Newscasters Anchor Two Holiday Bestsellers

The network news anchors have been tracking the crisis in the White House from the emergence of Monica Lewinsky in January to an impeachment debate that may continue into the new year. Two of the anchors, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings, also have been drawing large audiences to books they have written about a world rattled and shaped by events that make Lewinsky seem like a bit player in a sideshow.

At a breakfast in his honor this morning at Random House in New York, Brokaw was expected to sign copies of his book, “The Greatest Generation.” The publisher has good reason to applaud the NBC News anchor--and vice versa: The book, which focuses on the solid generation that came of age during the Depression and later prevailed in war, has been a runaway seller in this holiday shopping season.

Initial sales during the first few days of this month already had vaulted the tome high on the bestseller lists--No. 5 in USA Today’s rankings, No. 6 on the Los Angeles Times’ list Sunday and No. 1 this week at Amazon.com, the online bookseller. Random House started with 200,000 copies but has had to go back for printings that have raised the total number in circulation to 780,000.

That’s an extraordinary tally for a nonfiction title, even if your name is Tom Brokaw, and you have had promotional access to key broadcasts on NBC and its cable networks. A related documentary, also titled “The Greatest Generation,” will air on NBC Jan. 15.

Jennings and Todd Brewster, a collaborator whom the ABC anchor repeatedly credits with much of the editorial labor, have written “The Century.” Published by Doubleday on Nov. 10, the $60 coffee-table chronicle of the 20th century and the lives of individuals who witnessed some of the more momentous changes also has been selling as briskly as a paperback thriller.

“The Century” debuted at No. 1 on the Los Angeles Times’ nonfiction list Sunday, when the lavishly illustrated book also marked its second week at No. 2 on the New York Times’ list. After an initial printing of 225,000 copies, Doubleday reported this week that the number in print has risen to 600,000. The latter total far exceeds the in-print numbers run up by two of the most popular coffee-table histories of recent years--Ken Burns and Geoffrey C. Ward’s “Baseball,” and “Lincoln,” written by Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III and Peter W. Kunhardt. Both books were tied to TV series and were published by Alfred A. Knopf.

Jennings’ promotional appearances have included a valentine of an hour last week on Oprah Winfrey’s TV show. The book also will serve as a companion to a documentary series on the 20th century that will air early next year on ABC and the History Channel--an ambitious TV event that doubtless will generate additional sales.

John Grisham’s Next One: The next John Grisham novel, “The Testament,” is described by Doubleday this way:

“An eccentric, reclusive billionaire looking for a way to die. A burnt-out Washington litigator just out of rehab for the fourth time and trying to hold it together. And a woman who left the modern world to live and work with a primitive tribe of Indians in the jungles of Brazil . . . they are all brought together by the startling secret of ‘The Testament.’ ”

It goes on sale Feb. 2.

The Wit of Mo Udall: Morris Udall, the former Arizona congressman and presidential candidate who died last week of complications from Parkinson’s disease, also was known for his humor and ready lines. Several of them happen to appear in “Great Political Wit” (Doubleday), a new collection put together by former Sen. Bob Dole.

Udall, who lost the Democratic nomination to Jimmy Carter in 1976, was asked four years later if he would run again. He replied: “If nominated, I will run to Mexico; if elected, I will fight extradition.”

Circulations Rising: Three more magazines are ending the year with plans to raise the circulations they will guarantee to advertisers. The ever-popular Seventeen will hike its so-called rate base by 2.4%, to 2.35 million copies a month. Entertainment Weekly will up its number by 75,000, to 1.425 million. Forbes is boosting its rate base by 20,000, to 785,000.

Paul Colford’s e-mail address is paul.colford@newsday.com

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The best nonfiction of 1998, including biography, history and memoir.