Don Lemon’s new book, “This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism,” debuted atop the New York Times’ nonfiction best-seller list this week.
This week marked the book’s first eligible week on the list since it’s publication in March 16. It topped the list of combined print and e-book nonfiction works as well as the standard hardcover list.
“I want to thank everyone who inspired me to write this book,” Lemon said in a video posted to Twitter after the chart-topping debut. “All the people who bought it, all the support, and mostly to the people who have having the conversations that I talk about in this book. It’s very, very important.”
In announcing the book in January, Lemon wrote, “I truly believe my new book ‘This Is The Fire’ will help heal America. These are the honest, fearless conversations I have with my friends & family about racism. It’s inspired by James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time.”
Publisher Little, Brown says of the new title, “The host of ‘CNN Tonight with Don Lemon’ is more popular than ever. As America’s only Black prime-time anchor, Lemon and his daily monologues on racism and antiracism, on the failures of the Trump administration and of so many of our leaders, and on America’s systemic flaws speak for his millions of fans. Now, in an urgent, deeply personal, riveting plea, he shows us all how deep our problems lie, and what we can do to begin to fix them.”
#ThisIsTheFire reached number ONE on the @nytimes best sellers list. I cannot thank you all enough for supporting.
If you haven’t already, get your copy today: https://t.co/UFsyI7N2zS pic.twitter.com/bRE9w2Vir6
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 24, 2021