President Barack Obama's "A Promised Land" Sells Record 1.7 Million Copies

Book-slangin’ Barry is what they call him in the streets.

Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty

President Barack Obama spent 8 years as our Commander-In-Chief and in that time he dealt with an extraordinary amount of crises, vitriol, racism, and unprecedented hatin’ from people like Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans. He also gained an extraordinary amount of wisdom, perspective, and learned some valuable life lessons that he will likely carry with him for the rest of his days.

Barry-O packed all these experiences into a new memoir that a LOT of people have been waiting on for a very long time. A Promised Land is the title of his latest collection of writings and to call it a success already is a bit of an understatement. According to ABC News, sales of A Promised Land are already setting records as 1.7 million people have purchased a copy in the first week of its release on November 17, 2020. Hell, it sold 890,000 copies on the first DAY. Crown, the book’s publishing company, has upped its initial run from 3.4 million to 4.3 million to account for the staggering demand.

The 1.7 million mark equals the first week sales of the two Presidents before Obama COMBINED. It’s safe to say that President Obama is still pretty popular around these parts and will undoubtedly go down as one of the most popular Presidents to ever hold a residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Earlier this week, the former president surprised hundreds of Chicago Public School students with a free copy of his new book. Obama joined CPS’s CEO Janice Jackson in a virtual assembly to share the big news.

During the Zoom call with the staff and students, Barry revealed that he was so “proud” of the way the students remained focused and hardworking despite the tough and difficult circumstances presented by the pandemic. Must be nice! Wish we could have gotten a free copy!

Interested in buying the book? Get yours HERE.