UK sales boost for Afghan books

Books which rarely sold are being requested

Bookshops around the UK are reporting higher than usual sales of books on Islam and Afghanistan in the wake of the attacks on America.

As the public seeks to comprehend the terror attacks on New York and Washington it has turned to literature for answers.

And as in America copies of the prophesies of the astronomer Nostradamus - purported to have predicted the New York attacks - have also been snapped up around the country.

We are ordering everything we can find on the Taleban, Afghanistan and terrorism

Robert Palmer, shop manager at Foyles bookshop

But book retailers are also struggling to keep up with the demand for factual books on Osama Bin Laden and the Taleban as well as high brow accounts of the conflict in Afghanistan.

Among the biggest sellers reported is Jihad - The Secret War in Afghanistan by Tom Carew which has been selling out at bookshops.

Reprinted

Rachel Evenden, assistant manager at Books Etc in Oxford Street, said: "We would normally only sell this every now and again but it's now one of our biggest-selling titles."

The book is currently in reprint and dozens of bookshops report waiting lists for the title.

Robert Palmer, shop manager of Foyles in Charing Cross Road, London, said: "We are ordering everything we can find on the Taleban, Afghanistan and terrorism.

"Some buyers are genuinely seeking knowledge of the situation, others are more interested in the sensationalist books.

Readers are trying to understand motivation for terror attacks

"But our sales of books on the subject have rocketed and I see no signs of it slowing down."

Serious titles are also in demand at Foyles including Unholy Wars by John K Cooley, about the Middle East and Osama Bin Laden, and Reaping the Whirlwind by Michael Griffin.

The shop has sold all its copies and has ordered more.

Assistants at Waterstone's in Trafalgar Square, sold two books on the Taleban and Bin Laden which had been on the shelves untouched for about four years.

They sold within a day of the terror attacks on September 11.

Sold out

Again, big selling titles include Jihad and Nostradamus - The Complete Prophesies as well as Clash of Civilisations, a book covering East and West conflicts by Samuel Huntingdon which has sold out.

By last Saturday the shop had sold out of everthing related to Afghanistan.

"There has definitely been an impact on sales of these kind of books. People are coming in to our shops wanting to find out more about the subject," said Susan Limb, public relations manager of Waterstones.

Demand has risen for books about Osama Bin Laden

Sales of the Koran are also increasing in bookshops and other titles about the Islamic faith.

High Street giant WH Smith is no exception to the trend.

At WH Smith's Oxford Street branch, Tee Akinjinmi in the book department reported similar demand for Jihad and Nostradamus.

Nostradamus

The store has also has inquiries for guide books to New York and its copies of Nostradamus have sold out.

Although sales of the new "best sellers" are increasing, they have not been great enough to feature on the official book tallies.

A spokesman at Whitaker Book Track, which compiles charts for book sales, said the terror attack books have yet to make an impact.