Is Hamilton's "Eight" Selling Great?

OK, just one more post having to do with Scott Hamilton before we tumble onward to Junior Worlds...

And this one is because I’d forgotten about his book until this week. The Great Eight: How to Be Happy (Even When You Have Every Reason To Be Miserable) was actually released back on January 6. Is that an ideal time for a book to come out—right after the books-make-a-great-gift holiday season?

In theory, it’s not so bad. The majority of current books pertaining to skating are released around the skating season itself (October-April), and even though Hamilton’s book is not about skating per se, I suspect it still qualifies in some way. And perhaps the true subject of The Great Eight – self-help and mental wellness—is what made it a good candidate for January… resolutions, turning over new leaves, that sort of thing.

As for reviews—not the kind you find on blogs like mine, but in Library Journal—here’s what they had to say:

While seemingly just another steps book, this work is based on principles that 1984 Olympic gold medalist Hamilton developed while learning to skate the figure 8: have a strong faith in God, be authentic in word and deed, and find humor in everything. Hamilton's prescription is certainly believable, as he has endured both testicular and brain cancer, but it isn't essentially different from lessons told by any other athlete who has overcome adversity. A nice, heartfelt story but not essential.

OK… not an “A+”; maybe a solid “B+” instead.

Sales-wise, it’s currently ranked around the 15,000 mark in Amazon. Might not sound impressive, but consider the peak sales rank for these recent titles from the skating world:

A Skating Life: My Story (Dorothy Hamill’s autobio from 2007)—peak position: 93

The Tonya Tapes (Tonya Harding’s bio from last year)—peak position: 5,937

Figure Skating Today: The Next Wave of Stars (2007)—peak position: 33,105

Figure Skating: A History (2006)—peak position: 46,110

The time I really want to gauge, though, is the month of March… between The Celebrity Apprentice and the tiny, 2-hour window in which he’s likely to be heard during NBC’s coverage of Worlds, it’ll probably be the best exposure he’ll get all year.

For the Clip of the Day , here’s a curve ball: rather than show something from Hamilton, I’m showing David Santee, and his part of the battle at Worlds in 1981 that left him with the silver (Hamilton, of course, winning his first World title at that event).