Amazon Map: Red State Books Beat Blue States

Amazon has devised an interesting map and list based on the “red” and “blue” books Americans are reading — and plenty of books with a negative view of Barack Obama are found on the list of the 100 top-selling red books.

The Amazon Election Heat Map 2012 was created to “provide one way to follow the changing political conversation across the country during this election season,” Amazon notes.

The map colors each state according to the percentage of red and blue book purchases, based on shipping address, that have been made on Amazon.com during the past 30 days.



“We classify books as red or blue if they have a political leaning made evident in book promotion material and/or customer classification,” Amazon explains.

“‘Red state’ has come to represent a state favoring the Republican Party, while ‘blue state’ represents one that favors the Democratic Party.”

The top-selling “red” book is the Kindle version of Glenn Beck’s “Cowards: What Politicians, Radicals, and the Media Refuse to Say," and the hardcover version is No. 13.

No. 2 on the list is the Kindle version of Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Lincoln: The Shock Assassination that Changed America Forever.” The hardcover is No. 5.

No. 3 is “Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story” by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Kindle).

Ed Klein’s penetrating expose about President Obama, “The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House,” is No. 7 (Kindle), and the hardcover is No. 10.

Other red books about Obama on the top 100 list include:

• “Obama’s America: Unmaking the American Dream” by Dinesh D’Souza (No. 12).
• “I Am the Change: Barack Obama and the Crisis of Liberalism” by Charles R. Kesler (No. 15).
• “Fool Me Twice: Obama’s Shocking Plans for the Next Four Years Exposed” by Aaron Klein (No. 22).
• “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” by Dinesh D’Souza (No. 29).
• “Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies” by Michelle Malkin (No. 54).
• “Leading from Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him” by Richard Miniter (No. 67).
• “The Great Destroyer: Barack Obama’s War on the Republic” by David Limbaugh (No. 93).

Another hot-selling book related to Obama hasn’t yet been on sale for 30 days. But “ObamaCare Survival Guide: The Affordable Care Act and What It Means for You and Your Healthcare,” published on Oct. 2, is already No. 117 overall in sales on Amazon.

It is also No. 1 in three Amazon categories, including Politics — Social Policy.

Also among the top 100 red books is Mitt Romney’s “The Case for American Greatness,” at No. 59.

The top-selling “blue” book is the hardcover version of Stephen Colbert’s “America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t.” The Kindle version is No. 4.

Obama’s memoir “Dreams of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” is No. 23.

According to Amazon, the “reddest” state when it comes to book purchases is Alabama, where 74 percent of Amazon purchases of red or blue books are red, compared to 26 percent blue books. Oklahoma is close behind at 73 percent.

The “bluest” state is Vermont, where 61 percent of purchases are blue, although in the District of Columbia, 72 percent of books are blue.