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Beijing Bestsellers: Marx makes a comebackPosted by Joel Martinsen on Thursday, May 4, 2006 at 11:50 PM
Looking for some nice springtime reading? Why, the dismal science, of course! When was the last time Karl Marx was a bestseller?
People's Daily Press has come out with a new abridged, hardbound translation of Marx's classic Capital (#10). The angle on this edition tries to sell the book's status as an essential historical text - the slipcover reads "the book that has influenced over 50% of the world's population" and "the one book you really should read but have never read." The Beijing News suggests that World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April, during which bookstores offered discounts on classics, contributed to Capital's high sales. Will anyone actually read it? They can always look at the pictures, I guess - this is an illustrated edition. Robert's Rules of Order (#2 Academic) is another classic selling well this week. It lists a publication date of last October but appears to have just recently struck it big. The overall bestseller list for the week of 04/21--04/27:
The overall bestseller list for the week of 04/14--04/20:
Bestseller rankings are taken from the Friday Book Review section in The Beijing News, which compiles its data from the city's major online and brick & mortar bookstores. Links and Sources
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