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