Iraq Study Group report a bestseller

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- While there is much debate over the findings of the Iraq Study Group released Wednesday, a book form of the panel's findings has already become a best seller.

The report, which called for a change in U.S. strategy in the war in Iraq, was released in Washington on Wednesday. And even as the White House was responding to the recommendations and members of Congress and other experts were debating its findings, people were snapping up copies of the book, titled "The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward - A New Approach."

At 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Barnes & Noble's (Charts) Web site listed the book as its No. 2 best seller, behind No. 1 seller, "The Joy of Cooking," while competitor Amazon.com (Charts) reports that the paperback book is No. 2, on its list behind "You: On a Diet - The Owner's Manual for Waste Management."

Amazon said buyers of the report were also likely to buy a number of other books critical of U.S. handling of the war, including "State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III," by Bob Woodward and "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq" by Thomas Ricks. It was offering a two-book package for buyers of the report to get an additional 5 percent off if they also buy "Triple Cross: How bin Laden's Master Spy Penetrated the CIA, the Green Berets, and the FBI - and Why Patrick Fitzgerald Failed to Stop Him."

The group's report is published by Vintage, an imprint of U.S. publisher Random House, which itself is a unit of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann.

The book had been lower on the best-seller ranking earlier Thursday. It had been No. 4 at Barnes & Noble and No. 16 at Amazon early in the day. Its move on Amazon's list took it past "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama, a potential Democratic presidential candidate, which was bumped down to No. 3 at that list.

The report has a list price of $10.95, but it sells for $6.57 on Amazon and $9.85 on Barnes and Noble. It is also available for free online at a number of Web sites, such as the U.S. Institute of Peace.

This is not the first time that a weighty report of a government panel has become a top seller as a book. The report of the 9/11 Commission sold more than 1 million copies and was nominated for a National Book Award. It was published by W.W. Norton & Co.

More on report of Iraq Study Group

Special Report: Iraq - Transition of power