Biden's memoir now a best-seller

NEW YORK -- A memoir by Sen. Joe Biden, once as forgotten as his presidential run, is now a best seller.

A day after Sen. Barack Obama chose Biden as his running mate for the Democratic ticket, Biden's "Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics" was in the top 10 on Barnes & Noble.com and in the top 40 on Amazon.com.

It was so in demand that on Sunday it was listed as out of stock by both booksellers.

"We'll be reprinting," said Tom Perry, deputy publisher of the Random House Publishing Group, which released the memoir in the summer of 2007, several months after Biden announced his candidacy for president.

Like so many works that come out during the campaign, "Promises to Keep" was no more successful than its author, who dropped out of the race in January 2008. Perry said that a paperback, originally scheduled to come out after the election, will be released within a "week or so."

"Bringing out the hardcover last year during the hectic lead-in to the primaries didn't help the book because it was perceived by some to be a campaign tool. It's actually a fine and moving memoir," Perry said.

"We'd been holding off releasing the paperback until the election season was over, when we felt people would be able to focus on the human story he is telling. But clearly this is a new opportunity for the book and it's a great way to get to know who this man is and what he stands for."