How to Sell a Ton of Books

Here's how to promote an obscure political book: Have a former president talk it up. That's just what former President George H. W. Bush is doing with Advance Man: The Life and Times of Harry Hoagland by Christopher Hartman. Hoagland was the first real White House advance man, toiling for Ike in a job that now takes dozens to do. Turns out Bush and Hoagland were old pals, and the author says Bush wrote him a note of praise for his work. "It was just a cordial letter saying that he had looked over the book briefly," Hartman says, "and appreciated seeing some of the photos and looked forward to reading it."

Bob Dole, Funnier Than Just Viagra

It took Bob Dole's eye-popping TV ads for Viagra to prove the press wrong when they labeled him a humorless grouch during his failed bid to unseat former President Clinton in 1996. And despite maybe a hint of embarrassment at the ads, nobody is happier with the Viagra aftereffects than his wife, North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole. No, not that, silly. We're talking about Dole's frustration with the media's mischaracterization of her hubby. "As a spouse, you take it harder than you do when it's criticism on yourself," she says. "You want to get out there and say, 'No. He's not like that. Let me tell you what he's really like. Bob Dole has a great sense of humor.'"