Moving a Nation to Care: Four Months In

It's been about 16 weeks since "Moving a Nation to Care" was released, and I thought it might be a good time to stop and do a quick review of our progress. In the grand scheme of things, of course, this is merely a bit of navel-gazing; but, so many of you can take credit for putting these things into motion that it's only natural I'd want to share some of our accomplishments. To everyone involved in this project, thank you.

It's been a remarkable journey for this 'citizen journalist' -- one that would not have happened were it not for everyone's combined effort and energy.

Bestseller Lists
I'm pretty darn impressed, and feeling very humbled by the reach that this little project has had. My publisher, Ig Publishing, is a small New York firm with a big heart. Our book is not quite on the level of a Harper & Collins or Simon & Schuster release; we haven't had the marketing muscle that others have, yet, through word-of-mouth and targeted help by many stepping in to lend a hand, we've managed to get the book on the map.

Currently, "Moving a Nation to Care" is:

• #1 at Barnes & Noble in the Iraq War, 2003->Psychological aspects category
• #2 at Barnes & Noble in the Veterans->Psychology category
• #6 at Barnes & Noble in the overall PTSD category

Nailing down an overall Amazon ranking is difficult to do, since they update hourly. That said, this summer "Moving a Nation to Care" has climbed to the top 10 in the PTSD category, and has reached the Amazon Bestselling Iraq Books list.

Internationally, "Moving a Nation to Care" currently ranks:

• #3 at Amazon/France in the Health, Mind & Body › "Iraq War, 2003" catgegory
  
• #4 at Amazon/Germany in the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder category
• #7 at Amazon/Japan in the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder category
  
• #12 at Amazon/Canada in the History › United States › "Care" category.

Libraries
Selection of libraries currently holding "Moving a Nation to Care:"

• The Library of Congress
  
• Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Pao Yue-Kong
• University of Canterbury - New Zealand
  
• Loyola Marymount University
• St. Louis Public Library
• Virginia Tech University
• University of Denver
  
• San Diego State University
  
• Loudoun County Public Library
  
• University of Washington - Bothell/Cascadia CC
• Ball State University
  
• University of Iowa
  

Courses
This is a short list, but I'm thrilled with it nonetheless. "Moving a Nation to Care" used during the fall Fall 2007 semester:

• University of Arkansas Fulbright College Core Course - Sociology 2013 Honors

In addition, "Moving a Nation to Care" inspired presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (who has a brother who served in Viet Nam) to call one afternoon this summer to say how much he appreciated the book. We spent 15 minutes discussing the importance of getting more Americans interested in knowing more about this issue.

Many, many others have written and/or phoned as well (it has become nearly impossible for me to get back to everyone in a timely fashion, so I do appreciate your patience with me if you do take the time to write). Thank you again one and all for your support this year and last, and for passing the word on about our work.