “Life is like a snowball. The really important thing is finding wet snow and a really long hill.”

Phew; I was afraid it had to do with one’s chances of investing like Buffet.

Note that audio and large print versions will also be available.

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Live

Alice Schroeder

• Hardcover: $35; 976 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (September 29, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0553805096
• ISBN-13: 978-0553805093

Starbucks announces that they have chosen a Simon and Schuster title, The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper as the next selection for their book program. Beginning September 3rd, the book will be featured at 6,500 of the chain’s coffee shops. The current selection is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

The Starbucks press release describes the book this way,

Cooper’s poignant memoir tells the haunting story of a privileged Liberian childhood torn apart by civil war and exile, and of her return to her native country after two decades to reconnect with the foster sister who had been left behind. First told in a Wall Street Journal cover story that generated far-reaching critical acclaim and reader interest, the story of Helene Cooper’s extraordinary life, now fully explored in memoir form, is a compelling personal tale rent from the broader pages of Liberia’s recent turbulent history.

And, they quote the author’s reaction to the selection,

I remember going into my local Starbucks on K Street in Washington for my morning coffee on my way to work, and seeing Ishmael Beah’s Long Way Gone on the counter. I was thrilled for him as a fellow West African–and so envious myself at the same time! I’m not ashamed to say that I stood in line daydreaming that one day it would be me. I’m absolutely thrilled ‘The House at Sugar Beach’ is a Starbucks selection,” says Helene Cooper.

Some libraries have not ordered it. Others have it on order in modest quantities, with comfortable holds to copy ratios. None of the libraries I checked have ordered the audio.

The House at Sugar Beach

Helene Cooper

• Hardcover: $26.00
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 2, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0743266242
• ISBN-13: 978-0743266246

• Simon & Schuster Audio, September 2008 
• 9 Compact Disks (Unabridged)
• ISBN-10: 0-7435-7951-8
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7435-7951-3

Coming up on this week’s CBS Sunday Morning is the new bio of Doris Day by David Kaufman. Consumer media coverage for the book to date includes,

• USA Today, 7/10, “The new dish on Doris Day,” Deirdre Donahue

• USA Today Weekend interview, 6/20
  

• Los Angeles Times, 7/5, A new biography looks into the shadows and ‘Untold Story’ of Doris Day

“On screen, she was America’s smiling, singing darling. But off screen, her husbands weren’t Rock Hudson and her life was no light romp.”

• Cleveland Plain Dealer, 7/7, Ten minutes with . . . the author of Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door. Both the author and Doris Day are from Ohio.

• Excerpt in last month’s Vanity Fair.

All these stroies lead with a version of “her life was not what it seemed.” Even though Day herself made that clear in her 1976 autobiography, it still seems to surprise some.

Most, but not all, libraries I checked have received the book or have it on order.

Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door
by David Kaufman

• Hardcover: $29.95
• Publisher: Virgin Books; (June 10, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1905264305
• ISBN-13: 978-1905264308