Somebody buys them. My perspective may be skewed from living in Washington, DC, but there do seem to be a lot of books out about this or that fairly undistingui

Somebody buys them. My perspective may be skewed from living in Washington, DC, but there do seem to be a lot of books out about this or that fairly undistinguished politician. A glance at Powell's shows a couple of books about Tom DeLay and five about John Kerry. True politics buffs could no doubt find more. As for insomniacs, that's a question about reading, not about buying. When he was editor of The New Republic, Michael Kinsley would put slips into copies of the new hot book at the main local bookstore, the slips saying that they could be redeemed for $20 at The New Republic's office. Apparently he never had to dip into the petty cash.