Penticton Herald

Obscure book suddenly in huge demand

U of T prof’s Fire and Fury a bestseller thanks to Trump

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TORONTO (CP) — A Canadian professor’s 10-year-old book is back on the bestseller list and he has Donald Trump to thank for it.

University of Toronto professor Randall Hansen published a book in 2008 titled “Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 19421945.”

Last week, Hansen was at a conference in Washington, D.C., when he joked to colleagues about having the same title as the hottest book on the market — Michael Wolff’s tellall tome about U.S. President Donald Trump, titled “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”

Wolff’s book portrays Trump as a leader who doesn’t understand the weight of his office and whose competence is questioned by aides.

“I was hearing “Fire and Fury” all over the place and I perked up every time I heard someone use that title,” said Hansen, the interim director of the Munk School of Global Affairs.

After a few glasses of wine on Friday, the day when Wolff’s book was released, Hansen said he logged onto Amazon and found his own book had made it onto three bestseller lists.

He said he won’t know how many people ordered his book by mistake until his royalty cheque arrives in about a month’s time. But he only had a few people complain to him on Twitter that they meant to buy Wolff’s book instead.

“It’s not my fault people can’t tell the difference between a book about Trump and a book about the bombing of Germany,” Hansen said. “But most have been jovial and appreciate­d the moment of levity.”

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The Canadian Press

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