Wait, I don't mean to undercut this line of pursuit.  Though Amazon ratings
have circumsribed meaning, they reflect an important aspect of contemporary
book culture.

Brian

>Based on Brian's comments, I'd say my posting about Amazon book listings
>is next to useless.
>
>Sorry to have wasted everybody's time!
>
>Ron
>
>----------
>From: Brian S. Katcher <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Book rankings at Amazon
>Date: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 10:05 AM
>
>Amazon's rankings are based on the books that they sell through their
>on-line store.  As described in the previously-mentioned New Yorker article
>(it _was_ the New Yorker, within the past few months), rankings are
>compiled daily (and, if you're in the top 50,000, hourly).  My recently
>published _MEDLINE: A Guide to Effective Searching_ was running steadily
>around 53,000 until it got some press over the weekend, when it briefly
>shot up to 6,554.  Then it dropped back to around 43,000.  Then a couple of
>books got sold over an hour period and it shot up to around 1600
>(outselling _War and Peace_ for an hour), only to drop back to 33,000.
>During this flurry of activity, not a single copy got sold at
>barnesandnoble.com, even though they were discounting the book.  Also,
>because my book was recenlty published, it's not available in most college
>bookstores.  So Amazon ratings have a very circumscribed meaning.
>
>The most important thing is that alcohol-related books remain in print, and
>if possible, be available at places like Amazon.
>
>P.S. If you are looking for alcohol history in MEDLINE, use the Medical
>Subject Heading "alcohol drinking" with the subheading "history" applied to
>it (eg, "alcohol drinking/history), or use the Medical Subject Heading
>"alcoholism" the same way (eg, "alcoholism/history").  Interfaces vary, but
>all of them allow you to do this.  My book is not about alcohol history;
>I'm happy to receive private e-mail queries about MEDLINE from ATHG members
>doing alcohol searches.  Brian