David Lange's book sales 'fantastic'

Retailers said David Lange's memoir was selling astonishingly well given it was an autobiography of a New Zealand politician.

Copies of David Lange's memoir were whisked off shelves by eager buyers yesterday with stores reporting they had either placed or were about to place more orders.

"It's like everyone is walking in the door and walking out with a copy," said Auckland's Unity Books manager Jo McColl.

"I haven't seen an autobiography sell like this for a long time."

Whitcoulls book manager Joan Mackenzie said sales of the book, My Life, had been "fantastic" and the chain had already re-ordered.

"We had a lot of people asking for it before it was available, it was huge before it even arrived," she said.

The book was selling faster than Michael King's Penguin History of New Zealand although sales of that book later increased after King and his wife were killed in a car accident.

Retailers said while J K Rowling's last Harry Potter book sold faster that the Lange book, the former Prime Minister's memoir was selling astonishingly well given it was an autobiography of a New Zealand politician.

"We had about 100 pre-orders for it and that's very good for any New Zealand book," said Dunedin's Unibooks spokesperson Ainsley Cooper.

A Borders spokesman said the book was selling "very well" and Dymocks in Napier reported half its stock had sold in the morning and it would be ordering more.

Auckland City Libraries reported about 100 "holds" on the book with only 15 copies available although more had been ordered.

Librarian Carolyn Evans said the last Harry Potter had 400 holds when it became available.

"My Life" was being sold below the recommended retail price of $49.95 yesterday by Whitcoulls and The Warehouse. It was on sale at Whitcoulls for $39.95 but Ms Mackenzie said that was because "I think it's more a $40 book than a $50 book".

The Warehouse was selling the book for $38.82. Spokesperson Cynthia Church said it was "too soon to tell" how sales of the book were going.

The book's publisher Penguin printed 10,000 copies of the book and another 10,000 were "ready to go", said spokesperson Tony Harkins.