Trump book sells out at Kinokuniya

A copy of Fire And Fury: Inside The Trump White House by Michael Wolff at Books Kinokuniya. PHOTO: BOOKS KINOKUNIYA

A behind-the-scenes account of Mr Donald Trump's presidency sold out in less than 24 hours after arriving in Singapore last Friday.

Local bookstore Books Kinokuniya brought in about 50 copies of Fire And Fury: Inside The Trump White House by Michael Wolff, but all were snapped up last Saturday.

Another batch of more than 100 is expected to arrive this weekend, but most of the copies are already spoken for, as the waiting list is close to 100.

Kinokuniya store and merchandising director Kenny Chan says: "Anything and everything with Trump gets a lot of interest, and this has been all over the media.

"We were low-key about it as we received it late on Friday evening, but word got out and it sold out really quickly on Saturday. We're very happy that we could get it on the same day of release as in the US."

The book's local distributor, Pansing, has ordered more stock from the publisher, but was not able to confirm when it will hit local bookshelves.

The book, which is highly critical of Mr Trump's first year as President of the United States, sold out in stores across the US after excerpts of it sparked a media frenzy, prompting its publisher, Henry Holt & Co, to move up its release date by four days.

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Its author, who was given the run of the White House for more than a year, says it was based on more than 200 interviews with Mr Trump and his associates, including senior staff such as former chief strategist Steve Bannon.

It has been publicly denounced by the White House and Mr Trump's lawyer threatened legal action to block its release.

Mr Trump himself has called it a "Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author" and hit out at Mr Bannon, who was quoted in the book as describing a meeting between Mr Trump's son, Mr Donald Trump Jr, and a Russian lawyer as "treasonous".

Hardcover copies of the book will retail for $48.20 at Books Kinokuniya. The store advises buyers to get on the waiting list by calling, e-mailing or inquiring in-store.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 10, 2018, with the headline Trump book sells out at Kinokuniya. Subscribe