John: congrats on the new book. It’s true that one does tend to obsess over the Amazon numbers, especially right out of the box, but the fun can go on for quite a while. On Monday, David Kahane’s Rules for Radical Conservatives, which came out at the end of September and got as high as 30-something as I recall, was bumping along in the mid-list at about number 19,000. Then Dave went on the Charlie Sykes radio show in Milwaukee and a couple of hours later it was up to number 253.

It also seems to have set off a concentrated troll attack in the “reader review” sections, so be careful what you wish for.

How many books did Dave sell? I haven’t the slightest idea, but it seems that even a relatively small number can move the needle significantly. What that says about the book business these days is anybody’s guess . . .