Hillary's memoirs sell a million

Details of Clinton's book were widely leaked

Sales of Hillary Clinton's autobiography have passed the one million mark in a month, her publishers have announced.

The former First Lady's memoirs, Living History, had already set a record for the most sales of a non-fiction book.

It reveals that her husband lied to her about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

The book's success appears to justify the $8m (£4.8m) advance paid to Mrs Clinton by publishers Simon and Schuster.

Winfrey's book club does wonders for US sales

It will also answer critics who had questioned its initial print run of a million copies, saying political biographies had limited appeal.

Tucker Carlson, a presenter on news channel CNN, had promised to eat his shoe if Living History sold a million.

"I guess the first question I have is: 'Who are these million people?' I don't know a single one of them," Carlson said, promising to honour his pledge.

Mrs Clinton said: "I am going to be curious as to what sort of shoe he chooses: flip-flop or soft leather."

Meanwhile, John Steinbeck's East of Eden has topped the New York Times bestseller list half a century after publication, thanks to talk show queen Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah's Book Club, which has returned after a year's absence, is promoting the 1952 classic as Winfrey's favoured selection.

Publisher Penguin Group has gone through seven printings of the book since she picked it out on 18 June.

It now has more than 1.3 million copies in print and has sold close to 813,000 copies nationwide in just three weeks.

Before its selection it had averaged annual sales of about 40,000 copies.