I was really surprised, and even depressed as someone who has a book coming out next year, to hear the news about disappointing sales for League of Denial.
Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Daily reports:
“League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth,” the heavily hyped book on the NFL’s response to concussions, has dominated conversations since its early October release. What it has not done is dominate book sales.
Since its release on Oct. 8, the book has sold fewer than 10,000 print copies, according to Nielsen BookScan, placing it well outside the top 200 books sold. “League of Denial” sold 3,300 copies in its first week, which made it for that week the No. 1 sports and recreation seller, according to Nielsen. Currently, it ranks 19th in that category for the year, with 9,400 sales.
Later Kaplan writes:
“League of Denial” was published by Crown Archetype, a Random House group. In a statement, Random House contended that Nielsen BookScan’s figures represent less than half of total sales.
“We have looked into the complete sales history for the book including sales in multiple formats, print books and e-books, and have calculated that actual sales to date are in excess of 21,000 copies: print and e-book editions combined.”
Nielsen BookScan is believed to cover 85 percent of the print book market.
The Random House statement also suggested that some books have a message that is more important than just how many copies are sold.
“‘League of Denial’ brought a voice to an important issue in professional sports that is not going away,” the publisher said. “Since the book’s publication we have heard that it has had influence on how colleges and high schools are looking at their football programs. We have also heard from several important neuroscience journals who were eager to learn of the authors’ reporting.
“That being said, we take great pride in publishing such a powerful work of investigative journalism in book form, and we expect the book to continue to sell well into the new year, and to be a focal point in many future discussions about head injuries in professional football.”
Clearly, this book, written by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru, deserves a much wider audience, whether the number is 9,400 or 21,000. While the PBS documentary was outstanding, it told only a fraction of the story. The book goes to a much higher level, detailing many more layers on this crucial issue.
It reveals the damage suffered by these players, especially Hall of Famer Mike Webster; the discovery of CTE in these players; and the alarming way the NFL tried to deny that there was a problem. Not only is the book full of critical information, it is written in a way that builds suspense as researchers try to get out the truth.
It is easy to see why Hollywood is thinking about a movie about the book. This would be the football version of The Insider, the 1999 movie starring Russell Crowe about 60 Minutes trying to do an expose on Big Tobacco.
Quite frankly, this is one of the best sports books I’ve ever read. Put it on your holiday gift list and get a copy for yourself.
If you care about what is happening in football beyond your fantasy football league, you need to read League of Denial.
Quite frankly, it is one of the best sports book I’ve ever read.