Friday, May 22, 2026

Death Sells: Anthony Bourdain’s Books Zoom to Top of Best Sellers Charts, Publisher Shuts Down Imprint Within Hours of Death

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Not surprisingly, Anthony Bourdain’s books have zoomed to the top of the Amazon best sellers. Alas, death sells when these things happen.

The paperback of “Kitchen Confidential” is number 1, and the hardcover is number 6. Two of Bourdain’s other titles are at numbers 4 and 5– “Medium Raw” and “Appetites.”

“The Les Halles Cookbook” is at number 11, which reminds me of all the great meals we had there. Les Halles was a towering success on Park Avenue and 28th St.

Bourdain also has books at numbers 30 and 32.

Meanwhile, Harper Collins didn’t even wait for Bourdain’s body to be cold when they announced the closing of his book imprint with them today. They couldn’t hold off shutting it down. Here’s your coffin, what’s your hurry.

It’s a tough business.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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